Planning a wedding can be stressful. (Shocking, right?) But planning a wedding from 3,000 miles away—from your venue, family, friends and all other available shoulders to cry on, other than that of your intended—could be better described as insane. But I’ve done it. I planned my own Sacramento wedding from New York City, where I was living at the time with my then-fiancé, now-husband, Joshua.
While he was busy teaching at Iona College in the far-flung suburbs of New Rochelle, I was surfing wedding websites and making zillions of long-distance phone calls. (Helpful hint: If you’re living in a different time zone, make sure your idea of calling at the start of business “your time” is not, in fact, 5 a.m. “their time.” For some reason, people don’t like that.)
Needless to say, I was dependent on stores that boasted detailed websites and reliable shipping, which brings me to Oriental Trading Company. It was a week before we were due to leave New York and arrive in our hometown—giving ourselves just 10 days to regroup and tie up any loose ends before the wedding—when it dawned on me that I had yet to buy guest favors. Personalized, memorable, adorable guest favors, not just a sack of Jordan almonds. (Though let’s be honest—who doesn’t love those?)
I happened to click on orientaltrade.com and quickly felt the tension melt away. There, I discovered not only a tab on the homepage for all things wedding, but also every possible parting gift at my fingertips—with personalization at no extra cost.
We went with the mint tins (candy included)—inscribed with a French phrase (we got engaged in Paris) dictated to a very patient customer service representative through OTC’s phone order service. All of our guests loved how personal and functional the tins were; I loved that I ordered them in a panic at 9 p.m. “our time” in New York and they arrived in California, perfect and pristine, exactly as promised. No stress required.
Jessica Laskey says the favor box can be reused for sundry items. “I use it to keep Advil in my purse!” she says.
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