Rustic is the easiest wedding style to get right and the easiest to overspend on. The materials are supposed to look plain, which means a two dollar jar with a hand-tied tag can look better than a ten dollar engraved keepsake, as long as you choose the right thing for the room.
The short version: budget one to five dollars per guest, order one per guest and not one per invitation, and order eight to ten weeks out. The favors with the highest take-home rate are candles and anything edible, because guests will not leave those behind. The best value decision you can make is choosing something that works as table decoration during the reception and leaves with the guest afterwards, so it comes out of the decor budget as well.
Below are 53 rustic favor ideas grouped by the kind of rustic you are actually doing, because a woodland wedding and a farmhouse wedding want different things. Some we stock and those are linked. Many we do not, and those are marked, because a guide that only lists what one shop sells is not a guide.
First, which rustic are you?
Rustic covers at least five distinct looks and they are not interchangeable. Find yours here and the choices further down get much easier.
| Style | Materials that define it | Works best when |
|---|---|---|
| Barn and country | Burlap, kraft, twine, galvanised metal, mason jars | Warm and unfussy. The most forgiving rustic style, and the cheapest to execute well. |
| Woodland and forest | Raw wood, moss, pinecones, deep greens, antler and slate | Best in autumn and winter. Leans dark, so it needs candlelight to work. |
| Farmhouse and vintage | Enamelware, milk bottles, lace, pressed glass, muted florals | The most elegant end of rustic. Reads expensive even when it is not. |
| Boho rustic | Dried flowers, pampas, terracotta, rattan, warm neutrals | Currently the most photographed of the four. Pairs with kraft and raw wood. |
| Orchard and garden | Seeds, honey, jam, herbs, terracotta pots, linen | Edible and living favors. The style with the highest take-home rate. |
The numbers nobody tells you
| Question | The answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| How many to order | One per guest, not one per invitation | Couples routinely under-order by counting households. Order to the final head count and add five percent. |
| What to spend | $1 to $5 per guest is the normal band | The median sits near $2 to $3. Above $7 a head, guests notice the favor more than the food, which is rarely the goal. |
| When to order | 8 to 10 weeks out | Personalized and engraved items need lead time, and anything that has to be assembled needs a weekend you have not yet allocated. |
| How many get left behind | Expect 10 to 20 percent | Put them by the exit or on the place settings, not on a table people have to remember to visit. |
| DIY or buy | DIY the packaging, buy the contents | Hand-tied twine on a bought jar reads handmade. Genuinely making 120 of something from scratch rarely survives contact with the week of the wedding. |
The one rule worth following. Buy something that does two jobs. A mini lantern, a bud vase, a tea light holder or a mason jar drinking glass is table decoration for five hours and a favor afterwards. Doing this properly takes an entire line out of your decor budget, and it is the reason the favor table at a well-planned rustic wedding often costs less than the flowers on one table at a formal one.
Candles and light
The highest take-home rate of any category, and the one that does the most for a barn or a marquee after dark.
1. Rustic love candle $4.00
A poured candle with a rustic-typography label. Candles are the single highest take-home favor there is, because a guest who would leave a trinket behind will not leave a candle.
2. Woodland love candle $4.00
The forest version of the same idea, in greens and browns. This is the one for an autumn barn wedding where the tables are already heavy with foliage.
3. Autumn boho candle $4.00
Terracotta and warm neutral labelling. Sits comfortably on a table dressed with pampas and dried florals rather than fresh flowers.
4. Fall in love candle $4.00
The autumn-specific label. Worth choosing over a generic candle if the date is September to November, because guests keep seasonal things longer than they keep dated things.
5. Rustic candle tins $2.89
A tin rather than a glass jar, which means it survives being posted to the guests who could not come. Cheaper per unit at volume too.
6. Mini tea lantern $7.49
Doubles as table decoration during the meal and leaves with the guest afterwards. The only favor on this list that earns its cost twice.
7. Hanging mini lanterns $9.99
Hang them along a barn beam or a marquee edge during the reception, then let guests take one. Buying decor and favors as the same item is the best value move in this whole guide.
