Tree Seed Box Favors

we originally planned to have our wedding favors made in the Philippines (specifically in mike's hometown, loaog city, ilocos norte... aw, he's such a province boy =) mainly because we could not find a favor here in the states that is unique and clever yet worth keeping and using and preferably with some meaning to me and mike. not necessarily "practical" but something that will not eventually turn into a junk at our guests' homes a few years later. and by "junk," i mean "something that you don't want to throw away because you feel like it's not really a trash but, at the same time, you really do not have any use for it other than cluttering your house." well, so anyway, getting the favors from the philippines was only feasible to us before because papa (mike's daddy) was planning to go visit home sometime in september or october, so we figured we do not have to worry about shipping. however, recently, we found out, he cannot make it after all. therefore, for convenience's sake, we would just have to really start digging online for the wedding favors... and errr! it's hard!

most of the ones i saw are either so cliche (candles, bells, glass figurines... seriously??? when i was between 4-12 yrs old, i was often made as a flower girl or a bride's maid, and i can still remember clearly that all of their wedding favors were either of those three mentioned... and that was 80's to 90s era. eck!); or too practical that it's almost ghetto (notepads, plastic ballpens, measuring spoons... cookie cutter???); or too corny (ruler with a label that says "love rules" or rollable tape measure with "love beyond measure" sticker on the front... all i can say is: hehehe!) i found some that i loved, but unfortunately they do not go very well with my fall contemporary theme (i.e. i saw several beach-themed favors that are pretty clever).

anyway, i got excited when i stumbled upon this wedding favors online store: http://www.plantamemory.com/ and found their tree seed box favor. i have to say i am strongly considering this.

The product description states:

Plant a Tree to help global warming.
Included in this Favor Package: seed packet with 10-15 tree seeds hermetically sealed to preserve freshness, personalized imprinted paper card in handmade paper image with thank you message, poem, growing instructions ,terra cotta pot, jiffy pellet soil, and oatmeal colored raffia ribbon. (some assembly required)

Tree Seed Choices:

Blue Spruce - Black Pine click for more information

Douglas Fir : Evergreen tree often used as a Christmas tree (10-15 seeds/packet)

Honey Locust: Shade tree ,fast growing ,heat & drought tolerant landscape tree, grows to 100' height. ( larger seed pod; 5-6 seeds/packet)Paper (canoe)

Birch: Landscape tree, moist soil, amazing fall color, winter interest grows to 90 feet. (small seeds-surface sowed- 50 seeds/packet)

pretty cool, eh? if we do decide on this, i'm thinking of choosing the douglas fir seeds, which is an Evergreen tree that is normally used as a Christmas tree. it's meaningful in a way because mike and i got [civilly] married on thanksgiving day last year. in american tradition, the thanksgiving holiday is kind of like the "official" start of christmas season: when people start buying christmas presents (thus, "black Friday," the day after thanksgiving day, was coined for one of the biggest annual retail sales nationwide.), when christmas carols are significantly more often played on the radio, when people start putting up christmas decorations in their homes, etc. then again, i can imagine douglas-firs probably not surviving here in the desert (where most of my guests are from). either way, honey locust and birch seeds are not too shabby at all.

when i proposed the idea to mike, he noted that it is not really the most "practical" favor coz what if our guests tried planting them and they died (LOL). so i persuaded him, it's ok. to be pessimistic: if they die, then the guests would just throw them in the trash; therefore, no concerns of these favors turning into a "junk" and dust collector (as explained above). i don't have a green thumb, so i can picture it happening to a good majority of those guests who attempt. besides, i'm not into plants and gardening myself, but the idea of trying to grow something out of seeds is pretty cool to me. on the other hand, to be optimistic: if the plant continually grows into a tree and lasts forever, that's monumental! and a clever way to commemorate our wedding. =)

plus, i just have to say, i love how it's packaged and wrapped. that's basically what kinda did it for me. you can actually just forget all the blurbs above. LOL