Memorial Favours

How many memorial favours to order

Guest numbers for a memorial are harder to predict than for a wedding, because people decide at short notice. A reliable rule of thumb is to count the households you have told directly, then add about fifteen per cent. For a service you expect 120 people to attend, 140 candles is a comfortable number.

One favour per person is normal when the piece is small, but many families prefer one per household or couple and place the rest on a side table for anyone who wants a second to pass on to someone who could not come. Spare pieces are rarely wasted with memorial favours: they are often kept for the first anniversary or posted to relatives abroad.

What we can personalise

Each memorial candle favour is personalised by hand with the details you send at the time of ordering. In practice families choose from:

• A full name, or the name the person was actually called
• Birth and passing dates, in the date format you use at home
• A short line — a few words of scripture, a lyric, or something they used to say
• A simple motif, such as a small heart, leaf or wing

Keep the text short. Two lines read clearly on a small candle; four lines crowd it. If you are unsure how your wording will sit, send it to us before you order and we will tell you honestly whether it fits.

Choosing between candle and keepsake

A candle suits a service where guests will light it at home on an anniversary or birthday — the act of lighting it is part of the gift. If you would rather give something that stays on a shelf permanently, look at our Keepsake Favours instead, which are kept rather than used up. Some families order both: a candle for the service itself and a keepsake for immediate family.

If you want more variety in candle sizes and holders than this collection offers, the wider Candle & Tealight Favours range can be personalised with memorial wording in exactly the same way.

How they arrive and are packed

Everything is made, personalised and packed by hand after your order is placed, so the pieces are grouped and protected for transport rather than arranged for display. Expect to spend a little time at the venue laying them out. Allow roughly twenty minutes for 100 pieces if two people are unpacking and setting them on a table.

If some favours are for relatives who cannot travel, tell us the number and we will keep those pieces easy to separate so you can post them on without opening the whole batch.

Order a sample first

Memorial orders are usually placed during a difficult few weeks, and a sample removes the main worry — that the finished piece will not feel right. Request a free sample before you commit, so you can see the size, the weight and how the personalisation is applied in person. Many families ask for a sample carrying the actual name rather than a placeholder, which also lets you check spelling and date format before we make the full batch.

Larger and repeat orders

For services above 150 guests, for annual memorial events, or for a charity or workplace marking a loss, send us the quantity and wording through our bulk quote request. Tell us the date of the service in that message. If the timing is tight we will say clearly what is possible rather than promise something we cannot hand-make in time.