2012 Wedding Trends – Jewelled Colours

Flicking through the myriad of wedding magazines that are published just after Christmas (to make the most of the Wedding Show season), I’ve been looking out for the new trends of 2012.

One of  the key ones I noticed was the use of bright jewelled colours to add contrast and interest to (what is usually) a very white affair.  Using vibrant splashes of colour, particularly ruby red, amethyst and sapphire, can pep up a Bride’s outfit for very little cost. 

Bright coloured hair combes or slides, jewelled clutch bags, bright red nail varnish all add panache as do embellished satin shoes and long evening gloves.   A quick trawl around the High Street stores will yield some gloriously rich accessories at very reasonable prices.

If these jewelled embellishments are along the lines of your wedding theme, take a look at these beautiful Jewelled compact mirror Favours.  Pretty and useful, they make ideal Favours for your female guests. 

To brighten up your reception, use these bright table scatter crystals available in sapphire blue, hot pink, purple and ruby red.

All available from Favour Haven.

Just because the economy is looking a little grey it doesn’t mean your wedding has to!

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Post-Christmas Budget Blues?

Well it’s all over for another year, so how many of you spent more than you budgeted for this Christmas?  More on presents?  More on food and drink?  More on party frocks?

O.K. I admit it, I spent a teensy, weensy bit more than I had planned to on presents but buoyed by some timely M&S Vouchers I’ve convinced myself that I spent less on food and drink.  That said, I still feel the need for a little caution in the January Sales. 

So if you’re in the same situation and looking for a bit of a bargain on your Wedding Favours, you could do worse than take a look at our current Special Offers.   We’ve not just reduced the price of some of our most popular Winter Favours, we’ve also reduced the price of some of our table decorations including our pretty table scatter crystals. 

Our Snowflake Bookmarks make great Winter Wedding Favours and are now only £0.99!  As are our cute Snowman Bookmarks and Snowman Keyrings; great for Children’s Favours this time of year.

We also have a few of our stylish Snowflake Wine Bottle Stoppers left, now only £1.99.  So you can give your guests a range of gorgeous winter-themed Favours and still have some money left over for that ‘must have’ sale bargain!

Take a look at our full range of Favours for Weddings, Anniversaries and Christenings at Favour Haven and if you’ve any ideas for Favours that you’d like to share with us, please do get in touch using our contact page. 

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‘Tis the Season of….the Christmas Sales

Once upon a time in a land far away, there used to be a strange custom called ”The January Sales”.  Folk would queue for days on pavements in the cold to ensure they got the longed-for, once in a lifetime, bargain.

Fast forward 40 years and a few economic crises (is that the plural of crisis?) and a new custom has dawned.  Retailers now start Christmas in September which allows them to discount their stock at just the right time for last minute Christmas bargain-hunters.  Great news if it’s what you actually want but dangerous if you’re susceptible to impulse buying!

So this year Favour Haven are returning to the ‘ancient’ custom of starting our Sale after Christmas, on the 27th December giving you plenty of time to party, party, party before you pitch your virtual tent in front of your computer and browse for some really great bargains.

There’s going to be favours for everyone including keyrings, bookmarks, place-card holders and sweet tins.  All at 20% off or more!

If you’re planning a wedding, anniversary or other celebration this could be the perfect opportunity to bag some truly affordable favours.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 

 

Price Matching – The Real Deal or Marketing Wheeze?

In the current economic climate it’s no surprise that every company is looking for an edge over the competition.  Weddings are one of the most important and expensive events in your life and with the current average cost varying between £16,000 and £24,000 (depending on who’s doing the survey) it’s no wonder that canny couples are looking for the best deals.

Recently we’ve seen a number of websites offering ‘price matching’. This goes something along the lines of ‘if you see this product cheaper elsewhere within 7 days we’ll refund the difference’.  Sounds good when you first read it but after sitting down (with a nice cup of coffee) and mulling over the small print we asked ourselves whether it’s really the deal it’s made out to be?

Firstly, you’ve already purchased and received your wedding favours.  You probably spent a while browsing, discussing and choosing the right ones at a price you could afford so are you really likely to further spend large quantities of valuable time searching the internet for someone who sells them for less and then putting in a claim to your original supplier?  The company know this is highly unlikely and there are any amount of wriggle clauses that have to be overcome before you get your money back.  Was the item in stock?  Was the item identical?  Was the item on sale? etc., etc., etc.

