If you saw my refrigerator, you’d see an amazing potpourri of Save the Date magnets with the blissful faces of my friends and their fiance(e)s beaming with love. Each magnet was designed, probably online, with a template maker that brought together the color and theme of the invitation I should be expecting for the upcoming nuptials. Red and white roses, green lace, yellow birds, or bridal ecru satin line the outside of each photo while the names, date, and pertinent info are arranged below. These magnets hold up my phone bills, my shopping receipts, or my coupons for 1/2 off a Coldstone Creamery treat.
Besides the incredible amount of Save the Date magnets, I also have come away with the strangest collection of favors from weddings. Let me be clear, I appreciate the sentiment of thanking me and your other guests for our attendance but the last thing I want is a toy truck with a sticker that says “Edna & Charles, June 2006.” Other favors I have accrued over the years include:
- a shotglass, a gift I’m not inclined to use very often as I’m not a large drinker
- a champagne cork holder chair, which is incredibly creative (especially when the groom is a wine salesman!)
- a car towel, a novelty to this day I never understood…neither of the couple were very much into cars that I recall
- a “Chinese” fan, which may have been appropriate if it had been an outdoor, summer wedding. However, this was an indoor hotel ballroom winter wedding so the connection, to me, is lost.
- personalized poker chips which would have been awesome if the reception was a mock casino and we could have gambled for prizes, but a) that doesn’t sound exactly like a classy reception and b) takes away a bit from the whole celebrate-with-family idea of the wedding reception.
