To Favor or Not To Favor?

There seems to be definitive pros and cons regarding wedding favors. Some want to dismiss them, others want help finding inexpensive ones, others prefer to look for unique and elaborate ones. Ive seem small picture frames, bells, individual boxes with special candies, luggage tags (which doubled as your escort card - very clever bride Betsy!) wine bottles, wine bottle openers in the shape of a bird - in keeping with a bird theme, beeswax candles tied with a ribbon, beautifully decorated cookies in a small bag. These cookies are usually in keeping with a theme. I've also seen individual cakes with small cake boxes that the guests can take home. I was a guest at an outdoor summer wedding on a beach where we each received a large fan with the program on it. This came in very handy! This past weekend I received a cd with the couples favorite songs, I've been enjoying it all week!
Some couples prefer to make a donation to a charity in lieu of a favor and there will be a note stating this.
My findings have been that for the most part, people prefer a favor that is useful.
Now, who is "pro" the favors and name some you've enjoyed. Who is "con" and tell us why??

Save-the-date cards

A bride-to-be recently asked when should "save-the-date" cards be sent? First of all not everyone is aware of this new trend of "save-the-date" cards. These are sometimes postcards, short one page announcements, magnets, or more formal notes that give guests the opportunity to have a "head-start" for planning to attend a wedding. They are especially helpful for out-of-town guests to book flights and hotel reservations early. They can be sent out as soon as the date is set. A year is not too early to send them. No one will complain about having too much time to plan on attending, especially a destination wedding.

Invitations

I attended the National Stationery Show for four days last week in NYC. The show was very well attended, which bodes well for the industry. Since the invitation sets the tone for the party or event, it was interesting to see how many choices there were from the newest in traditional and formal to the different and very colorful, fun and funky. Favors were also big! I know there are some who choose not to have favors, but who still doesn't like to take home a "goody bag?" The chandelier motif was big in both invitations, stationery and favors. What's your take on different invitations and favors?

Attending the wedding ceremony

Does anyone else wonder why the wedding ceremony is not as well attended as the wedding reception? I brought the programs for 150 guests to a wedding on Saturday and had about 100 programs left after the church ceremony. Is this a new trend? I hope not!

RSVP

How many times have you sent an invitation and wondered why you still haven't heard from a few people? Even if you had a deadline? RSVP loosely translated from the French means "please respond." The host/hostess needs to know for planning the food amounts, beverages, tables, seats...yet, we still have to call and ask "did you get the invitation? Are you coming?" This is even more difficult with formal affairs when you are billed if they show or not. I have yet to hear of any bride who heard from all her invited guests! How many stories to share on non-responders?

Send the Wedding Gifts

I've been told by quite a few MOB's that they wish all wedding guests would send their gifts ahead of time to the bride. Registries make this so easy, the store will ship it directly. Obviously, if you are bringing a card with a check, that is different. But to have to take care of the gifts after the wedding puts undue stress on the parents and the newlyweds. This happens even at destination weddings where sometimes the gifts have to be shipped home. Has anyone had experience with this? Other thoughts or ideas?

omg, it's high school all over again?!?

Remember your first day of high school? The classes were fine, lunchtime came and oh, where to sit? Fast forward years later, you're invited to a dinner...same drama! Placecards take the stress away! Someone took the time to think about where you would be most comfortable. Whew! You don't have to freeze when you arrive at the table and they're a great conversation starter. Placecards...obsolete or necessary?

You're been invited for dinner

You've just been invited to a friend's house for dinner. You offer to bring something, he/she politely says "no." What do you do? Just show up? Bring something? But what? You don't know what is being served...
How about bringing some flowers, a plant or a bottle of wine? Flip-side: what, as the host or hostess, do you want a guest to bring? Even after your polite "no?"

Help! I need a gift!

It's that peak gift giving time of year!! Graduations, weddings, showers, anniversary parties, summer birthdays...if you're like me you want to give a gift with style.

If you haven't discovered on-line registries, they are a godsend. It shows their taste, colors, and you can shop within any budget. Baby boomers, like me, sometimes resist the on-line buying without actually seeing the item. But it's soooo much easier! For weddings check out www.weddingchannel.com and you can see exactly where he/she is registered. Everybody has a horror story of that awful Elvis lamp that must be taken out of the attic when Aunt Rita comes to town! Registries eliminate all that.

What's your fave registry? Let me know and we'll all share.