Secondly, they are offering a price MATCH only; they’re not offering to beat the cheapest price you find.  Pricing varies depending on the item and the supplier but most Wedding Favours are within a few pence of each other because Favours are by nature, small value items, often costing less than a decent Capaccino at Starbucks.  There isn’t a lot of room for manoevre so huge discounts are unlikely – oh, sorry I forgot – discounts are one of those wriggle clauses.

Personally, if I find a company that sells exactly the same item for less, I’m going to buy from that company, why waste time with price matching? 

So if you’re looking for great value wedding favours, christening favours or anniversary favours, take a look at our website. No price matching, just stylish, affordable gifts for your guests.

A Taste of Venice for Your Guests

I think I may have mentioned once or twice before that I’m rather partial to Italy.  Actually I love Italy!  I love the food, the wine, the art and the scenery.  I know they can’t balance the books apparently but it’s still one of the most beautiful and stylish countries in Europe.

So when I found this range of gorgeous Murano Glass Favours I had to include them on our website.  Not only are the colours of the glass absolutely stunning but they come individually packaged too in either classic black or soft ivory gift boxes.

There are pretty wine bottle stoppers, bottle openers, mirror compacts, miniature perfume bottles, handbag hooks and more.  Starting at only £2.49 there is something to suit everyone and you can be sure that these Favours will be well used – they’re far too pretty to hide away in a cupboard!

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Credit Crunch Weddings – Are they real?

Unless you live on Mars (and you can probably pick up Sky TV there as well!) you can’t have escaped the Media’s economy gloom-fest!  We’re all going to hell in a hand-cart with Greece leading the way, closely followed by Italy and whoever else the ‘markets’ view as slightly dodgy.  Despite not being in the Euro, we in the UK will be dragged down with the sinking ship apparently.

So do we take those intense (and slightly ghoulish) media types seriously and head for the life-rafts? Or do we  rely on those we elect to take care of these things to sort it out?  I think it probably depends on the kind of person you are – Optimist or Pessimist.

But Weddings are not pessimistic by nature.  They’re the exact opposite!  How can you get more optimistic than planning to spend the rest of your life with someone?  So I’ve done a little research and come up with some interesting facts.

1.  The majority of couples (over 71%) are still planning to invite between 50 and 150 guests to their wedding.

2. 45% of couples are relying on financial help from family to cover the cost of the wedding as opposed to loans or credit cards.

3. 51% of couples say the credit crunch has affected their plans ‘slightly’ and nearly 20% say it hasn’t affected their plans at all.

To be honest, I was quite surprised by these stats.  Weddings are one of the biggest expenses of your life so I was expecting a larger drop in the number of guests, more people having to take out loans and only a very small percentage (maybe 5%?) to say they haven’t been affected at all.

Whilst this is good news for the Wedding industry, it’s important that we recognise the 51% who have been slightly affected.  At Favour Haven we have some great Special Offers at the moment.  These cute boat shaped tea-light holders are only £3.49 for a set of 12, that’s less than 30p each!

Also on offer are these pretty cream and gold Favour Boxes – perfect for chocolates, mints or almonds – at only £3.49 for a pack of 6, less than 59p each.

 

Or if you prefer to give your wedding guests a pretty tin filled with treats to take home, you can’t beat these Cinderella style Royal Carriage tins at only 69p each.

 

You don’t have to have a credit crunch wedding to take advantage of our great value special offers at Favour Haven.

 

Boat Shaped Candle Favours

Cream & Gold Ribbon Favour Box

Cinderella Coach Mint Tin

Wearing your heart on your…….glass?

Heart Chalkboard Place Card

These cute heart-shaped chalkboard place cards are a great idea, not just for weddings but for Christmas parties too.

Just write on your guests names using chalk or (one of those fancy chalk pens) and maybe a few decorative swirls and you’ve got a great re-usable place card!  They can be clipped onto glasses, cups, napkins or anything else you can think of.

They come with white or ivory pegs and at only £2.79 for a set of 6 they’re great value for money!

We’ve got more chalkboard place cards available at Favour Haven so do drop by and take a look.

The Power of Saying ‘Thank You’

It may seem like hackneyed ‘management speak’ but those two little words really do make a huge difference and their power to motivate, lift spirits and make people feel good about themselves cannot be under-estimated.

