Reluctantly in favor of . . .favors
Wedding favors. Just invoking the words makes the hair on my beastie arms stand up on end. I have emerged from many a Chinese wedding with doodads that I didn't know what to do with but felt bad for chucking: a small gold paperweight with the bride and groom's names, wallet-sized pics of the happy couple, an acrylic medallion etched with the couple's likeness . . . . Chinese weddings are a veritable crap-bag -- I mean, grab-bag -- of useless tchotchkes.
An example of a typical Chinese wedding favor.
Haven't you always wanted an acrylic swan mini sculpture?
I was thus determined not to have favors. Maybe a candy or cookie buffet, but no tchotchkes. But when I revealed this awesome cost-savings plan to my mom, she balked. Given my mom's reaction, one would think that sending guests home tchotchke-free was like asking them to pay for their own meal.
So, I did what any bride in the last two months of her wedding planning would do: I folded, like a cheap umbrella. Behold our wedding tchotchkes: pairs of keychains. I have to admit that while I'm still a little horrified by the idea of having favors, I actually find the keychains kind of cute. The bride has tres adorable pigtails, the groom is wearing the traditional Chinese character for "double happiness," and when you put the two together, they "kiss" (by means of a magnet that attaches one to the other).
Of course, the best thing about these keychains is their price. We were able to order these from a company in Hong Kong for less than $1.25 per pair, which is a pretty sweet deal.
Are you going to give out wedding favors? What's the most useless/awkward favor you've ever received?
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Best favor: A CD the couple made, including a track where they sang a duet! (Although I've heard that technically, if you want to be on the up-and-up legally, you need to pay for each track you copy onto a wedding CD like this.)
Most awkward favor: A small, round paper filled with seeds, meant to be planted in a pot so flowers could grow. It was a lovely thought, and I knew it meant a lot to the couple to give their guests something eco-friendly, but I'm just not a plant person and I knew I'd never actually plant the favor. I agonized for a good 20 minutes over whether to take it back with me, and ended up feeling incredibly guilty for throwing it away, even though I knew I wouldn't use it.
I'm planning to skip the favors, for the reasons you described. If my fiance and I run across something that's just so "us" that we can't resist, we may go for it, but I'm definitely not going to lose sleep over finding the perfect favor!
Your keychains are adorable, though. And a spare keychain is something that tends to come in handy (your neighbor gives you a spare key, you need a keychain for your gym locker key, etc.) -- so you're one step ahead of sandalwood fans and crystal swans!
We are giving out favors...the digestible kind courtesy of our dessert table.
Most of the weddings I have been to have given edible favors, which I am always in favor of, because I am generally in favor of all things yummy. I am kinda tired of candles as wedding favors, where I am I supposed to put all of these candles?
LOL! You and are are in the same boat!!! I feel the same way about the favors given. Hehehehe
Just wondering, where did you find those adorable key chains? I have been searching high and low for something affordable, unique and cute. Thanks!