I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for ways that I can give back to those in need. I love shopping and philanthropy. So if I can places where I can do both - that’s great.
Nonprofitshoppingmall.com is a fabulous website that allows consumers to shop online for all the things that they would normally buy (even from the brands they would normally choose). However, when making their purchases through Nonprofitshoppingmall.com (NPSM), a percentage of each purchase goes to charity.
It doesn’t cost you anything extra to use NPSM. You just log on to Nonprofitshoppingmall.com, choose a charity and start shopping. The retailers on the site determine their contribution level and it varies from retailer to retailer. So you have to read the site to find out the details for a specific retailer.
For example, if you use NPSM to buy wedding favors from Truly Wedding Favors, the contribution level is 7.5%. If you are shopping for wedding stationery, Wedding Paper Divas offers a 5% contribution level. And that’s just the beginning. You can shop for just about anything through Nonprofitshoppingmall.com - not just wedding stuff.
So, next time you are feeling guilty about wanting to go on a shopping spree - you don’t have to feel bad! Just visit NPSM and you can do good for others while shopping for yourself!
I always thought wedding favors were cute, but a little awkward to give out.
Don’t get me wrong; I love wedding favors—I gave away favors at my wedding and, by golly, my sister will give them away at hers.
What I mean by awkward is, when do you give them to your guests?
If you give out favors as your guests arrive, they’re stuck carting around the cute little trinkets for a few hours. And they might even (gasp!) forget them.
If you wait till the end of your reception to give out favors, though, there’s no guarantee everyone will get one. What about poor grandma who had to take off early to get to her Jazz dance class? Or your dad, who so kindly spent the latter part of your reception making sure all of your presents were packed nicely in your car?
Ok, so maybe I’m being a little drastic here—handing out your favors before or after your reception are both good options, but I think I’ve found an even better one.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could combine your favors (something you want to give out) with something you’ll need to give anyway, like place card holders? Well, surprise of all surprises: you can!
Imagine pairing your favorite wedding favors with a cute little bride and groom that tells your guests where to sit. Or what if you gave the perfect Vegas themed favors for your reception at the Luxor? I’m really falling in love with some of these Coaster wedding favors.
Clearly I’m sold on this little trend, but what do you think? Yay or nay? Tell me; I can take it.
Pink is one of the most popular wedding colors. It’s flirty, romantic and fun. When pairing pink you can choose from a wide array of options, from pastels to metallics to even brown.
If you are ready to buy wedding favors, Truly Wedding Favors offers a tremendous selection of pink favors that are perfect for a Spring or Summer wedding. Here are some of my favorites:
Pink Rose Ball Candle
This beautiful candle is an affordable favor. Right now, you can get these for as little as $1.19 each at Truly Wedding Favors. Each candle is packaged in a clear box and wrapped in a pink ribbon.
Pink Wedding Cake Candle
I think these cake favors are some of the cutest favors available. The three-tiered pink wedding cake candle is adorned with little white hearts, flowers, garlands and bows. If you are interested, a blue version of this favor is also available.
Pink Cross Deluxe Bookmark
This favor is very lovely and delicate. These favors can be for wedding, or even a christening or first communion celebration. Each favor consists of 2 pink rhinestone-adorned crosses joined by a pink organza ribbon with decorative beading.
I found this cool video on YouTube about how to make these very cute wedding favors from Jordan almonds. The video shows a very detailed explanation on how to make these Jordan Almond Flower favors. They are a unique idea that would complement any wedding decor.
If you aren’t looking to make your own favors, but want some affordable options - check out the wedding favors here at Truly Wedding Favors. You can find a variety of beautiful favors in every price range.
When you are planning your wedding, you might be overwhelmed by all the information available on the Internet and in wedding books on how to cut costs. There are probably a thousand ways you can trim your wedding costs. Don’t freak out and try to do it all. Just keep it simple.