A short while ago, a lady contacted us with what could be described as a ‘challenge’   She needed 100 of our pretty Sandalwood Fans and she needed them fast!  Not usually a problem for us but we only had 80 in stock.  To cut a long story short, after a few frantic phone calls we were able to source the remaining 20 and send out the order in time. 

Today, I received a lovely email from her explaining how pleased she was with our customer service…..

“Thank you so much for going the extra mile so that I could get my favours on time.

Even though you didn’t have the amount I needed in stock, you contacted the supplier on my behalf and ensured that the Sandalwood fans arrived a day earlier than you advised!

When the fans arrived, they were packaged better than I expected.

To top it all, I have been receiving feedback from my guests on how useful and handy it is.

Finally, thank you for your excellent, prompt, friendly and reassuring service.

Onwards and upwards!!!!!”

It is so nice when someone takes the time to give you a ‘virtual’ pat on the back and it also makes you aware that this is something we should all do more often.  So when I phoned up British Airways with a query earlier today and found myself talking to a very helpful lady I made a point of telling her how much I appreciated her efforts. 

It’s true, it really is catching! so if you’ve found someone who’s gone out of their way to help you recently,  take a moment to tell them and make their day!

The Sun is Out, Here Comes Santa!

Typed not without a sense of irony (although it has to be said that this is unseasonably sunny weather for the U.K.) but also with a certain resignation because along with Tesco who have had minced pies on their shelves for weeks, Plymouth Council who mobilised their Road Gritters this weekend and Heywood in Lancashire who have put up their Christmas decorations, Favour Haven has succumbed to the Christmas mania and this week we’re launching our Christmas range of wedding favours, party favours and table decorations.

Actually, it’s quite exciting because although I’m looking out of the window across fields bathed in sunlight I’m also putting together some seasonal combinations that will look just fabulous in a few weeks time.  The darker evenings do have their benefits! Pretty fairy lights and candle light make our richly coloured table crystals sparkle – try combining two colours e.g. red and gold or black and red to make a real statement.

Winter themes don’t come much more wintery than snowflakes.  Take your theme from one of Mother Nature’s most beautiful creations and use a combination of our Snowflake candles and matching Snowflake place card holders to decorate your tables. And this year we’re introducing a new range – our Snowflake place cards for glasses, delicate snowflakes that perch on a wine glass to add extra style to your table and can also be used as place cards. Available in silver and white and only £3.89 for a pack of 10.  Perfect for Christmas parties too.

These are just a few of our Christmas Favours that are available from Favour Haven so do drop by our website and take a look at our full range.

In Celebration of Colour

According to theWashington Post, a Maryland couple celebrated (if that’s the right word)  the 10th anniversary of 9/11 by getting married on Sunday.  Bridesmaids wore wearing patriotic colours — navy cocktail dresses and bright red platform shoes with bows.  So when they look at their wedding photos in 20 years time will those bright colours still seem a good idea?

Well, our traditional pastel themes aren’t as traditional as you may think.  Queen Victoria was the first Bride to make a fashion statement by wearing a white dress at her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840, prior to this there doesn’t seem to have been one particular colour that was common across all classes of society.  With the introduction of  ’off the peg’ dresses from department stores in the latter half of the 19th century the pure white wedding dress was affordable by all and it has to be said, glorious white wedding dresses, like the one worn by Grace Kelly at her marriage to Prince Ranier of Monaco, are the stuff of fairytales.

But I think there is a place for colour at weddings too.  White is the perfect foil for almost all other colours so using bright colours like Orange or Hot Pink can work well for summer weddings.  Golds, Chocolate Browns and Russet Reds are great to reflect the beautiful colours of autumn. Burgundy, Silver and  rich Purple are perfect for winter weddings and Greens, Yellows, Lilac and soft Pink mirror the gentle colours of spring.

So if you’re adding some colour to your wedding, take a look at our colourful range of sparkling table scatter crystals.  One Bride found the perfect colour to match her Bridesmaids’ dresses  in the Aqua crystals.  Another matched the Hot Pink to her mother’s outfit! 

We have so many beautiful colours that will complement those crisp white tablecloths perfectly, including jet Black which looks amazing combined with a pack of the clear crystals.  We even have the perfect combination of red and royal blue for patriotic couples on both sides of the pond. 

They come in packs of 300-350 crystals and they go a long, long way. So you get a lot of sparkle for only £7.95 per pack.  Take a look at the full range of table decorations at Favour Haven.

Black Crystals

Clear Crystals

Ruby Red Crystals