How many wedding favours have you taken home, put in a drawer and never looked at again?

Or worse, left on the table?

Wedding favours are a lovely idea, but they don’t have to be another thing that eventually ends up in landfill.

In fact, the most sustainable wedding favour might be no favour at all.

Choose something people will actually use

If you want to give your guests a little something, think about what they might genuinely enjoy.

Some of my favourite ideas include:

• Homemade biscuits, jam or local honey.
• Packets of wildflower seeds.
• A second-hand book chosen especially for each guest.
• A charity donation in place of a physical gift.
• A playlist of songs from your wedding.
• A flower station where guests can take home some of the flowers used to decorate the venue.

I recently conducted a wedding for Ali and James, who gave their guests homemade gin, garam masala and bee bombs.

Thoughtful, useful and a little bit different. I was delighted with mine!

Think before you personalise everything

Before ordering 100 little objects printed with your names and wedding date, ask yourself whether your guests will actually want them.

You might love having your names on a miniature bottle opener, but will everyone else?

And remember, wedding favours aren’t compulsory.

Your guests are coming to celebrate your marriage, not to collect a souvenir.

A more personal wedding doesn’t have to mean buying more things

Some of the loveliest touches at weddings cost very little.

They come from thinking about the people involved and choosing something that has meaning.

That’s the approach I take to wedding ceremonies too. It’s not about adding more traditions, props or activities. It’s about finding what genuinely reflects you.

And if that means skipping wedding favours altogether, that’s absolutely fine.