Here are some basic ways to cut costs:
Schedule your wedding on a weekday. Vendors oftentimes charge more than double for their services on a weekend evening than they do during the week. If you are really against a weekday weekend, an afternoon wedding on the weekend will also be cheaper than a weekend night.
Make your own centerpieces. Centerpieces can be simple yet beautiful. You can save money by saving your own. They don’t have to be floral centerpieces either. You can use picture frames, mirrors, candles or even a bowl of fruit as a centerpiece.
Have cupcakes instead of cake. Enlist a friend or family member to bake cupcakes and then arrange them in the shape a cake. You should still have a small cake on the side to cut during the cake cutting ceremony.
Cut down your guest list. Gasp! I know it sounds horrible but you don’t really need to invite your third cousin’s boyfriend, or a friend of a friend of the family.
Have a sponsored wedding. A sponsored wedding is one where much of the wedding costs are offset by allowing a particular business (or businesses) to advertise in some manner during the wedding ceremony or reception.
Buy affordable wedding favors. I would never suggest you skip favors all together. After all, they are a small way to thank your guests. However, you can make or buy cheap favors. One of the most affordable favors is to buy mints, candy hearts, Hershey’s Kisses or Jordan almonds and then package them in wedding favor boxes, bags or tins. At Truly Wedding Favors, you can even find some favors for under $1.
One cute idea for a creating your own wedding favors is to buy small terracotta pots that contain flowers or blooming plants. Then you can decorate the pots with acrylic paints to personalize them.
You can even put the name of each guest on a pot and they can double as a placecard holder. It’s a wedding favor, placecard holder and reception decoration all in one!
If you aren’t artistic, don’t worry! You can just stencil the name of your guest on one side of the pot and your wedding date on the other. It’s very simple! Stencils and acrylic paints are relatively inexpensive; you can find them at most craft stores.
You can also buy empty terracotta pots and give them as favors, along with a pack of seeds, and let your guests do the planting!
For more inexpensive wedding favor ideas, don’t miss the wonderful selections at Truly Wedding Favors.
When decorating your reception tables, consider using bowls and baskets of fruit as centerpieces. Grapes, apples, pears and even citrus fruit make color centerpieces that are beautiful and serve a practical purpose.
If you aren’t serving another dessert other than your wedding cake, it’s a great idea to have a big bowl of fruit on each table for your guest to enjoy.
Keeping with the theme of fruit, you can also select wedding favors made of fruit. Here are some ideas for fruit favors:
Individually wrapped candied apples
Small personalized bottles of apple cider or grape juice
Jars of homemade fresh fruit preserves with customized labels
Fruit shaped candles
A terrific place to get individually wrapped caramel or candied apples is Mrs. Prindable’s. They offer cute little mini-apples dipped in chocolate, caramel and walnuts that are delicious! They also offer a variety of other apple options.
If you are looking for fruit shaped candles, you can get them at Truly Wedding Favors. The Perfect Pair Candles pictured here are a very nice choice. Each favor consists of a pair of pear candles in a white mesh bag. These candles are priced as low as $2.34 each.
Check out these and the rest of the wonderful favor choices at Truly Wedding Favors.
Every wedding, no matter how small, should have wedding favors. Wedding favors are a little token given to each of your wedding guests to say “thank you.” Though you want to provide your guests with beautiful favors or fun keepsakes, if you are planning your wedding on a tight budget, you also don’t want to break the bank. After all, some guests may leave the favors behind or, worse yet, throw them away.
Here are some simple ideas for wedding favors that are affordable, yet not tacky.
Laminated Bookmarks - You can create personalized bookmarks on your home computer with your favorite love poem, biblical verse or message. After printing the bookmarks on card stock, you can have them laminated at a local print shop for a very little cost.
Candy Favors - Everyone loves candy! Probably the most inexpensive wedding favors can be made by simply placing small candies in a tulle circle or mesh fabric, and wrapping each little bundle with a ribbon. Many couples choose candy mints, Jordan almonds or Hershey’s Kisses for their candy favors. But you can also use more unique candies, such as Red Hots, candy hearts, lemon drops or even gummy bears!
