Wedding welcome bags?

Question

We are going to have many out of town guests come in for our wedding, so we are making "wedding welcome bags" , please give us any ideas or suggestions you have for what we could put in the bags. Preferably inexpensive items, we are on a budget with these bags. Also, I am very crafty if you have any creative ideas as well.

Answer 1

When we did our welcome bags, I thought about what I most appreciated as a guest, and the first thing that came into my mind was water. Most of the time when we check into a hotel, we're in desparate need of something to drink and maybe a little snack. It's also nice to have bottled water on the nightstand in the middle of the night.

Local snacks and goodies are always a treat, but stay away from anything too exotic or weird. It may be a local delicacy, but guest from out of town might be turned off by something extremely strange. Stick with local brands of familiar foods like chips, chocolates, etc.

Splurge a little and get fresh, brand name goodies. The local dollar store is almost never a good idea for food to begin with, and espeically not for guests. Believe me, we had a generic goodie bag from a cousin once and we were really turned off by it. I'd rather not get anything than get something that seemed half-assed and thrown together, not to mention cheap and stale.

Warehouse clubs are great places to get goodies. We got all of ours at Sams club, and picked up assorted bags of chips, trail mix, cookies, candy bars and gum. We also got our bottled water there.

Most, if not all, of the goodies should be consumable. People don't want to be lugging things like robes, slippers, dvds, etc. back with them. Keep it simple, edible and disposable.

Things like tissues and medicines may seem like a good idea, but I am against them for 2 reasons. First, finding individually wrapped medications is harder than you think and more expensive than it's worth. Same goes for toothpastes, mouthwashes, etc. Most people will have things like tylenol and toiletries with them, and if they don't, chances are the hotel supplies them either for free or for a nominal fee. IMO, it's a waste of money to put them in your goodie bags.

Second, you don't want to be responsible for handing out any kind of medication, no matter how innocent it may seem. Let's say the kids get a hold of the bag before the parents do and gobble up the tylenol, thinking it's candy. It's a slight risk, but one you don't have to take. Stay away from medications.

Overall, keep it simple and thoughtful. The bags don't have to be super fancy or expensive - most likely they'll be thrown out anyway. Invest more in the contents than in the bag itself. We picked up paper bags at a craft store, tied them with ribbon and glued on a tag with our monogram and the guests' names. Done.

Something like remembering to put an extra bottle of water or two in a bag (or even an entire extra bag) for a family goes a long way. After a long trip, parents don't want to listen to their kids fight over who gets what in the goodie bag. Giving them an extra bag is a nice, thoughtful touch.

Keep any information you give them short and to the point. Recommending a few restaurants or activites is nice - loading them down with dozens of local menus is overkill. I also don't like giving lists of other guests - leave that up to the guests themselves, as maybe some of them don't want to socialize right away and would prefer people not knowing what room they're in. Contact information for a local family member or friend who can answer questions is a good idea though, as is a set of directions to the ceremony and/or reception if necessary.

Answer 2

You are a very generous bride. What a thoughtful gift for your guests. I don't have many recommendations as you have pretty much thought of everything yourself. I especially love the umbrella (because London is so rainy) and the outlet converter. The latter is ingenious! Everyone will need one, but almost no one will anticipate it. How about a pen and paper? I know it sounds simple, but very rarely do people bring those items with them and there are about a million reasons why they'd need them. They can be decorative or simple, your choice. You could also subtract a few of the items from the large or small tote and add UK currency. Not much, maybe ten pounds or so (depending how many guests you have) just to get them started. Enjoy your wedding!

Answer 3

I made adorable bags. We used turquoise bags tied with a coral ribbon (my colors). I sealed all the invites with stickers that said our names and our wedding date. I had some leftover so I put them on the front of the bags which made them look more "custom".

In the bags I put a couple of bottles of water, a bottle of juice if they had kids, bag of pretzels and a couple packs of Lance crackers. I also put the map that I included with the invites--just in case they lost it. Directions from the hotel to each of our houses (that way whether they were invited by his fam or mine they could get the same bags). Picked up maps of the area and a lil bit of info/things to see from the chamber of commerce/visitors bureau for free.

We had the hotel block from Thurs for the people coming to the rehearsal on Friday. Since they would have a whole day to kill, we thought they might be interested in what there was to do in the area. Also, directions to where the mall was (which happened to be 2 of our registries so if they hadn't done shopping, they could find it) and directions to several restaurants in the area.

All of that was free--other than the cost of the paper and ink to print it. We bought a big case of bottled water at Sam's Club for about $30. The juice and the bags of pretzels from Sam's Club as well. The whole thing costs less $100 for everyone.

Basically the most important thing is directions to everywhere. If they need to go out--how do they get back.

Good luck!

