Unless you’re planning to offer relief to those friends and family members who indulge too freely in the bubbly at your reception by giving away big bottles of water and heart-shaped aspirin tins with your names and wedding date lovingly displayed above the dosage instructions, chances are your wedding favors are not going to be something that will dramatically improve the quality of their lives. My husband would argue that couples who have given him personalized beer cozies as wedding favors have dramatically improved the quality of his life during hot summer afternoons, but I would contend that it’s possible to bring even greater things to the world than that. Although I do love it when my beer stays cold through an entire game of bocce ball.
These days, many couples are choosing to donate money to worthy causes in their guests’ names, individually or as a group, as wedding favors. There are several ways to do this, and to present the favor to your guests. In case you think that your loved ones will be heartbroken if they don’t receive a bud vase with your names airbrushed on the side along with the catchy and original phrase, “Our Love is in Full Bloom” (copywright Mary of mywedding.com--so don’t try to rip it off!), keep in mind that the people I know who have given charitable wedding favors have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from their guests. Here are a few avenues to explore, if you’re thinking about going this route:
The I Do Foundation specializes in charitable wedding favors, and offers a host of options and suggestions. They also provide information about and links to charity registries and invitations. This great resource can be accessed through the mymedding.com website, under the “favors” category.
The Just Give Organization provides you with a couple of unique ways to give charitably on behalf of your guests. You can choose either to make a donation in the name of the group, for which the Just Give Organization will send you a PDF file that you can display or use as place cards explaining the donation (you can disclose the amount, or not), or give your friends and family members their own individual charity gift certificates for a set amount that can be redeemed with over 1 million charities worldwide.
Do it Yourself! Choose the charity (or charities) that you would like to give to, and either make or have your own display cards made by a stationer or copy store. There is a very nifty website that you can turn to for guidance when choosing the recipients of your generosity: charitynavigator.com will help you figure out which charities are highly rated for being the most useful, best organized, and efficient with their donations.
How will you present your favor?
The most common method of presentation is by place card explaining the donation and cause, either for each individual guest, by table, or for the whole group. It is up to you whether or not to disclose the donation amount. The organizations listed above offer suggested wording for your cards, but it might go something like this: Thank you for sharing this day with us. In recognition of your love and support, we have made a donation in your name to (Name of Charity).
If you do not want to do individual place cards for whatever reason (perhaps you’re not going to have assigned seating at your reception), you may choose to display a sign explaining the charitable favor in a prominent spot where your guests will see it. Alternatively, you may choose simply to announce your gift at any point during the celebration. However you do it, you should feel good about sharing the love on your big day, and I guarantee that your generosity will be appreciated by your wedding guests!
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