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I would reccomend the donation, I think guests would perfer that over anyhing else! You dont even really need to find a charity that fits your theme, you can donate to a charity that means alot to the both of you, We are going to donate to the Heart and Stroke Foundation as My Grandpa and Aunt died from heart issues, and as did his Grandma's and Grandpa...We will just make a nice sign at the guest book table so everyone can see when they come in what we did.

Thank you. There is a local charity that uses all of the donations for children in our county. It is a great charity and I love the idea that the money will be staying local. I'm a social worker, so I love the charitable donation idea. What is a good amount? That sounds like a stupid question and I know that any amount is helpful, but I want to make this donation on behalf of everyone at the wedding so I feel like it should be a larger donation. any suggestions on that?

I say go with whatever you think you can afford. To me the amount is a personal decision and it definitely does not need to be disclosed to your guests.

I was having the same problem you are, I wanted to make a donation but didn't want to leave the guests empty handed. At the same time, I didn't want to waste money on favors that people would either leave behind or throw/give away when they got home. I decided edible is the best way to go. So, we decided to do the donation, but to also have dishes of seasonal candies on the table as well to munch on. It's fun, they get sweets (who doesn't love that) and it's a great way to decorate the tables too!

We are doing the food on the table thing. Our centerpieces are going to be galvanized buckets full of peanuts (in the shell). We are going to put bandanas in our colors (black, baby blue and silver) under the buckets to add a little color. Our reception is one big party complete with bonfire and we are doing all our own food (buffet style) and just getting kegs (as well as other alcoholic/non alcoholic drinks) and I thought the peanuts would be a great touch. I'm leaning toward the donation idea. Now the question is...how do we let the guests know that this is what we did? Keeping the theme in mind, I'm having trouble with this as well.

You made a valid point: "So many guests don't even take their favors home, or the favors are something useless." Because of this reason, we have opted to do this: We had bought heart shaped crochet photo ornaments. We are going to make donations to the America Heart and American Diabetes Associations in honor of FH's father, and my mother. I'm gonna get some parchment paper and print the "announcement" on it, roll it up, scroll style, and tie with a ribbon and the heart ornament. That should be an easy to do favor,and it will mean a lot of the both of us and our families.

im having bubbles at my wedding....so for favors i thought id decorate them...im going to wrap them in tulle, with some pink confetti in it and tie a ribbon around them, and put some on each table! I just cant really think of what i want to do for favors, so i thought id do that!

Thanks all!

How about western themed luggage tags, custom keychains, personalized cappuccino packets, coasters, horseshoe keychains, small cacti, mini cowbow hats filled with candy...just a few ideas.

I think catus plants would be a good idea, and I also like the idea of the cowboy hats filled with candy, or even if you can go to yankee candle and see if there is a scent that is based off a cowboy scene, like I am doing a beach themed wedding and there are some candles called sun and sand it is really like being at the beach look into the candles because everyone loves candles.

I think Cactus plants are the best idea! It gives your guests something to watch grow along with your love and marriage. Add a short note thanking your guests for coming and sharing in your joy! Another idea would be a small western theme picture frame that doubles as a placecard. After the wedding you can send each guest a snapshot of you and them at the wedding to fill the frame.

That's another good idea MissRsWeddings

Those are all such great ideas! I see I have some decisions to make. Thanks everyone!

Your wedding sounds like it will be a BLAST! You will definitly have lots of fun and so will your guests.... This may or may not work but it just popped in my head! Your having a bonfire. How about getting favor boxes and putting stuff for smores in them. Then have roasting sticks by the bonfire and everyone can get a turn throughout the night to toast their smores.

Lol those chocolates are so cute.

JulyBride...I checked out that link...those are great!! Thanks.

I think the donation is a great idea. When my sister-in-law got married, she got little votive candles for each guest. We collected over half of them at the end of the night. I think she paid about $3 each for them and when she ordered them I told her it was a waste of money because people just wouldn't take them!
Early on in this thread, you asked how much you should donate and how to let everyone know about it, so I will address those questions. I would suggest figuring out what you can afford and how much you would have spent on favors (probably $1-$3 for each guest). That should be your goal for the amount to donate. To let guest know about it, you could just print a nice note on table tents and put a couple on each table. Say something like "In lieu of favors a donation has been made to (insert charity here) in honor of our guests." Also include a thank you for sharing our day message in there somewhere!
Please, NEVER do this in lieu of sending thank you notes!

We are also doing a country wedding in our barn at my parents horse farm. We did mason jars with handles on them for everyone to drink whatever drink they are drinking out of. We tied a ribbon with a tag of our names on it around the jar. This is used as the favor for them to take home. I liked it for the fact that they can use it later and not just throw it away. We bought silver lids that have a flower cut out for a straw in the center for the children to use with the mason jar. We ordered 250 and paid $330 total including shipping. I think they look great and am really excited to use them!

We live deep in the country too and we all LOVE beer so we're getting coolie cups for everyone with our date & names on them. They aren't very expensive and we hope that everyone will be able to use them!