8. Mercury glass tea light holders $12.99
The farmhouse-vintage end of candlelight. Sold in fours, so they work as a table centre that splits into four favors at the end of the night.
9. Beeswax rolled candles with a twine tie idea, not stocked
Honeycomb-textured beeswax sheets rolled by hand, tied with jute and a kraft tag. Genuinely simple to make in an evening, costs well under a dollar each at volume, and smells like a barn in the best possible way. One of the few DIY favors that looks better handmade than bought.
10. A candle bar guests build themselves idea, not stocked
Set out poured wax, wicks, tins and three or four scents and let guests make their own to take home. It doubles as an activity during the drinks gap between the ceremony and the meal, which is the hardest hour of any wedding to fill.
Jars, bottles and glass
The most recognisably rustic category. The trick is deciding whether the container or the contents is the gift, because that changes what you should spend.
11. Mini mason jars $1.99
The definitive rustic favor. Fill with honey, jam, sweets, a candle or a succulent. Buy the jars, choose the filling to match the season, and let the tag do the personalizing.
12. Mason jar drinking glasses $2.99
Use them as the drinking vessel for the whole reception and let guests take theirs home. Removes the glass hire line from the budget and gives everyone a favor without a favor table.
13. Vintage glass milk bottles $9.99
A farmhouse alternative to the mason jar. Fill with lemonade at the table, add a paper straw, and they leave with the bottle.
14. Vintage creamer vase set $15.99
Mismatched creamers as tiny bud vases, one per place setting, each with a single stem. This is the cheapest way to make a long table look styled by somebody who knew what they were doing.
15. White enamelware pitcher $18.00
Not a per-guest favor. Use it on the favor table itself as the container everything else sits in, then gift it to whoever helped you set up.
16. Vintage pressed glass $3.19
Blush pressed glass for the softer, more feminine end of rustic. Works as a dessert dish during the meal and a trinket dish afterwards.
17. Personalized 8 oz glass mason jar with lid $1.49
The base item for half the ideas on this page. Fill it with honey from a beekeeper near the venue, with jam, with sweets or with a poured candle, and the same jar becomes four different favors. See it here.
18. Personalized 4 oz mini mason jar shot glass $1.79
The miniature version, personalized on the glass itself rather than on a tag. Doubles as the shot glass for the toast and goes home in a pocket afterwards. See it here.
19. Honey jars from a local apiary idea, not stocked
Small jars of honey sourced from a beekeeper near the venue, with a tag naming the farm. The local provenance is the whole point and it is the detail guests repeat to each other. Expect $2 to $4 a jar direct from a producer, which is often cheaper than a branded equivalent.
20. Jam or preserves in a hex jar idea, not stocked
Same idea, longer shelf life, and it survives a suitcase for travelling guests. Hex jars photograph better than round ones on a wooden table.
21. Infused olive oil in a swing-top bottle idea, not stocked
Rosemary or chilli oil in a small swing-top, sealed with wax. The most upmarket-looking edible favor at this price, and the one most likely to be actually used rather than stored.
22. A pickle or hot sauce with a custom label idea, not stocked
For couples who would rather be funny than pretty. Small-batch hot sauce with a label naming the wedding gets talked about long after a candle would have been forgotten.
Wood and natural materials
Where rustic weddings earn their name. Wood favors photograph beautifully on a bare table and need almost no styling around them.
23. Mini wooden treasure chest $14.99
Fill with sweets, chocolates or a folded note. The box is the favor here, because it gets kept and reused for jewellery long after the contents are gone.
24. Wooden trinket boxes $2.79
Plain wood with a sliding lid, which makes them a blank canvas for a wood burner, a stamp or a printed sticker if you want to personalize them yourself.
25. Rustic bottle opener $2.20
Bottle openers are the highest-use favor in this guide. If your reception involves bottled beer, this is the one guests will still own in five years.
26. Monogram playing cards $5.49
A deck per couple rather than per guest, which halves the cost. Leave them on the tables during the meal and they get used before the dancing starts.
27. Miniature woodland animals $12.09
A woodland-wedding detail rather than a favor for everyone. Use them as place-card holders down the table and let guests take the one from their setting.
