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:

Take a minute while planning your wedding.  Think very hard about the details you want to share with your guests and how best to spend your money.  Besides the $0.44 on postage per card/envelope/whatever, you are also shelling out another $1.20 or so for a magnet itself.  Trust me: we don’t want that magnet more than we want you getting a better photographer or having more servings of cake available.  Same concept applies for the actual wedding favor…if it is not something completely practical, most of us are just going to leave them behind and/or discard them after an appropriate amount of time (this, by the way, is inversely proportional to the likelihood of your visit to our home; if you will be there next week, we’ll hang on to your wedding favor forever, however, if you aren’t visiting for another year or longer, it will be in the trash upon check out from the hotel.).
Don’t waste your money on favors or Save the Dates that aren’t vital to any aspect of your wedding.  Instead, consider going all out, edible, or the charity route.  Trust me, your guests will appreciate it–especially those of us who attend more weddings a year than most DJs!