3 Non-Traditional Party Favors That Will Wow Your Guests
Whose love language is gift-giving? I know it’s definitely one of mine.
A major part of planning a wedding or large event is making sure that the guests are happy. At the end of the day, what would the event be without them? That is why it is so important to consider the grab-and-go they’ll be taking home with them after the event is done.
For planners, my goal every time you read my blogs is that you’re inspired to consider the ways we can shake up the industry and reconsider event traditions as we know them. For my DIY folks, hopefully this blog will get your wheels turning about some unique options for guest favors.
While party favors are not an absolute must, they can add that extra touch of “something something” that can take your event to the next level. I’ve rounded up 3 gift ideas that will make your guests happy, complete your event, and all come from brands that get my brand image stamp of approval.
1. For My Sustainability-Concerned Friends
Can we all take a second to stop and appreciate how adorable these succulent soaps are? HandcraftedByNature offers its clients the chance to bulk purchase natural soaps that will make your guests excited for the next time they wash their hands. As benign as that sounds.
What I love about a gift like this is that there is absolutely no packaging necessary whatsoever, the ingredients themselves are clean, and the display on the gift table will fit a variety of themes and overall appear aesthetically pleasing. This makes choosing bulk natural soaps for wedding favors a sustainable and thoughtful gift.
The upside in buying soaps like these is that wedding planners or clients have the chance to cut soaps in half, or even in fourths, to cut costs. There are always ways to cut costs and always ways to stretch out what you’re working with. A good place to start looking for bulk soap is on Etsy, if HandcraftedByNature happens to be out of your price range.
Soaps, as simple as they appear, offer a personal touch. Couples can enjoy picking scents, shapes and sizes which add a sense of personalization to their big day and make the details that much more unique. As we continue to consider the personalized and other non-traditional ways we can change weddings, I vote for adding as many personal touches as possible. Less sticking to the usual ways of showing off and more making our clients feel closer to their guests.
Brand Image: Idea Takeaway
Behind-The-Scenes Clips
As I do every week, I want to take a look at how each brand I’m talking about is going about its marketing and portraying its brand image. This week, I want to pay extra close attention to one major takeaway we can take from these brands in our strides toward growing our wedding planning businesses.
HandcraftedByNature was founded by soap artisan Paula who has reached a growing 30.1k followers on Instagram. Taking a deeper look into Paula’s company, I discovered one key way she keeps a steady engagement from her followers is by posting videos of her making her soaps. With the advent of TikTok, behind-the-scenes videos adhere perfectly to trends of short but engaging clips that grab a viewer’s attention and offer subtle marketing tactics.
Paula has also utilized personalization by using professional images of herself to be associated with her brand. Being able to recognize the brains behind the operation help clients feel connected to the products they are buying.
2. Something They Can Actually Use
As simple as it might seem, yes. Your guests would love a pencil. And this one is plantable. Pencils and other forms of simple stationery actually offer your guests something they can use. At EcoLovelyStore on Etsy, they take the simplicity and overall appeal of something as simple as a pencil and pair it with environmentally-conscious sourcing.
In case you didn’t get it the first time, the ending tip of this pencil is plantable — leaving no element of the pencil unsustainable. EcoLovelyStore has gone above and beyond making something as overlooked as a pencil personalized, sustainable and affordable.
EcoLovelyStore is one great place to buy bulk pencils for your guests. The appeal of something like this is name personalization. Name personalization is something to add to favors that will help your guests remember where this super useful pencil come from, but also remember the happy memories made at the event.
I highly recommend this for the couple not knowing what to do for wedding guest favors. With endless options, sometimes the best thing to do is go for the simplest thing available — pencils. It also doesn’t hurt that this brand specifically offers a sustainable reimagining of an otherwise traditional idea.
Brand Image: Idea Takeaway
Consistency
Although EcoLovelyStore only has 51 followers on Instagram, don’t count them out of the race just yet. EcoLovelyStore has managed to find great brand success through their main selling platform, Etsy. With over 1.9k sales and 100% 5-star reviews, EcoLovelyStore does have one brand takeaway we should pay attention to.
Despite being a small eco-friendly favors business, EcoLovelyStore has successfully nailed consistency. From their detailed strategic social media posting uses (like smart hashtags), to updating their Etsy storefront regularly, they have nailed keeping their client’s up-to-date and with good communication means.
What I like the most about this company is that they have adhered to a unique and consistent product photography style. EcoLovelyStore also utilizes videos in their Etsy listings. Once again, people have become accustomed to watching short yet informative clips that grab their attention. The clips on their Etsy shop let their customers see a more detailed look at the product they are going to buy.
They may be small, but they are mighty. Consistency has had a great effect on EcoLovelyStore’s success and we can all use them as an example of how to keep our images consistent without striving away from our strategic goals. I’m sure with consistency like this, they are bound to grow their social following.
3. Wouldn’t You Want One?
When I first came across this post, I audibly gasped. The idea of the wedding couple hand-making the guest favors is unique and special all on it’s own. These individualized handmade pottery cups take it to the next level.
This eco-friendly, non-traditional, and absolutely stunning arrangement of pottery pieces for guests is just my favorite on this list. I think as planners and wedding industry professionals, we should all be valuing the love shared between the couples we work for. Favors like this offer us the chance to suggest an activity a couple can do to bond even further and leave a sweet memory of their love with their guests.
While everyone might not have access to legitimate sources of pottery making, I do want to throw out the idea of using air-dry clay. I have used this one from Crayola which offers very similar effects on a way smaller budget and with a lot easier resources.
Brand Image: Idea Takeaway
Sticking To A Niche
Before I dive into this, I do want to specify that Carats and Cake posted these photos linked above, but were not directly affiliated with the couple or wedding planner. However, I’m going to use this section to talk about the ways I think Carats and Cake have a brand takeaway — because it’s a good one.
As a little background, Carats and Cake is an Instagram platform with over 437k followers that specializes in wedding news, trends, industry and community. With this high amount of followers, it begs the question: How did they get there?
With a little analysis I discovered that Carats and Cake covers a broad span of wedding industry trends and news but it does stick to its particular niche. This niche is easily identifiable when you scroll through their Instagram. Instead of posting about every feasible wedding industry update or aesthetic, there is, they stick to a constant flow of expensive, celebrity, traditional, large-scale and elaborate wedding types.
While their account’s posts are not my cup of tea, they does offer the important lesson of having a clear idea of what you want to be recognized for and as and stick to it.
Thinking of a non-traditional or unique gust grab-and-go I didn’t mention? I’d love to know. To collaborate on our great ideas and continue reimagining traditions as I’ve always intended, message me from the message box to your right.
Until next time,
Thalia