Favor packaging has one hard constraint that most projects do not: the date cannot move. Everything below is organised around that, because a beautiful box that arrives on the Monday after is worth nothing.
Work backwards from the wedding
Turnaround is quoted per product across three lanes. Rush is expedited production plus air freight and carries a premium of about 7 to 25% depending on the job. Standard moves by air. Cost saver moves by sea, the cheapest and the slowest. The floor is from about 7 business days plus 2 to 5 for delivery, and specialty imported builds such as some rigid boxes can run up to about 12 weeks.
Then add your own steps on top: artwork, the digital proof approval, and assembly time once the boxes arrive. Filling and tying 150 favors takes an evening or two, and that evening has to exist before the wedding, not on the morning of it. Ordering early is the single cheapest decision available here.
Quantity: order more than the guest list
- Guest count, then add for plus-ones confirmed late.
- A handful for the photographer, the table styling shots and the memory box.
- Spares for boxes that get crushed during assembly or transport.
- Extras for guests who take one home for someone who could not attend.
The 100 box minimum lines up with most weddings, and if your guest list is smaller the spare boxes are genuinely useful rather than waste.
Format by what is inside
| Favor | Format that suits it | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Confectionery and chocolate | Small tuck end carton or a pillow box | Heat during a summer reception, and any coating requirement |
| Candles | Hexagon or rigid box sized to the jar | Weight, since a full jar needs a base that holds |
| Soap or bath goods | Sleeve or window carton | Fragrance transfer if boxes are stored together for weeks |
| Small keepsakes | Two piece lift-off box with an insert | Rattle, which an insert fixes |
| Cake or dessert to take home | Auto bottom bakery style box | Assembly speed on the night, which auto bottom solves |
| Seeds, tea or coffee | Small carton around a sealed inner pack | Whether the inner pack carries the barrier |
If the favor is edible, say so on the quote and tell us what touches the packaging directly, so coating and liner options are confirmed in writing for your job.
Personalisation
Names, a date, a monogram or a table number can all be printed, and since the die and plates are included the personalisation is not a tooling charge. Two practical notes. First, proof the spelling of every name yourself, because a printed typo is a hundred of them. Second, if you want different table numbers or different names across the run, flag that early, because versioned artwork changes how the job is set up.
Colour matching
Wedding palettes are exact in the couple's head and approximate on a screen. Ask for the digital proof, and if a specific colour is critical, say so before printing rather than after. Uncoated stock shifts colour differently from coated stock, which is worth knowing if the box has to sit next to a printed menu card from a different supplier.
Ordering
The minimum is 100 boxes. Bulk pricing starts at about $0.48 per unit, confirmed on the written quote, with the die and plates, design support, free US shipping and a digital proof before printing included. Boxes are made at West Chicago in the United States or Guangzhou in China. There is no sample kit for sale, so samples are arranged through the quote conversation.
For construction options see custom gift boxes, and if the quantity question is the one holding you up, low minimum gift boxes covers what 100 units gets you. Confectionery favors are covered at custom candy boxes. Send your date, guest count and favor dimensions to /quote/, and give yourself more calendar than you think you need.
