Donations

• If you and your new spouse are dedicated to a specific charity, you can include your guests in on helping that charity. Instead of giving each guest a trinket to take home as a reminder of your wedding, donate the money you would have spent on the favors to your favorite charity. Print up cards to place at each guest's spot at the table, detailing the charity to which you have a made a donation in their name. Your favorite charity benefits from your generosity and your guests don't have another thing to store in their home or throw away.
  
  

Plant a Tree

• Some couples are environmentally conscious and don't want to provide favors that their guests will simply throw away, resulting in excessive waste. Instead of providing the typical favors for your guests, give each person a seedling to plant in their yard. The seedling will grow into a tree and serve as a permanent reminder of your wedding day to your guests and it will benefit the environment. If you do not want to give the trees out, donate the money to the National Arbor Day Foundation and let your guests know a tree has been planted in their honor.
  
  

Door Prizes

• Most of the wedding favors typically given out at weddings are cheap items that many of the guests throw away. Instead of giving each guest an inexpensive favor, purchase a couple of higher-ticket items, such as MP3 players, bottles of wine or digital picture frames. Give these prizes out to your guests as door prizes or prizes for a trivia game about the couple. Using a trivia game provides your guests with something to do while the bridal party takes pictures between the ceremony and the reception. The guests who answer the most questions on the quiz correctly win the prizes.
  
  

IOU's

• Giving out wedding favors at your reception offer your guests a limited amount of enjoyment from the item. Many favors contain food that must be eaten or some other item that is used over time or thrown away. Instead of giving these items, you can offer your guests something with a longer-term benefit. Give each guest an IOU card containing the promise of a service by you at some point in the future. For instance, you can promise a postcard from the honeymoon, yearly email updates on your family or an annual summer barbeque at your home. You can even customize each IOU to individual guests, such as offering one night of babysitting per month to your sister so she can spend time with her husband.