How To Make Your Own Organza Wedding Favor Bag

There are many kinds of favors and many ways of packaging them, from glassine envelopes to gift bags. But let's focus on something more traditional: organza.

Start off with organza bags, of course. They come in a variety of sizes and colors. Obviously, pick a size that is appropriate to what you will be putting inside, and pick a color that complements or matches the wedding colors. The great thing about these sheer bags is that they evoke the other sheer and filmy materials that adorn most weddings and receptions (and most brides). They are attractive, light and guests can see the gifts that are inside them already, so if they don't want to open them right away, they don't have to do so just to find out what the favors are.

Of course, you do have to fill the bags with something. This is where the happy couple-to-be needs to do some pre-wedding brainstorming. You want the favors themselves to be personal, if at all possible. If you have a particular theme to your wedding, the contents of the organza bags should match that theme, such as little bottles of rum for a tropical island wedding or fine tea for a country estate wedding. Or, if the bride or groom have unique professions, perhaps the contents could reflect that, such as chocolate computers and animal crackers for the pairing of a programmer and zoologist.

Edible items are common choices for bagged wedding favors, if for no other reason than the fact that guests are less likely to discard them. In fact, they might not even make it back home with them. If you go with edibles, don't feel that you need to do Jordan almonds just because that's the perennial wedding candy. Think heart-shaped chocolates, home-made lollipops (there are kits to make them in many craft stores), or even seasonal items like robin's egg candies or chocolate roses for springtime unions.

To finish it off, have a small card with some sentiment written or printed inside, preferably something that evokes the contents of the wedding favor bag in addition to the romantic aspects of the wedding. So, if you've decided to put some flower seeds or bulbs in the organza bag, perhaps the message would be, "Plant these so that they can grow, just like our flowering love." Chocolates could be accompanied by the sentiment, "A loving marriage in the presence of treasured friends and family is richer and sweeter even than these treats." Punch a hole in the card, run a ribbon through it that complements the color of the organza bag, and tie it off in a nice bow, possibly with extra embellishments such as small silk flowers or silver-colored charms.

In the end, the wedding favors can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want, from less than a dollar each to wallet-busting proportions. But no matter what the final cost, it's the thought behind them that will count more than anything else.