As you’re planning your nuptials, you’re focusing on both major and minor aspects of the celebration. There are essentials you can’t do without, but there are also minor details that make the entire day special. One question you may be wrestling with is whether to gift your guests with wedding favors. It’s helpful to understand their purpose, along with your available options, before you decide either way.

Where Did Wedding Favors Come From? 

Reliable sources documenting the origins from which wedding favors came are scarce. It’s possible they are derived from party traditions originally observed by upper-class families and nobility. One possible source may be the bomboniere. This was a small box in which tiny sweets were packaged and given to guests as a thank you for attending an affair. Some suggest that French aristocrats began the practice during the 1700s, but that assertion is difficult to confirm.

Today, wedding favors come in several forms. The Knot reveals that boxes containing sugared Jordan almonds were traditionally given to guests at Greek and Italian weddings. Couples have gotten creative with their parting gifts throughout the years, sometimes opting for small, non-edible keepsakes. A few examples include fancy pens, glassware, bottle openers and even disposable cameras.

To Gift or Not to Gift? That’s the Question

Tiny mementos have been considered a must-have for weddings of the past. In the modern era, they may be slowly falling out of favor with couples. Creative gift attempts that didn’t quite make the grade may have gained the practice a bad reputation. The last thing you want is to give out cheap trinkets that some attendees decide to leave behind. That’s probably why Brides writer Elizabeth Mitchell cautions couples against dispensing knick-knacks or anything that’s monogrammed or personalized. Also, tight budgets and time limitations may not permit you any room to purchase or individually wrap a bunch of tiny presents.

For those reasons, it’s easy to make a case for not handing out wedding favors at all. Jaimie Mackey, also writing for Brides online, reminds readers that these little parcels are not required. If you’d rather forgo them altogether, you can contribute the cash toward upgrading other essentials such as your cake, reception music or food.

Food and Drink Are Perennial Favorites

If you choose to give wedding favors, you could follow Mitchell’s and Mackey’s advice and go with edible editions. Your attendees will probably appreciate not having one more object to forget or find room for in their houses. Not only that, your gifts might serve as great snacks to nosh on while they’re traveling home or will linger around to be savored for days or weeks after the reception.

Depending on who’s in your crowd, you may be able to get away with non-consumable items like some of the suggestions proposed by Huffington Post writer Kelsey Borresen in a July 2015 article. Nevertheless, you’ll note that two-thirds of her suggestions involve food or drink. The items profiled by Borresen included bottles of hand-picked hot sauce, jars of honey, bags of tea, caramel apples, s’mores kits and small bottles of wine or spirits. Anything you select can be personalized with aspects of your event theme, a special message, pride colors or other fine details.

Take It or Leave It: It’s Up to You

Arranging a same-sex wedding often means adapting some customs while leaving others by the wayside. Your budget, time constraints and other factors dictate whether it’s feasible to offer wedding favors. They’re not a required part of your celebration, but if you do choose to gift them, most matrimonial mavens favor edible or drinkable versions. Having a good sense of your priorities and those of your partner should help you make the right choice for your special day.