28. Wood veneer credit card bottle opener $0.99
A wafer-thin wooden opener that lives in a wallet rather than a drawer. Under a dollar, personalizable, and the flattest favor here to post to guests who could not travel. See it here.
29. Wood slice coasters with a wood-burned monogram idea, not stocked
Cut from a branch, sanded, sealed and branded. The most authentically rustic favor on this page and the most time-consuming to make. Budget an evening per fifty and enlist help.
30. Cedar grilling planks idea, not stocked
For a couple who cook. A single cedar plank with a tag explaining how to use it costs a few dollars and is completely unlike anything else on any favor table.
31. A tiny wooden birdhouse or feeder kit idea, not stocked
Flat-packed, unfinished pine. Leans craft-fair rather than elegant, so it suits a relaxed farm wedding and not a styled barn.
Paper, kraft and burlap
The cheapest section here, and the one that decides whether everything else looks intentional. A good tag makes a bought jar look handmade.
32. Matchbox favors $1.29
Under a dollar fifty and perfect alongside a candle or a sparkler send-off. The cheapest personalized favor that still feels considered.
33. Rustic love matchbox $1.49
The rustic-typography version. Scatter them across the tables rather than stacking them on a favor table, because they get picked up absent-mindedly and pocketed.
34. Personalized matchbox $1.49
Your names and date on the sleeve. Order these with the sparklers at the same time, because one is useless without the other.
35. Kraft hand fans $2.59
For any outdoor summer ceremony. Print the order of service on one side and it stops being a favor and starts being infrastructure.
36. Vintage lace hand fan $1.59
The dressier version for a vineyard or garden ceremony where kraft would look too casual.
37. Burlap chic favor tags $0.49
Under fifty cents each. If you are filling your own jars or bags, the tag is what turns a supermarket purchase into a wedding favor. Do not skip this line in the budget.
38. Wildflower seed packets in kraft envelopes idea, not stocked
Seeds suited to the region the wedding is in, in a printed kraft envelope. Cheap, flat to post, and the only favor that guests still have evidence of a year later. Choose a native mix rather than a generic one.
39. Plantable seed-paper tags idea, not stocked
Tags pressed with wildflower seed that guests plant whole. It solves the tag question and the favor question at once, which makes it the best value idea in this section.
40. A recipe card from the family idea, not stocked
A grandmother’s recipe printed on a kraft card, tied to whatever is in the jar. Costs almost nothing and is the favor people photograph and send back to you.
41. Rustic love matchboxes in a pack of fifty $33.80
The bulk version of the matchbox above, which works out well under a dollar each. If you are favoring a hundred and twenty guests, buying by the pack rather than the unit is the single easiest saving in this guide. See it here.
Plants, seeds and living favors
The category guests keep longest, because it is the only one that is still alive a year later.
42. Faux succulents $23.99
The living-favor look with none of the watering. Better than real succulents for a destination wedding or any reception where the favors sit in a hot marquee all day.
43. Real succulents in terracotta pots idea, not stocked
Two to four dollars each at volume from a nursery, and they double as the table decoration. Ask the nursery about a bulk rate eight weeks out and paint or stamp the pots yourself.
44. Potted herbs with a printed marker idea, not stocked
Rosemary, thyme or basil in a small pot. More useful than a succulent and it smells like the wedding for weeks. Best for a spring or summer date.
45. A single stem in a bud vase per setting idea, not stocked
Take the table flowers and split them across bud vases, one per place setting. The flower budget becomes the favor budget and nothing is thrown away at the end of the night.
46. Lavender sachets in linen bags idea, not stocked
Dried lavender in a small drawstring bag. Almost free if you or a family member grow it, and it is the favor most likely to end up in a drawer being used rather than in a bin.
47. A tree sapling or bulb idea, not stocked
A single bulb or a whip-sized sapling with planting instructions. Ambitious, memorable, and only worth doing if most of your guests have gardens.
Edible favors
Nothing gets left on the table at the end of the night. If your priority is that every favor actually goes home, choose from this section.
