In the past I have always waited till the last minute to RSVP to a wedding, I even cancelled days prior to a wedding (sorry Todd and Erin). Knowing what goes into planning a wedding I will always be the first to RSVP and never cancel at the last minute (at least not within the last 72 hours). Seating charts, food count, booze count, flowers, and gifts…so much goes into planning a wedding. When a friend would tell me that they are busy planning their wedding or stressed about wedding issues I never understood why. "Dude, it's just a wedding how hard could it be?" I have learned so much about weddings and the one thing I was not aware of when it came to planning a wedding was the wedding favor. I have been to weddings in the past and never really paid that much attention to the favors that we received. Laura and I went back and forth on this and Laura actually came up with a great idea - Cupcakes. At the end of the night all of our guests will receive a cupcake that they can take home and enjoy. Or, if after the four hour open bar they can throw them at each other in a drunken rage. Either way it will be an enjoyable gift.
I checked in with Christine, Catering Manager at Wynn Las Vegas, to get her thoughts on wedding favors.
Favors…This has become one of the most innovative segments of our industry. The days of candy coated almonds and bubbles are so over! You can buy everything from custom label wines to miniature wedding cakes and anything in between. The idea behind favors is two fold: to give a little something to remember the occasion and to say thanks for being part of our lives and special day. I love it when favors are a personal statement from the bride and groom. I had a couple on the 4th of July who didn’t have a huge budget but some creativity. They took regular chocolate bars and attached a series of 10 different photos they had printed on their home printers. The snaps were of the bride and groom either in their youth or as a couple. One type of each photo was placed at each setting. Everyone swapped to get a look and compare stories. It was very sweet. The idea of cupcakes are fun as they are a way to take a little of the celebration home with you. I had a client in Texas who made a donation in their guests name to a local charity. A common thing here in Vegas is to give a $5 poker chip from the casino where the ceremony/reception is held. Guests can either gamble with them or keep them as a souvenir. No matter what the gift, make it fun, personal and acceptable for a guest to carry back home in their luggage.
Laura and I are getting our cupcakes from The Cupcakery located here in Las Vegas. I checked in with Pamela, from The Cupcakery, to see why cupcakes make a good wedding favor.
People are really into the individually wrapped cupcakes as favors. They can be personalized with messages and names, which is a great perk for the couple. The boxes can even have messages or names printed on the label, which is pretty cool too. I think they are better than a traditional favor, because the guest will actually remember something like an individually wrapped cupcake. They have a little something to go home and snack on when the booze munchies finally kick in after the wedding.
Check out the list of celebs that are into giving cupcakes as gifts - George Maloof, Shaquille Oneal, Vince Neil, Joey Fatone, and Lance Bass. Woo hoo. For more info click HERE.
