•Is there a theme for the bridal shower party? If so, you will probably want to incorporate this into your creative bridal shower favors.
•You're going to need help, so be quick in recruiting the bride's friends, sisters and bridesmaids to help and also discuss other wedding ideas.
•Don't forget a nice basket, tray or bowl in which to display your beautiful homemade bridal shower favors. This can also serve as a reminder to give a favor to the guests before they leave the bridal shower party ...
•Remember to make extra favors for those who weren't able to attend, and also to keep as mementos.
1) Making candles for homemade bridal shower favors
Candles are easy to make, economical and you can have a lot of fun creating them. There are also plenty of craft shops that stock the different molds, candle holders and equipment. Experiment with various colors and designs (wedding cake, wedding ring pillow, bride & groom etc.) and include aromatic oils in the wax mixture for different scents.
Don't forget to attach a little ribbon and perhaps a photo of the bride and groom. Add a personalized signature like, "Think of us while our little love-light shines on you" and you're good to go.
2) Using chocolate for creative homemade bridal shower favors
Again, there are plenty of craft shops that stock chocolate molds in various designs (what about the initial of the bride?) and decorative boxes in which to store your chocolate creations. Use dark or milk chocolate made for melting/cooking (the microwave works great), then pour into your chosen molds. Include a little photo of the wedding couple and a personal note, perhaps "One sweet turn deserves another" and you're set.
3) Personalized chocolate candy bars or slabs
Contact a graphics/printing company to design your own personalized chocolate wrappers (try to keep with your theme) with a message and /or photo of the bride and groom. Buy some of your favorite chocolates then remove the external wrappers and replace with your new wrappers. Get creative with your personal message on the wrapper.
4) Handmade bridal shower favors: The surprise basket
Buy some small woven reed or wicker baskets from your local crafts store (or nursery) and fill them with little thoughts. Ex. a photo of the bride and groom, a chocolate candy, potpourri sachet etc.
For the potpourri you can buy a large bag and then distribute the content into smaller cellophane sachets.
5) Personalized music medley
Why not create and burn your own music CD's with a medley of your favorite songs, perhaps you can include some music that you have planned for the wedding ceremony (Ave Maria?) and also the reception? This is a really fun, economical and easy adventure. There also plenty of free programs available to create your own personalized CD cover.
lightscribe.com offers some interesting ideas and have a category for wedding and bridal. From the home page click "design center" (under "create labels"). Then click "design center" again and "special occasions", and choose "wedding" or "bridal". Choose your design and color and follow their down load instructions.
And don't forget to give the title and a short explanation of why each song is special to you - funny moments, romantic occasion etc.
6) Laminated bookmarks
Use a favorite photo, or create a photo collage on your computer, of the bride and groom so that it will fit on one side of the book mark. On the reverse side include your thank you note, poem or dedication to the guests. (Print out your own designs or have a print shop do it for you.)
If you don't have your own laminating machine then visit your local print shop to get your bookmarks laminated. Keep in mind that laminating machines are relatively inexpensive so depending on how many bookmarks you require it may be cheaper buying the machine and laminating sheets yourself!
