If you must give wedding favors....

A Green Revolution wedding might forgo favors to prevent unnecessary waste - how many people really eat those little almonds wrapped in tulle???

Or, you might show your good taste with gifts that can be used again and again...

A brightly-colored reusable tote, and fresh local organic produce will counteract too much cake and boozin', and remind your guests of your thoughfulness every time they go to the supermarket.

Thanks to Stephanie for the photo!

The flower boy's gift

Very much the sort of feeling I'd like our wedding to have (via Once Wed.)

When I first got engaged, I did absolutely nothing. I didn't call my parents right away. I didn't celebrate with friends (other than Mr. Barefoot). I didn't show anyone the ring at first. In fact, I stayed home for a couple of days. I just needed to sit with the idea and get used to it. I felt weird about not telling everyone right away, but getting married is such a big decision, it takes some time to sink in.

When I finally felt ready to start telling people, I rang up my best friend, and she immediately invited me over for Champagne. (That's what best friends do!) Her two kids, whom I've known since they were born, were busily working on art projects. I told the kids that I would be marrying Mr. Barefoot, and that I wanted them to dress up and carry flowers in the wedding. They immediately agreed, and the 7-year-old boy announced that he would make hundreds of origami peace cranes to decorate the wedding site.

Little did I know that, in addition to being a math prodigy, he is a wedding design prodigy. Origami cranes are everywhere! They're perfect for weddings because they symbolize honor, long life, and loyalty.

This is a particularly beautiful example, via Once Wed.

Favors - 2B or not 2B?

We've been thinking that we'd probably not do favors, as we didn't want to give people another bit of useless, plastic kitsch that they'd have to get rid of afterward.

That said, though, I have a few favors from friends' weddings that I really treasure. When a dear Korean friend, let's call her Style Doc, got married, everyone got a pair of small hand-painted wooden ducks that are a symbol of good luck and happiness in that culture. As I write, these ducks are on a shelf just above my computer, and remind me of my friend... and the fact that I owe her a thank you note for a birthday gift... Another friend, who is a mosaic artist, decorated hundreds of glass votive holders with brown and copper glass. These candle holders look great amidst the plants in my sand-and-sage-colored living room.

If I had the crafty skills, I'd love to make something cool and memorable like these lovely favors. I've had a hard time coming up with anything that seems feasible, yet.



But I do like to bake, and when I saw these adorable labels, I thought maybe we could just make dozens of chocolate chip cookies in the weeks before the wedding, freeze them, and offer them in little goodie bags to take home. Homemade, local, organic, delicious, and consumable. Sounds like a winning combo! (But will I really be able to bake dozens of cookies in the weeks before the wedding? Stay tuned...)