If you’re one of those brides who has searched Pinterest for hours looking for a fantastic DIY beach wedding favor that doesn’t take a lot of time or cost a fortune, today’s post is perfect for you. Herbal bath favors are not only an elegant idea that guests will love, but they’re fun and easy to make, and quite affordable as well.
What You’ll Need:
• Dried Herbs of Your Choice (about 1 tablespoon of each herb per favor)
• Cheese cloth
• Essential Oils of Your Choice
• Epsom Salt (optional)
• Jute or Hemp Twine
A Word about the Herbs and Oils:
Before you start shopping for supplies, there are a few things you should know about the herbs and oils used for making these herbal bath favors. There are essential oils that are certainly quite costly; rose essential oil is a good example. The same goes for herbs. However, the most beloved scents are those that are very affordable: lavender, eucalyptus, patchouli, sweet orange, lemongrass, etc. Essential oils go a LONG way, and you should be able to create dozens of favors with one small bottle. If you’re lucky enough to live in an area where you can harvest the herbs yourself, that’s fantastic! If not, you can search around online and find affordable prices, and some herbs you can obtain locally with a little ingenuity. Check local grocery stores for fresh or dried herbs in the produce section, or check out the tea selection for pure herbal teas that you can use.
You can also dehydrate your own fruits (lemons, oranges and grapefruits work really well in these favors) by slicing them very thin and placing them on a cookie sheet in a 275-degree oven for 2 to 6 hours.
Creating the Favors:
Choose a blend of scents that work well together. A few good examples include:
• Calming Blend – Lavender, Rosemary and Orange
• Energizing Blend – Lemon, Eucalyptus and Gardenia
• Winter Blend – Clove, Mint and Sandalwood
• Refreshing Blend – Jasmine, Grapefruit and Rosemary
• Beach Blend – Lime, Vanilla and Gardenia
You can experiment with different scent blends to determine which ones you like the best, and can even create a signature “wedding” scent.
In a large bowl, mix 2 cups of Epsom salt with 1 cup of each herb you’re going to add. Three or four different herbs work really well in this mixture, and adding different textures (such as dehydrated fruit slices, cinnamon sticks, star anise or whole cloves mixed in with dried herbal flowers and leaves) makes the mixture pretty. Add approximately 20 drops of each essential oil you’re including in the mixture. Stick to 3 or fewer to keep from creating an overpowering scent, and to keep from completely wetting the herbal mixture.
Blend the mixture well and then spread it out on wax paper, a cookie sheet, or another surface to allow the essential oils to dry up. This should take a few hours at the most. Next, cut your cheese cloth into squares that measure approximately 4×4 inches. Cut a length of jute or hemp twine measuring about 8 to 10 inches. Using a small scoop (a tablespoon measuring scoop will work very well), place 3 to 4 scoops of the herbal mixture into the center of the cheesecloth square.
Gather up the edges to create a small “bag” shape, and then use the twine to tie the top tightly, wrapping the twine around a few times before tying a double knot to keep the contents from spilling out. You can also add a small tag using the ends of the jute to personalize the favors or label them with the ingredients (this is recommended, as many people have allergies or skin sensitivities and should know what is in the favor).
Voila – you have adorable beach wedding favors that your guests will absolutely adore. They are inexpensive and a lot of fun to create. Do you have a favorite herbal scent? Share with us in the comments below.