Hi, everyone! Sue here with my TWIST (The Way I See Things,) and I'm about to kindly disagree with a fellow journalist--the highly respected Miss Manners, whose syndicated advice column on ettiquette in polite society is well respected and, usually, sensible. In a recent column, however, dear Miss Manners gave an opinion with which I must take exception. Here's an excerpt of the reader's question and Miss Manners' response:

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I will be getting married in a few months and have been having a hard time picking out wedding favors within our budget that will make it further than the garbage can once our guests return home. We have allotted $1 to $2 per guest. Our gift budget does not lack as a result of money being improperly allocated; we have needed to find many ways to cut corners.

GENTLE READER: Who told you that you had to give out wedding favors? Etiquette has never thought of weddings as comparable to birthday parties for children, where the guests might need consolation for not being the center of attention.

Here, then, is my rebuttal to Miss Manners' kind, but somewhat dated advice:

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Normally, I find your advice well-thought-out and pertinent to today's lifestyle. In your above response, however, I believe you may be a bit out of touch with current trends, not only in weddings, but in wedding favors as well. Wedding favors are not meant as "consolation" prizes, but as a small "thank you" to guests, many of whom have come a long way to celebrate with the happy couple. Wedding favors have also come a long way in recent years, with designers creating wedding favors that are both practical and lovely enough to enhance the table settings at the reception.

The wedding favor shown in the upper-left-hand corner is a beautiful photo frame that serves as a place card holder at the reception and a photo frame in the guest's home. Far from winding up in the garbage can, this favor remains a reminder of the bride and groom's special day. There are hundreds of practical--and edible!--wedding favor designs available today that guests can take home and enjoy. MyWeddingFavors.com features wine bottle stoppers, glass coasters, kitchen timers, an olive oil dispenser, luggage tags--even a heart-shaped calculator, a pizza cutter and salt-and-pepper shakers--all creatively designed and gift packaged to enhance table decor and make memories for the bride and groom and the guests. What's more, every bride can easily find wedding favors to fit, not just her color scheme and theme, but also within her budget.

It's my hope that you, dear Miss Manners, rethink your outmoded opinion of wedding favors by discovering the meaning and practicality of today's wedding favors. I remain, as ever,

Your Gentle Fan