A great many of our New Jersey wedding couples have gone back to the tradition of offering wonderful wedding favors for their guests to take home as they leave our wedding reception venue. (In the past few years, some couples chose to skip the favors as a way to save money, but thoughtful take-home favors are now back on the Must list!) What the couples choose to give as wedding favors has evolved from those tiny photo frames and wine glasses embossed with the bride and groom’s name to a new trend that makes guests much happier – edible gourmet treats.
Your wedding reception lasts several hours, and the wedding cake and desserts may have been served an hour or two before the close of your celebration. So when guests find that their wedding favors are delicious frosted brownies or theme-decorated cupcakes, they very often treat themselves to these treats before they even leave your reception! That’s the mark of a great edible wedding favor. Guests can’t wait to enjoy them.
Here are some of the most popular edible wedding favors that we’ve seen, and made, for our New Jersey wedding couple’s take-home treats:
- Frosted brownies
- Frosted cookies, in heart-shapes or cut into wedding theme shapes like a bride’s dress or a wedding dove
- Chocolate-chip cookies
- White macadamia nut cookies
- Gourmet truffles
- Theme-shape chocolates, such as hearts or butterflies
- Pastel sugar-covered Jordan almonds (a traditional, symbolic favorite of our New Jersey wedding couples!)
- Gourmet flavored wedding cupcakes
- Hazelnut cream-filled cookies
- Personalized candies, such as M&Ms sporting the initials or names of the bride and groom
- Wedding color-matched jelly beans
- Chocolate bark
- Fudge squares in a variety of flavors
- Seasonal-matched wedding favor treats, such as maple brownies for a fall wedding
- Baggies of gourmet-flavored popcorn or kettlecorn, the couple’s favorite snack
- And more…
Presentation is key for wedding favors, so package each edible treat in its own ribbon-tied box or cellophane baggie, and affix a thank-you message label right to the package, expressing your gratitude that guests came to share your day with you.
All the best, Caitlyn Bradley, Director of Private Dining, Ram’s Head Inn
Today’s brides and grooms start thinking about their wedding registries right away, and they’re very excited (and quite fortunate!) that current wedding registry trends and etiquette say they can have more than one registry. In fact, both nationwide and in our local New Jersey region, the average number of separate wedding registries set up by brides and grooms is two to three.
Many wedding couples choose to create registry gift lists at one or more housewares stores such as Bed Bath & Beyond, Macys, and Williams Sonoma, just to name a few, to stock up on kitchen and linen essentials, décor items, appliances such as top-tier coffee makers and Panini presses. They register at home essentials stores to upgrade to the good cookware and cutlery, and load up on high thread-count towels and sheets. For many couples, this type of registry is their wedding registry number one. They then create other, unique registries. Here are some of the top types of unique wedding registries that our Passaic County, Morris County, Essex County, Hudson County, Somerset County and other New Jersey wedding couples report as their top wedding gift list choices:
- Honeymoon Registry: These popular wedding gift registry sites allow you to sign up for such romantic experiences as a private sunset dinner cruise or a couple’s massage on the beach, or an adventure such as swimming with dolphins or taking a zipline canopy tour above an exotic rainforest. Guests can purchase these experiences for you, or they might choose to give you a ‘share’ of your honeymoon suite booking, or your plane fare, to make your trip possible for you. They can also select gift cards to your honeymoon resort, giving you the ability to spend your gift money any way you wish.
- Charitable Registry: If you’re a charitable-minded couple, you might set up a charitable gift registry on which you designate your favorite charity or charities, and guests select the amount they’d like to donate to your chosen cause as their wedding gift to you. A big trend among our New Jersey wedding couples is designating local donation recipients, such as animal shelters, libraries, schools and especially food pantries. Having a charitable registry among your two or three established wedding registries gives guests their choice of traditional or unique gift to give you.
- Sporting Registry. Our local North Jersey brides and grooms have a penchant for outdoor sports, and living an active lifestyle. So they’re signing onto active and adventure lifestyle gift lists at such stores as REI.com, one of the most popular registries for couples who want mountain bikes, kayaks, camping gear, GPS systems and other supplies to enhance their active lifestyle that’s so popular here at New Jersey’s many hiking, biking, climbing, boating and other adventure sport areas.
- Wine Registry. Our New Jersey brides and grooms have sophisticated tastes when it comes to wines, and one of the things we hear quite often from couples who come to our West Orange wedding venue is that they dream of having extensive wine collections and installing wine cellars. So creating a wine registry at a local wine merchant or wine connoisseur website is a top trend.
- Experience Registry. Similar to the honeymoon registry, this type of registry offers experiences as gifts. The bride and groom log onto an experience wedding registry site, and they choose their dream adventures. It might be skydiving, horseback riding on the beach, taking a culinary course at a celebrity chef’s establishment, or other phenomenal experience that only a guest’s generous gift could provide.
Wedding registry information must not be included on your wedding invitation, but is instead shared as links in your personal wedding website. Wedding guests say they appreciate finding multiple types of registries that give them a wide range of options for your wedding gift, since they want to get you an unforgettable gift or experience that you’ll love.
Best,
Michael Mahle, Director of Communications, Pleasantdale Château
By Caitlyn Bradley, Director of Private Dining, Ram’s Head Inn
Wedding invitations printed on recycled paper are very popular today. It’s part of the eco-friendly, green concerns more and more couples are incorporating into their weddings, ceremonies and receptions. Invitations made from recycled paper are widely available with a number of patterns to choose from. The only drawback is that some people think it has the look and feel of a slightly less formal wedding. But that’s for you to decide – the choice is entirely the bride and groom’s to make. Another green option is the “plantable” invitation – an invite made of biodegradable material, often recycled paper, with seeds embedded in it. We’ve seen this done for save the date cards too. So if you’ve been eager to incorporate some eco-friendly element into your wedding ceremony, consider this your invitation.
All the best,
Caitlyn
By Rolf Schick, Banquet Manager, The Manor
There’s a popular new color for weddings: Green. More couples are making their weddings eco-friendly. Just a few small changes to traditional nuptials can have a big impact on the green quotient of a wedding. And since many ingredients to a great wedding have green alternatives, couples can make their ceremony and reception whatever shade of green they want. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Flowers and centerpieces: Locally grown flowers don’t use as much energy to transport as those shipped from overseas. Talk to your florist about the availability of locally grown flowers. You’ll also be supporting local growers and plant nurseries.
2. Wedding invitations and stationery: Specifying recycled paper for your invitations is a great way to set the tone for an eco friendly wedding. Invitations can also be made from tree-free paper. Talk to whoever is handling your printing about your eco-options.
3. Donating Food: No one leaves a wedding hungry. There’s usually an abundance of leftover food that goes home with members of the wedding party. But you can donate the extra food to local food banks or other charities. Check with charities in your local area to learn about organizations you can help.
4. Wedding rings: Even wedding rings can be eco-friendly. Some jewelers now feature rings made from recycled stones and metals. And some couples are taking heirloom jewelry and having it restyled into a more contemporary design. Considering what it takes to mine metals and gems, this can be a giant eco step.
Another way to have a green wedding: get married outdoors, in a beautiful garden or other natural setting filled with greenery! The Manor has been hosting outdoor ceremonies in our formal gardens for years. And our other properties – the Ram’s Head Inn, the Pleasantdale Chateau and Highlawn Pavilion – also have beautiful outdoor areas for weddings and civil ceremonies. If we can help with your wedding, whatever shade of green you’re planning to make it, we look forward to hearing from you.
Yours,
Rolf
