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Top Ten Wedding Favor Ideas

The practice of handing out favors as a token of appreciation to wedding guests dates back to the Middle Ages.

Since then, wedding favors have evolved from fancily packaged sweets to the elegantly presented sugar-coated Jordan almonds.

Today the wedding favor is a firmly entrenched wedding tradition, with endless choices ranging from sterling silver trinkets to more inexpensive ways to simply say "thanks for coming."

Here are some of the most popular:

1. Do it yourself - Good old fashioned ingenuity comes into play when planning a do-it-yourself favor, and can get everyone involved. What's more, you're sure to save lots of money on homemade gifts.

Scented candles or tea lights, fancily wrapped candy tins or home baked cookies, homemade sachets or potpourri fit the bill nicely, and can be easily personalized with labels created on a home computer.

2. Personalized wedding favors - Champagne bottles, sterling silver coasters, matchbooks, pens and even golf balls are all part of the wedding favor industry's bonanza for supplying the bride and groom with their names and wedding date professionally printed on items handed out to guests. Pricey, sure, but the 'wow' factor is definitely still there.

3. Edible wedding favors - Personallized fortune cookies, chocolate bars, candy, almonds, mints, honey jars ("Meant to bee!"), gourmet teas and coffees, candy hearts or Hersey kisses.

4. Bubbles - A favorite pasttime from childhood, bubble bottles with wands make a whimsical gift that's a hit with both kids and adults at your wedding party.

5. Au natural - Think engraved natural stone, wild flower seeds, jute tote bags, natural soaps, or decorative sea shells for a summer beach wedding.

6. Seasonal wedding favors - Incorporate these into a winter wedding or fall wedding theme : gifts of spice-scented candles, baked goods, jams and jellies, snow globes or personalized Christmas ornaments.

7. Picture frames - The versatile picture frame may hold a photo, a wedding invitation, or serve as a keepsake place card holder that guests can bring home.

8. Candles - Practical, elegant, and today packaged in all sizes, shapes and scents.

9. Plants & flowers - A 'Love in Bloom' theme can be displayed in personalized packets of flower seeds, elegantly presented flowering bulbs, or potted plants

10. Silver - Bells, cookie cutters, (inscribed "we were cut out for each other") coasters, spoons, wine stoppers, ice cream scoops.

More wedding favor ideas around the Web:

The Knot - Wedding Favor Ideas - A virtual library of tips on choosing wedding favors by theme or price, including advice on kitschy, floral, winter and fall themes, and more with related online shopping resources.

Homemade Wedding Favors - Dozens of ideas with complete materials lists and instructions for making your own personalized candles, soap, wedding CDs, and more.

Gift Wrapping Your Wedding Favors (Without Losing Your Mind) - Good advice for the do-it-yourselfer on how to tackle the job of getting favors wrapped and ready for the big day.