Remind guests of the occasion with special favors

The trinkets are meant to provide a lasting memory of the happy day.
SCRIPPS HOWARD
You've poured your energy into finding the perfect wedding dress, the dreamiest location and the tastiest cake.
But if, in a moment of exhaustion and exasperation, you're tempted to stick some candied almonds in a fluff of tulle as your party favors, don't do it.
It's overdone, darlings.
The new trend in favors is to get creative.
Give them a more personalized flair. Send a message. Make a statement.
Margaret Connelly, 43, admits that she's left weddings with favors she didn't quite know what to do with. She seems to remember a variety of "fluffy things" and a porcelain clock that she's sure cost a small fortune to put at every place setting.
So Connelly, a student and homemaker, put a lot of thought into finding the right memento for her 200 guests when she married Don Medoff in a Southwest-themed wedding in 2002. "I put just as much energy into finding the right favors. It's what your guests take away with them from your wedding, and it's what they remember it by."
She settled on hiring an artist to fashion small wooden crosses, painted in a variety of colors, with metal milagros on them, emulating an old Hispanic custom of creating small silver or gold offerings, traditionally attached to saints or to the walls of churches.
Beginnings
The origin of wedding favors is unclear, although the tradition itself is ancient. Wedding Web sites offer a host of different explanations, with some saying it started in the eighth century with Italian noble families. Others indicate that it dates back to more superstitious times when brides and grooms were thought to be blessed on their wedding day and souvenirs were considered a way of bringing that good luck home.
In 16th-century England, the bride's outfit would often be cut up to give as "favors." That was, thankfully for brides, replaced with the presentation of "love knots" of ribbons for guests to wear.
Five almonds were distributed as favors in Europe and the Middle East, representing the bitter and sweet of marriage, and five wedding wishes: health, wealth, happiness, fertility and longevity.
Optional
Wedding consultant Marilyn Rutschman, said about 50 percent of her brides want to know if they really have to do favors. The answer is no, but she encourages them to do it anyway. "I think it's a nice way to end the wedding. It shows that the couple are appreciative of the guests being there."
The favors don't have to be expensive. They might just be fun. At an afternoon garden wedding, brides might distribute funky sunglasses. At a beach wedding, brides have put wine holders in a sand bucket filled with sand and seashells.
Consultant Louise Thomas advises brides "not to spend the money unless it's something you'd want in your home or would use."
She suggests foregoing anything that's been tried and tested and tried again over the last 20 years -- like bubbles or candy bars with names on the wrappers. "It's all so pass & eacute; that if you're not doing something that matters, don't bother."
One bride created a CD of the couple's favorite songs, in a jewel case of handmade papers in red, tangerine, ecru and black. One bride selected sterling-silver candleholders with inscriptions about two lights joining as one. At one outdoor ceremony, guests found on their chairs collapsible sandalwood fans decorated with ribbons in the color scheme of the wedding.
One couple, both park rangers, handed out packets of wildflower seed. In another, since the family owned a pecan orchard, pecans were the gift of the day. Another couple, who owned birds, had a feather engraved on cordial glasses. Some have given out small bottles of wine.
But it all depends on the budget. If you have 300 guests, even a simple favor that costs $3.50 can break the budget.
And even if you're not getting married, that doesn't mean you're home free in the favor department.
Other occasions
Your average backyard barbecue bash is generally sans favors. But they're nearly a must for kids' parties and they're becoming more popular at events such as bar or bat mitzvahs.
"At birthday parties, children now expect to have favors when they go to a party. It's the norm," said Danita Miller, a party-shop owner.
Glow-in-the-dark necklaces, Chinese finger traps, friendship bracelets and squirt guns are all popular favors. Silly string is big, even for adult parties. So are luau-themed items, such as magnets in the shape of sandals, or temporary tattoos in the shape of fish.