How to Buy Themed Wedding Favors

Planning a wedding with a theme? If so, you have even more to do than your typical engaged couple. You not only have to buy all those wedding decorations, coordinate the band, rehearsal dinner invitations and reception dinner, but you have to do it according to a certain theme. That's why you should try to make buying themed wedding favors as simple as possible. Otherwise, you could spend weeks just trying to find favors that aren't off cue.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Draw a dark line through all those high-end wedding boutiques and retail shops. Their main concern is wooing you with their fancy, designer name everything in order to separate you from your cash. Instead, look local at party stores, large retailers and other like-minded stores for what you need.

2. Browse the Sunday paper for specials and discounts on any items that could fit the themed wedding favor profile. Party stores may be having a sale on Halloween or fall themed decorations. Maybe a candle store is selling romantic candles or other trinkets that could double as a wedding favor. Mark down where the stores are located, along with a few potential ideas on what you might find to make shopping faster.

3. Keep your eyes peeled for potential themed wedding favor candidates at the grocery store, garden center or local wine shop. No matter what your wedding theme, there is a store that sells related items. Winter, fall, seasonal, wine and vineyard, romantic or any other theme is covered by at least one or two retail stores in your town.

4. Hit the Internet. Once you run out of local stores, move your search online. There are a host of specialty retailers that sell everything from wine oil bottles to Asian themed wedding favors. You can even find Vegas or casino themed wedding favors online. A great store to try that fits this niche is Photoframesplus.com. Head for the wedding favors section and then browse to themed wedding favors.

5. Check Amazon or Google for wedding favors that match your theme, and search by product name, not "themed wedding favors." Type in "fall wedding bookmarks" or "romantic wedding candle favors" to narrow your search to the items that only fit your theme.

6. Shop around until you find what you need. There are many wedding favor stores with countless new ideas and themes. Many will offer the same products, but a few will have items you have never been seen before.

Tips & Warnings

• Finding themed wedding favors at a local store will take up a lot of time, so be prepared to do a lot of driving and map out your route before you get in the car.
• Don't pay more just because you have to have a certain theme. Most seasonal themed wedding favors may not go on sale during the season they are most popular, but they shouldn't be overpriced either. Comparison shop a few stores before you buy.

Resources

• Shop wedding favors by theme
• Google shop search