My grandmother’s friend went to a wedding a few months ago for her nephew, and gave grandma the favor for me to see.  The bride’s parents were Mexican and the groom was Jewish.  They decided to make their wedding a marriage of cultures. The music, the food, the drinks—everything had the couple’s mark on it. 

The favor was a set of two CDs - the first had 20 Mexican songs, and the second, 20 American standards.  I’m sure after leaving the wedding many guests put the CDs on in their cars to listen to the songs the couple selected.  It was the first thing I did when Grammy gave them to me.  I downloaded them on to my computer, and now they’re on my iPod.

Creating a CD as a favor can be a lot of fun, but also stressful.  First both of you have to agree to the songs you pick.  And while this couple decided to give out two discs, one is perfectly fine.  A lot of couple’s choose romantic love songs, but you can choose anything you want.

If you hired a klezmer or other ethnic band for your wedding, you can make a CD of their songs.  If the two of you have a favorite singer or band, make a CD of just their songs, or pick songs that reflect your theme.

After you’ve selected the music, think about how you want to package the disc or discs.  I highly recommend making a label for the CD so your guests know what it is.  Remember, today CDs are used for video and computer file storage as well as music.

The three CD labels featured above are from MyOwnLabels.com.  They make everything from  stickered labels for CDs, boxes and bags to labels for wine and water bottles to favor tags and coasters.

There are dozens of templates to choose from, or you can customize your own labels.

Coming tomorrow:  Favors that match your theme