48. S’mores kits in a kraft bag idea, not stocked
Marshmallow, graham cracker and chocolate in a bag with a tag. If there is a fire pit at the venue, hand these out during the evening instead of leaving them on a table and it becomes an activity.
49. A local bakery cookie with a wax-paper sleeve idea, not stocked
One good cookie beats a bag of generic sweets. Order from a bakery near the venue and let them mention it on the tag.
50. Coffee beans from a local roaster idea, not stocked
Small kraft bags of beans, ground to order on request. The strongest morning-after favor there is and the one most appreciated by guests who stayed late.
51. Loose-leaf tea in a tin idea, not stocked
A tin rather than a bag, so it stacks well on the favor table and survives the journey home. Pairs naturally with a farmhouse or vintage-china aesthetic.
52. Hot cocoa mix in a jar for a winter barn wedding idea, not stocked
Layered cocoa, sugar and mini marshmallows in a small jar with a wooden spoon tied to the neck. The best cold-weather favor on this page.
53. A mini bottle of the couple’s drink idea, not stocked
Whatever you actually drink, in miniature, with a tag saying so. It is personal in a way a generic favor never is, and guests remember the story.
How to display them so they actually get taken
Ten to twenty percent of favors get abandoned, and almost all of that is a display problem rather than a choice problem.
Put them on the place settings, not on a table. A favor at each seat is taken by nearly everyone. A favor on a table by the door requires a guest to remember, walk over and choose, and a third of them will not. If you must have a favor table, put it where the coats are, not where the cake is, so people pass it on the way out rather than on the way in.
Beyond that: use height. A flat table of identical jars reads as an admin task, whereas crates, a small ladder, an upturned box under the cloth or a few stacked slabs of wood turn the same favors into a display. Label it clearly, because a surprising number of guests will not take one if they are not certain it is for them. And put someone in charge of pressing the leftovers on people during the last hour.
Frequently asked questions
How much should you spend on rustic wedding favors?
One to five dollars per guest is the normal range, and the median sits around two to three. Rustic is the cheapest wedding style to execute well because the materials are meant to look plain, so a jar, a tag and some twine at under two dollars a head reads exactly right. Spending above seven dollars a head tends to draw attention to the favor rather than to the wedding.
How many wedding favors do you need?
One per guest attending, not one per invitation. Counting households is the most common ordering mistake. Take your final head count, add five percent for late additions and breakages, and order to that number. Expect ten to twenty percent to be left behind regardless of what you choose.
What are the most popular rustic wedding favors?
Mason jars, candles, bottle openers, seed packets and edible favors like honey or jam. Candles and edible favors have the highest take-home rate because guests will not leave something consumable behind. Bottle openers have the longest life, because they end up in a kitchen drawer and stay there.
When should you order wedding favors?
Eight to ten weeks before the wedding. Personalized and engraved items need production time, and anything you plan to assemble yourself needs a free weekend you have not yet promised to someone else. Order tags and packaging at the same time rather than later, because they are what makes a bought item look intentional.
Are DIY rustic wedding favors worth it?
Partly. The rule that works is to DIY the packaging and buy the contents. Hand-tied twine, a stamped kraft tag and a hand-written name make a bought jar look handmade for pennies. Genuinely making a hundred and twenty of something from scratch is the plan that most often collapses in the final fortnight.
Is it rude not to give wedding favors?
No. Favors are a nicety, not an obligation, and a noticeable number of couples now skip them entirely or make a charitable donation instead and say so on a card at each setting. If you would rather put the money into the food or the drinks, guests will genuinely prefer that.
What can you use as both decoration and a favor?
Mini lanterns, tea light holders, bud vases, mason jar drinking glasses and potted plants all work twice. Buying one item that serves as table decoration during the reception and leaves with the guest afterwards is the single best value decision in this guide, because it removes a line from the decor budget entirely.
Ready to order?
Everything linked above ships from our own stock, most of it personalizable, and favor tags start at under fifty cents. If you would rather browse the full range by style than work from a list, the rustic collection is the place to start.
Shop all rustic wedding favors
Related collection: Wedding Favors.
For more options, browse our Personalized Wedding Favors.