DIY Projects: Ideas for Wedding Favors

NOTE: Originally posted on LiveJournal.

I'm addicted to all things wedding or DIY at the moment. So of course our wedding favors would be a DIY project. We've had two different ideas - at two different points in time - about what they should be. First we thought a cellophane pouch with two fortune cookies (the art piece at Burning Man on which cubes worked last year and at which he proposed had a fortune cookie dispenser).

Then we thought a booklet with some of our favorite recipes as cooking and eating out are two activities that have been and are central to our life. My inspiration for our cook booklet came from my background as an events photographer. One of the services I offered clients was a Mini Photobook that included shots or collages from an event with quotes or well wishes from the guests. In "small" quantities these albums were cost effective. For example, 20-3.75" x 2.5" 20-page, softcover, stapled booklets was roughly $61 (http://www.qoop.com/photobooks/photofront/bulk_pricing.php?product=minibook&photosite_id=QPPS).

Our guest list - like most couple's - is going to drive many decisions. Right now it looks as if it's going to be somewhere between 100 and 150. So, not thinking about the longevity of the item and only looking at budget, this makes fortune cookies the clear choice. 350 fortune cookies with 4 personalized messages run $67 - $54 for the cookies (http://www.fortunecookiestore.com/mall/c100/s2935/cookie_custom.asp) and $13 for the cellophane bags (http://www.theboxdepot.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?search=action&keywords=clearbags&template=Templates/clearbags.html). The cook booklet is more attractive for a keepsake but possibly too much for our budget - for 100 guests we'd be looking at $339 and for 150 guests we'd be looking at just under $600.

How are you choosing favors? Cost, relevance to you, something else?