Potpourri - Fill a tulle circle or mini favor bag with potpourri. Add organza ribbon and you are done! This is a very inexpensive favor that is still lovely. You can use different colors of tulle and ribbon to match your wedding colors.
Truly Wedding Favors - At Truly, you can find a wide variety of very affordable wedding favors that don’t skimp on style. When on the site, look for the “Favors By Price” section in the sidebar where you can find favors on clearance or other choices for under $1.00!
Truly Wedding Favors is confident that you will not find better prices on your wedding favors anywhere. The Lowest Price Guarantee allows you to shop around for 30 days after you initial purchase and if you find the same favors offered at a lower price elsewhere, we will pay you the difference.
Truly also offers a No-Hassle Returns/Exchanges policy. If you decide that the favors you ordered aren’t what you want for any reason, you may return any unused item for refund or exchange. It’s truly a no risk situation!
Former journalist Ellen Braunstein and wedding industry designer Vanessa Ploski have come up with an interesting new concept.
The wedding invitation meets a magazine to create Courtship Stories.
Courtship Stories are 12-16 page full-color booklets that tell the couple’s love story. These booklets are printed on 80-pound card stock and feature up to seven photographs. The couple then gives a copy of the booklet to each of their wedding guests as a keepsake.
It sounds like a very cute idea. You can choose from a selection of palettes to match your wedding colors, and from a variety of different designs.
They will interview the bride and groom via telephone in separate interviews to create your 1,650 to 1,850 word story. Of course you can revise the text or add a personal message to your guests before the booklets are printed.
On the website, you can read examples of other couples’ Courtship Stories. And the company is willing to send out a sample, if you want to view the quality of the product.
I’d be really interested in seeing what one of these looks like in person. On the website, they look terrific.
Choosing your wedding favors is one of the fun parts of wedding planning. Whether you are looking for something elaborate or quite simple, there are many wonderful options.
Here are some of the trends in wedding favors right now.
Eco-Friendly Favors As everyone continues to “Go Green,” wedding favors do the same. If you are looking for eco-friendly favors, consider flower seeds, mini potted plants or even bird’s nests.
Charitable Favors Many couples are electing to use some of the money they would normally spend on favors to give a gift to their favorite charity. If you choose to do this, you can still include a low-cost favor for your wedding guests, and then also attach a small note about the donation and why you selected the charity.
If you are looking for some very affordable wedding favors, look no further than Truly Wedding Favors.
Though you won’t be spending a lot of money, you won’t be skimping on quality. You can choose from a wide selection of all types of favors, including candles, bottle openers, keychains and much more.
One of my favorite wedding favors is this set of Love Cookie Cutters. These four cute cookie cutters spell out the word “LOVE.” You can get these unique favors for as low as $1.54 per set at Truly!
If you like these favors, you can purchase them or choose from many other terrific options by visiting TrulyWeddingFavors.com.
I always thought 
Pink is one of the most popular wedding colors. It’s flirty, romantic and fun. When pairing pink you can choose from a wide array of options, from pastels to metallics to even brown.
When you are planning your wedding, you might be overwhelmed by all the information available on the Internet and in wedding books on how to cut costs. There are probably a thousand ways you can trim your wedding costs. Don’t freak out and try to do it all. Just keep it simple.
You can even put the name of each guest on a pot and they can double as a placecard holder. It’s a wedding favor, placecard holder and reception decoration all in one!
When decorating your reception tables, consider using bowls and baskets of fruit as centerpieces. Grapes, apples, pears and even citrus fruit make color centerpieces that are beautiful and serve a practical purpose. 
Every wedding, no matter how small, should have 
Former journalist Ellen Braunstein and wedding industry designer Vanessa Ploski have come up with an interesting new concept.
Here, you can find dozens of