Help Others, While Helping Your Wedding Budget: Donation Favors!

This is a personal tip, near and dear to my heart!  When my husband and I got married, instead of doing expensive and extravagant wedding favors, we did donation favors.  Here’s why…

My grandfather has been battling Parkinson’s Disease for over 10 years, and my husband’s grandmother had been battling Alzheimer’s Disease for the past 3 years (who has since passed from the Disease).  A month before our wedding, we sent a donation to each of these foundations.  Most foundations except payment online via their website, or you can mail a check.  The donation can be as little or as much as you want it to be.   Even if you do one foundation, and give $50 or $100, every little bit helps fight a good cause.

I went out and bought 8.5×11″ white paper and ribbon (total of approx. $40).  I typed up a short letter to our guests, letting them know that in lieu of favors, we gave a  donation to the foundations of our choice.  When ready to print, I made the page layout landscape, so that I was able to print two out at a time.  As the pages were printed, I cut the page directly down the center (using a ruler of course!) making the piece of paper 4.25×5.5″.

After the letters were printed, and the paper was cut smaller, I rolled each piece of paper into a scroll and tied it with a piece ribbon.  Tip – before tying the scroll with the ribbon, hold the scroll together with a paperclip or rubber band.  That will make it a lot easier for you to tie the ribbon around the paper while folded as a scroll.  If not the scroll, will keep unfolding, which can get very frustrating (trust me, from experience!).

You can get creative…use different size or color paper, get ribbon that matches your bridesmaids dresses or even buy heart or bell stickers to seal the scrolls instead of ribbon.  The day of the wedding, place a scroll at each place setting.

Our guests loved the idea, as I’m sure yours will too, and it will give you (and your wedding party!) something fun to do before your wedding day.  This is one of my favorite do-it-yourself, inexpensive wedding favors!