When it comes to making your wedding guests feel really special, a welcome bag is quintessential! Since many couples who live and wed in the Washington, DC area are from somewhere else; family and friends often travel near and wide to celebrate the occasion. The welcome bag (or box) can be delivered at the hotel and is a nice touch for guests to have upon arrival. Not sure what to choose or where to start with the welcome bag? Here are some tips for the essential items, as well as fun extras, see the original post on The DC Ladies:
1) For the bag itself, a reusable fabric bag is a great choice and allows your guests to keep and use the bag at home. For budget conscience couples, durable kraft paper bags are a great alternative. You can even have fun with decorating the paper bags with stickers of your logo/monogram. If a bag isn’t your thing, a nice gift box is a popular option as well.
2) For the bag contents, you could go as simple or creative as you’d like. But the basics are:
- Bottles of water – still or sparkling
- Snacks –something sweet, something savory and something for the health-conscious is always appreciated
- A welcome letter – this is a perfect opportunity to thank guests for coming and provide a brief itinerary of the weekends main events, plus tips for sightseeing
- Map of the area – pick-up free metro maps or make your own
3) For couples that want to get creative, there are so many fun ideas! Here are a few that I love:
- Choose a theme: DC theme, tea party, ballpark, southern comfort and more!
- Create a mini “wedding recovery kit” or think of the entire bag as one big “wedding recovery kit” with essentials like advil, water and a custom “do not disturb” sign for your door.
- Customize the bags with individual thank you notes for each guest and items you know they will appreciate
4) Looking for additional items to include beyond just the basics? Here are a few more ideas to make your bags even more special:
- Your beverage of choice to get the party started earlier/or continue later (could also be a non-alcoholic beverage) – in the DC area you could go with wine from a local vineyard or a bottle of beer made in the district.
- Items to pamper your guests, such as a nice lotions, eye mask or scented candles to make their stay extra comfortable
- Gourmet food/candy from a local shop; such as individual chocolate covered caramels from Chouquette!
- And/or gourmet food/candy to represent where you and your fiancé grew up.
Questions email me at – thebrightoccasions@gmail.com – www.brightoccasions.com
