March 21, 2022

As you can imagine, as a wedding planner, we ask countless questions in order to determine every detail you want included on your big day. More often than not, our couple’s are always hesitant on the question, “do you want to include favors for your guests?” A wedding favor is typically a small token of appreciation in the form of a gift that is given to your guests at the end of the night. Only ~30% of our couples provide favors for guests so don’t feel that you have to gift anything (in addition to a wonderful night out for your guests!). But for today’s green alliance series, we’re highlighting the do’s & don’ts of favors and how you can choose to be sustainable with your decisions for those that want to gift a little extra “something” to your friends and family!

We’ve seen favors come in all different forms, so with no restrictions, it can either feel like either a daunting, or exciting process! Within this blog, we hope to spark some inspiration as well as create conscious decision making as you explore options for your very own wedding.

Quick Tip!

Unless you’re having your favors pre-placed at your guest table settings, we don’t ever recommend purchasing favors at full guest count. You’ll find that you are taking home more leftover favors than you expected, which is a waste that we want to avoid. Anticipate the time that you plan to set out your favors so you can estimate how many of your guests may have already departed!

Not all favors need to come wrapped up in a box or baggie! What if an entertainment piece of your event could double as a favor for your guests as well? We had the privilege to connect with Jana Kinsman, who is the owner & illustrator of Doodlebooth.

Doodlebooth offers hand-drawn, in-person portraits at your event.

“Doodlebooth can serve as an activity during your reception AND as a wedding favor that your guests will treasure, making it an economical choice without any waste! Shortly after the event I provide the digital copies to you through a digital gallery, which you can then share with your guests. From there they can share their doodle portraits via social media. It’s like a caricature, but very non-traditional — and totally fun.”

Why is sustainability important to you & your company?

“In the bigger picture, my life focuses around sustainability. As a beekeeper (bikeabee.com) of 10+ years, I care deeply about our local food system as well as our region’s green spaces. This is a way of life for me!
The sustainability of my service comes from its simplicity. Doodlebooth is literally just me, pens, FSC Certified paper, and (biodegradable) plastic sleeves. My sustainable sourcing skills were honed as a graphic designer when I worked with clients looking for greener options. I work with a local printer for my paper supplies and for custom printed portrait cards.”

Quick Tip!

When in doubt, choose an edible favor! We’re not sure whether it’s the time of the night, or just everyone’s love for food, but an edible favor is hard to resist. There is a lot less waste since the favor can be taken home for later, or given to the kiddos at home 🙂

Katherine Anne Confections is a company committed to using fair trade cacao, and work with local farmers for our Jersey cream, Midwest fruits, honey, and seasonal ingredients.

We connected with Katherine, the owner of Katherine Anne Confections, to learn a bit more about her business. When I asked how her company stands out from others, her answer was that they’re genuine, eco-friendly & just frickin’ awesome! She likes to say that they’re genuine (as much as that word is overused) and really like to help folks find the perfect gift/chocolate for themselves or others. They also make everything totally by hand, from scratch, with lots of love using great local-focused ingredients.

Why is sustainability important to you and Katherine Anne Confections?

“Well, the easiest answer is that I want a world to still be here for my children and all children. The extreme weather events that human-caused climate change is wreaking upon this earth is devastating. It’s easy to dismiss the change we can do as small businesses and individuals, a mere drop in the bucket, but, to quote Cloud Atlas “what is an ocean but a multitude of drops?” I also believe we’re raising awareness around climate change and sustainability, so hopefully more folks will leave our shop after composting their disposable hot chocolate cups and say “hang on, we could do this at my office”. Even in our company, it’s exciting to see change happen. We have a big compost tote for our food waste, and our team has started bringing in their own compost from home. Change, baby!

What led to the decision to use eco-friendly materials & how did you source them?

“In general, we do want to use as little plastic as possible, so we keep trying to source other eco-friendly and beautiful packaging. We use a lot of different suppliers to find just what we need. We’re always reaching out to folks & sourcing new from others, just to keep abreast of new technology and options. There are so many good compostable options out there that were not around when I started in 2006!”

How do your favors elevate a wedding or celebration experience?

“Let’s start with the fact that they’re the first thing taken & enjoyed from the tables. Folks often start talking about how much they loved the treats, asking folks if they’ve tried them yet, etc. There’s always someone at the end that is standing by eyeing a couple of un-claimed favors at the end of the night, waiting for their moment to pounce. All of our sweets are ridiculously delicious and a bit of a twist on traditional – our milk chocolate hazelnut truffle has a touch of freshly ground white pepper and a little semisweet chocolate in the ganache, just to enhance the flavor a bit. The goal is to make our sweets some of the best ever.”

If you have other suggestions as to how favors can be more green, let us know in the comments! We are happy to add more content to help our readers think of sustainable ideas.

–Ohana Events