• You’ll need time. You can’t rush the assembly of certain do-it-yourself favor packaging. So plan to devote a few nights to the job.
• Enlist help. If you’re doing it all by yourself it’s going to take longer than if you have a group of friends and family to assist.
• Are you crafty? Some of the do-it-yourself favor packages are quite tricky to put together. If you don’t have patience to deal with this kind of craft, think about purchasing your favors ready-made.
• Will the favors look professional when complete? Do a test run with a small batch of the wedding favors you intend to put together. Sometimes the packaging is flimsy and once you’re done bending down flaps, the box looks like it’s been through the wringer. If you don’t like the results, move on to something else.
• Go simple. If you’re already stressed about other details of the wedding, don’t add one more thing to your list. Go with a simple favor that will not require hours of your evenings and weekends to complete. Remember, it’s the thought that counts. No one will know how much time you invested but you.
• Think about cost per piece. If you can get the same thing ready-made for the same price, go for it. Your time is valuable and if the item is going to cost the same once you fill it, why not go with a pre-fab package?
• Do a durability test. Put together one or two of the packages complete with filling and see how well it travels in the back seat of your car. After all, you have to transport your favors to the reception somehow and if they won’t survive the trip, wouldn’t you like to know ahead of time? Walk away from any favor that is going to spill, break, or leak. You just don’t need the headache.
• Go with adorable packages that are easy to assemble. You can find boxes in the shape of brides and grooms that you can fill with candies easily. Use miniature glass bottles that you can fill with mints or gumballs. Just forego any tying of ribbon that could become tedious after the 87^th one.
• Anything that takes just a few seconds to put together is your best bet. Think votive holders where you just need to pop in a candle. Or choose a silk sachet bag that you can fill with chocolates. Favor boxes that require you only to come up with the contents are also a great choice. If it’s a fill and go kind of favor, it’s a good idea.
• Craft stores are a great resource for DIY wedding favors. You can find tins to fill with goodies, bubbles and swans that you can incorporate into the decor, glass containers of every kind that you can fill with things like heart-shaped candies or gumballs. Browse around. You’ll find that the wedding aisle has many bows already formed to save you time. Lots of shortcuts are there on the shelves ready for the taking.

Think about your time and resources before you plan to do your favors yourself. They’re a good, cost-effective idea if you have the patience and drive to complete them.

Related Articles:

Quick and Easy DIY Wedding Favor Ideas

How to Make Your Own Personalized Wedding Favor Tags

The upper right photo in the collage shows an affordable way to personalize your hexagonal shaped favor boxes.  Simply purchase custom printed ribbon in a color that goes with your color scheme.  Normally the ribbon can be imprinted with the bride and groom's name along with the wedding date.  Also purchase some simple favor hang tags that say something like "Thank You for Sharing in Our Special Day".  You can usually get about 25 of these classic thank you tags for under $5.  Tie the tag onto the box using the ribbon and consider using a little dot of hot glue to keep the ribbon in place on the box.

If you are having an autumn wedding, bring the fall colors into your favors through the use of ribbon and organic elements.  For the look in the photo, twigs from a local craft store (you could use ones from your yard too) were used along with a brown satin ribbon and gold organza ribbon.  Leaf-shaped paper cards were cut-out of green cardstock and hand-written with the word "Thank You".  You can also find personalized leaf-shaped cards at Wedding Favors Unlimited.  They come in 4 different colors including brown, green, and red making them a great choice for fall-themed wedding favors.   You can personalized them with your names and date or your monogram.

Finally if you are looking to add a little glitz and glamour to your wedding favors, you can use crystal dazzlers, mongrams and a flashy bow like the ones shown in the photo on the lower right corner.  Kevin and Amber used their initials on the box for a personal touch that wowed their guests.  These do-it-yourself favors are a more expensive, but highly elegant option.

Photo courtesy of the Weddingstar Catalog.

More favor box ideas:

• Personalized Wedding Favor Ideas
• Unique Bridal Shower Favor Ideas
• Affordable DIY Favor Box Ideas
• Treasure Chest Favor Ideas
• Think Outside The Box - DIY Wedding Favor Ideas

This beach treasure chest was created using an aqua blue favor box, white "From The Happy Couple" ribbon, and starfish shaped stickers that are imprinted with the bride and groom's names along with the wedding date.  All of these items can be purchased at Wedding Favors Unlimited.

I suggest filling the boxes with seashell-shaped chocolates nestled on a bed of paper shred (as shown in the photo) or your favorite candies such as M & M's in an aqua and white color scheme.

Using the same aqua blue treasure chests, you can create an elegant favor that would be great for a "Something Blue" wedding theme or chocolate and aqua colored wedding.  To create the look shown in the photo, you print out your favorite quote on a clear vellum strip and wrap it around the base of the treasure chest.  Then you wrap the white satin ribbon tying a bow around the chest in the other direction.  Use hot glue to add a crystal heart confetti to the center of the ribbon bow and voila, you've got beautiful wedding favors for your guests.

Photos courtesy of the 2010 WeddingStar catalog.

More creative favor ideas:

• Candy Suggestions to Fill Personalized Candy Boxes
• Hexagon Shaped Favor Box Ideas
• Affordable DIY Favor Box Ideas
• Think Outside The Box - DIY Wedding Favor Ideas

The example in the upper right corner shows how you can mix and match favor boxes to create an elegant and unique look that ties in perfectly with your color scheme.  Best of all, this favor is affordable. The black and white favor boxes are embellished further with wedding words ribbon (faith, hope, joy, love and cherish) along with clear heart-shaped dazzler confetti pieces.  Simply use a hot glue gun to secure the embellishments in place after you've filled the boxes with your favorite edible candy or other small gift for your guests.

The second DIY favor example in the lower left corner of the photograph shows a classic floral patterned favor box that is topped with the initials of the bride and groom.  You can create the initials by purchasing textured paper at your local craft store and using letter templates and an knife tool to cut out the letters.  Simply glue them to the favor box lid.  Be sure to take the favor boxes to the store with you when looking for matching textured paper.  Add a small piece of ribbon and heart dazzler for a bit of sparkle.

Add a Moroccan flair to your favors by dressing them up with some beading and gold roping that you purchase at a local craft store.  The rich jewel tones add an elegant touch to the simple floral pattern favor box as shown in the bottom right corner of the photo.  Jewels like the ones shown can be somewhat expensive so look for craft store sales and coupons to save some money.

More on Favor Boxes:

• Quick and Easy DIY Wedding Favor Ideas
• Do-It-Yourself Bridal Shower Favors
• Affordable DIY Favor Box Ideas