One of the oft-overlooked aspects of any wedding is the design of the wedding welcome bags for your guests. These goodie bags are typically given to all wedding guests that stay in the hotel you’ve blocked for the event. They generally contain useful items that your guests will appreciate, and they serve as a nice ‘thank you’ for those guests that have travelled to share in your big day. Although many brides do not pay much attention to this, I think it’s important to put some thought into the contents of your welcome bag, because if the contents are shoddy or cheesy, your guests will be disappointed.
Basically, the wedding welcome bags should contain a combination of items that are functional, gift-worthy, or specific to the area or venue. In terms of functional items, the welcome bags could include things like aspirin (for the inevitable day after hangover), snacks like nuts (pistachios, cashews, almonds, peanuts, walnuts), chips, fruit or candy, disposable camera, bottles of water (with or without personalized labels), sunscreen (for a beach or outdoor wedding), sunglasses, bottle opener, a free breakfast coupon, toiletries, matches, hand lotion, hand sanitizer, notepad & pen, or anything else you can think of.
Gift-worthy items can include things like a nice bottle of wine (with or without a personalized label) and a couple of small wine glasses, personalized playing cards, scented candles, music CD, potpourri, coffee mug, decorative treat assemblies, picture frame, lottery tickets, etc. Items specific to the location or venue might include things like a map of local attractions or a visitor’s guide, a souvenir, an edible or drinkable item produced locally, a coupon to a local attraction or restaurant, local seed packets, local postcards, or a tee-shirt or magnet featuring the image of a local historical landmark.
In terms of the wedding welcome bag itself, most times it’s made of canvas or paper, but this is definitely an element that can be enhanced with a little creativity. For example, if you’re planning to have a beach wedding, the “bag” could be a pail or a beach bag. For a vintage theme, the “bag” could be an antique box. Other possibilities include wicker or picnic baskets, mason jars, backpacks, and pretty much anything else you could possibly imagine.
The bottom line is that your wedding welcome bag is a nice value-add for your wedding guests. These serve as a precursor to the day’s events, highlight the theme or location, and offer thanks to your guests. Be creative in terms of the bag itself as well as the contents, and include a mix of functional, gift-worthy, and location-specific items.
Finally, if you’re pressed for time, why not get the bridesmaids involved? Creating wedding welcome bags is a fun project that can truly serve as a bonding experience prior to the big day. Not only is doing this fun and productive, but your bridesmaids (plus grandmother, mother of the bride, etc.) are likely to come up with some awesomely creative ideas that you simply would not have thought of yourself. So again, be creative and have fun with this – you’ll only have this opportunity once in your lifetime (well, hopefully anyway…). Good luck!
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