Favorable Food

How to package your favorite sweet snacks for your guests

By Melissa Tussing
CTW Features

Image courtesy Amy Atlas Events

Edible wedding favors aren’t just tasty – they allow brides and grooms to put a personal touch on everyone’s favorite meal – dessert!

There are plenty of options for the kind of food you use, where you get it from and how you package it. Couples can have a dessert favor bar, so guests can choose their favorites. Or they can put individual chocolates from their favorite bakery into small paper boxes for each guest. Adding ribbon – in the wedding color, of course – to the favors and attaching tags with their names and the wedding date is a nice touch.

Edible favors helps couples ensure their favors won’t go to waste, even if guests save their treats for later. “Guests can bring something home to a child who wasn’t able to attend the wedding,” says Amy Atlas, owner of Amy Atlas Events in New York.

Think Local

Where are you holding your wedding? Buying snacks and other goodies that are close to your wedding site allows you to support local growers and producers and cuts down on your carbon footprint. Plus, food will be fresher -- something your guests will appreciate.

Think of what the area specializes in. A Michigan wedding might include a clump of cherries for each guest. A California wedding might include a sample of local wine. Midwest couples can even pop some popcorn for each guest.

Make It Personal

With edible wedding favors, you can cater your treats to what will hopefully please everyone – or your own favorites.

Atlas says she’s seen brides and grooms give old favorites like Mallomars and Pixy Stix. Do you favor Sour Patch Kids or Swedish Fish? Chances are your guests, will, too. If a couple’s tastes differ, combine them. Atlas likes a sweet-and-salty package. Leave a note saying why you love each flavor, she says.

Keep In Mind

Avoid products with nuts to safeguard your guests from food allergies, that way everyone can enjoy.

Also think about the weather. The temperature will affect the quality of your favors. “If your wedding is in the summer, stay away from goodies that can melt like chocolate and buttercream,” Atlas says.

Get Inspired Online

MyMMs.com: You can choose the colors you want and put words and even images on packages of M&M’s. A gift bag is $3.99 or $4.99 for M&M’s with photos.

Beau-coup.com: Here you’ll find tuxedo and wedding gown favor boxes, personalized favor ribbon and personalized glass favor jars.

EdibleGiftsPlus.com: Check out their array of decorated Oreo cookies, including cookies decorated to look like conversation hearts and flowers. The site also puts your photo on cookies or graham crackers.

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