Answer 4

As a frequent traveler, I think one of the best things is to provide a couple of bottles of water and pop/soda. And a few snacks like popcorn (if the hotel rooms have microwaves), chips, or candy. Snacks in the mini-bars and vending machines are so expensive, they'll appreciate it. If you buy all your snacks in bulk it will be much cheaper. Don't worry about providing soap, lotions, bubble bath, etc. since hotels already provide those. But you might want to include the travel size tissues and pain reliever (aspirin, Tylenol, etc.), those are always helpful. Another nice idea is to include a wedding itinerary with contact information for a family member, friend, or wedding coordinator in case they have questions. Include some brochures of area attractions and places to eat. Other than that, you don't need to include much else. I've done welcome baskets before and most of the stuff doesn't get used so you don't need a lot. But sure you add a nice note or letter from the two of you thanking them from coming.

Answer 5

Think about what you would want if you were coming in from out of town.. Some hotels have this stuff but some don't ..

- Coffee/Tea mixes
- Cookies
- Restaurant Menus, Local tourism book or brochures (maybe you can write your own local guide and leave it in the basket)
- Mints/Candy
- Shampoos/Soaps
- A funny DVD if the hotel has a DVD player
- Local TV Guide
- Cheap bottle of wine or cider (can get these as cheap as $2-5)
- Slippers or robe (if you can find cheap ones)
- Relevant wedding information such as map, transportation information, etc.
- Welcome card with a personal message
- Disposable cameras (cheap as $4 nowadays)

Don't forget the kids! If they have kids
Family / Animated DVD
Coloring book
Little cars or other toys
BATH toys - I used to love getting bath toys when I was a kid and would go on vacations ..

How many bags do you have to do ???

Answer 6

your hospitality basket or bag doesn't have to be expensive. Whatever you choose to welcome your guests from afar will surely be appreciated.

Hospitality "baskets" are a distinctive way to say hello to out-of-town family and friends. A basket doesn't have to be a basket; a glossy gift bag, or even a hand-decorated brown paper bag will do the job. Jazz up your container of choice with tissue paper, tulle and/or ribbon featuring your wedding colors to kickoff the celebration.. Next, pack your bags with a mix of some of the following selections:

-A welcome note; a roster of invitees—where they're staying, and phone numbers so they can contact one another; an itinerary of planned wedding and guest events; and hand-drawn maps to key sites make a good beginning. If your budget allows, include a keepsake. Think of something that reflects you

-Help visitors from afar get to know your hometown by including a current copy of the information-packed Guide—it's free! As well as tourist attractions, sightseeing adventures and historical highlights, guests might want to know where shopping centers, laundry services, beauty salons, fitness centers, film developing sites, ATM services and some of your favorite dining spots are located, so mark up and hand out a detailed city map.
Just for fun, you also could spotlight sites like "where we met," or "where we were engaged

-Snacks are handy for visitors, Candies, beverages, or other palatable items should be a sure-fire hit. Guests will also appreciate nonperishables such as, assorted cookies, crackers, nuts, tea bags, as well as fresh fruit.

-It's helpful to throw in some frequently forgotten, but often needed necessities: sample-sized packages of antacids or aspirin, for instance, or small-sized grooming items, such as soap, toothpaste, and so on.

Congrats and good luck to you and yours!!

Answer 7

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RE:
Wedding welcome bags?
We are going to have many out of town guests come in for our wedding, so we are making "wedding welcome bags" , please give us any ideas or suggestions you have for what we could put in the bags. Preferably inexpensive items, we are on a budget with these bags. Also, I am very crafty if...

Answer 8

I made bags up and included all things local in them. We live in the SF Bay Area, so I put things in like Ghirardelli Chocolate, Jelly Belly's, a split of CA wine, maps of SF and the wine country...that sort of thing! Oh, and I made a booklet of "21 things to do while visiting for Mike and Kathleen's Wedding" - #21 was our wedding! HTH!

Answer 9

Are you going to put them in their hotel rooms before they check in? You could put some menus of the local restaurants in the bags. Along with some bath/shower items. They are always great gifts. If your town has a specific item they are famous for don't forget to add that. Our town has some fabulous honey that is from the local ranches, so something like that would be fantastic. Maybe a gift certificate to a local store.

Answer 10

We did this for our out of town guests. We got married in the fall and got small baskets (they looked like bushel baskets but smaller) in brown lined with pink tissue paper (our colors) and filled them with pamphlets from area restaurants and shops, some apples, home-made cookies, home-made jams, candies and a bottle of wine from a local winery. We also included a note thanking them for making the trip and wrapped the entire basket in a cellophane bag. We kept tabs on which hotels our guests were booking rooms in and left the baskets at the front desk of the hotels for our guests to receive at check-in!