Whether many of your guests are coming in from out of town or not, welcome bags are a great way to set the vibe from the second your weekend starts. While they may not fit into everyone’s budgets, they can be a fun and memorable way to make your guests feel special.

Like anything else in wedding planning, there are ways to go over the top, and ways to be money-conscious but still create something pretty and useful.

Today, I’m diving into how to put together a wedding bag your guests will love, including where to source your items from!

The Vessel

The options for the holder are endless, but really comes down to two. Do you want the item to be reusable or not?

If you’re going the reusable route, you can choose a tote bag with a custom graphic, or save the personalization for inside and go with a basket.

To be more cost-effective, you can use paper bags or boxes.

What’s Inside?

This is the fun part! Before going too far into the brainstorming of possibilities, assess your guest list. Are you filling your weekend with activities to keep guests out of their hotel rooms? Are most people getting on a plane after the wedding? These are the types of things you should take into account before you spend money on items that will not be consumed or will be thrown out due to travel restrictions.

Your bag can contain some of your favorite snacks either from your hometown or local to where you’re getting married, something that could be helpful for the weekend (I.e. sunglasses for a beach wedding) and a few necessities for partying (advil, water, mints).

For San Francisco, some of my favorite items are: Dandelion Chocolate, Fort Point Beer, See’s Candies and some trinkets from a local shop (check out chinatown) like keychains or enamel pins!

For New York, you can include: Assorted candy from Dylan’s, Utz Potato Chips, Levain Cookies, Brooklyn Brewery Beer and subway maps.

A printout of your weekend itinerary, along with some suggestions of activities for down time is also a nice added touch! You can design yours in Canva and get it printed at a local Staples, order through Minted or have your invitation designer make something to match your invite suite.

Delivery

If you will be putting your bags together yourself, you’ll have to bring them to the hotel concierge. Some hotels charge a small fee to get them to the guest’s rooms.

As an alternative, your wedding planner may offer assembly and delivery as an a la carte service (like me!).

In any case, make sure you are keeping track of where everyone is staying so you don’t miss anyone. If you’re doing a room block or two, the hotel should have a list of people who book. If you aren’t, you can ask people to fill out where they’re staying on your RSVP!

Cost

Expect to spend a minimum of $10-$15 on each bag when all is said and done.