Two of my dearest friends are getting married very soon, and as chief bridesmaid I of course am there to do whatever I can to help make their planning up to the wedding as easy and stress free as possible. I was given the task by them to organise wedding favours for the guests. What a job! I decided that a lovely idea would be to do something personal and homemade. So here are my 3 favourite ideas for some thoughtful and wonderful wedding favours, which can be made relatively far in advance and are simple and stress free to make!

1. Mini Flavour Infused Olive Oil Bottles

I love this idea, especially if your friends and family are real foodies! Simply buy empty miniature glass bottles (prices on the internet are from 76p) and decant a good extra virgin olive oil into them using a funnel, but don’t fill up right to the top! Then, you can create gorgeous flavours by pushing springs of thyme or rosemary into the neck of the bottle, or for those who like an oil with a kick, some dried chilli flakes sprinkled in looks and tastes fantastic! You can use simple sticky labels to personalise the bottle with the bride and groom’s name and the wedding date. For that finishing touch, use our mini luggage tags to write the guests name on, and tie around the neck of the bottle.

2. Miniature Jars of Jam

Recipe for Strawberry and Elderflower Jam

Ingredients:

• 8 elderflower heads with newly opened flowers
• 7lb strawberries
• juice of 2 lemons
• 6lb sugar

Method:

• Heat the oven to 350F/180C/Gas 4 and put in lidless jars to sterilise.
• Cut the elderflowers off the main stem and tie florets in muslin.
• Hull the strawberries and then mash with the lemon juice.
• Put in a large pan with the elderflowers.
• Simmer until the fruit is soft, making sure thatyou stir frequently to prevent sticking.
• Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Then turn up the heat and boil rapidly until setting point is reached. A good way to tell this is to place a saucer into the freezer prior to making the jam. When you think the jam is ready, drop a tiny amount onto the cold saucer, and if it sets into a jelly-like form, it is ready.
• Remove Elderflowers and any scum that has formed.
• Stir and pour into sterilized jars, apply a waxed paper circle on top and screw the jam jar lid on to create a vacuum.
• Personalise!

Little Limoncello Bottles

Limoncello is a traditional southern Italian lemon-flavoured liqueur made using lemon zest. Italians traditionally drink limoncello after pizza or fish, but it is a lovely idea to have these as favours which your guests can drink after the wedding breakfast to liven up their senses! These are again so simple to make and create (recipe below) but look so impressive! Finish the bottles off with our mini luggage tags with ‘drink me’ written across them, and a label with the guests name written on.

Limoncello Recipe (makes 2 litres)

Ingredients:

• 5  unwaxed lemons
• 1litre bottle inexpensive vodka
• 750g caster sugar
• 700ml boiling water

Method:

• Pare the zest from all the lemons, taking care not to include any white pith. Put the zest in a large clean jar and pour over the vodka. Cover with a tightly fitting lid and leave for a week, shaking the jar each day.
• Put the sugar in a heatproof bowl and pour over the boiling water, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Add the vodka and peels and leave for a further week, shaking the jar regularly.
• Strain into your bottles, adding a few strips of lemon zest to each bottle.
• Personalise!