Welcoming out-of-town wedding guests with a gift bag at their hotel is a thoughtful gesture and one that is an increasingly standard part of most weddings. A welcome gift need not be extravagant — a thank you note, an itinerary and map, and maybe some water and snacks would certainly suffice. But for those who may wish to add a little more pomp and flair to their guests’ arrival, the following ideas may get your creative juices flowing and, if assembled, would indeed constitute one incredibly luxurious SWAG bag!
The ultimate out-of-town gift bags will help your guests…
1. …stay hydrated.
Water is a critical element to any welcome gift. Voss (sparkling is my fave, but it is also available in still) is not only great H20, but it’s packaging is also very sleek.
Voss water
2. …fight back a snack attack!
To satiate those late night snack attacks, be sure to include some treats — both salty and sweet — for your guests. To reflect your wedding location, consider including snacks with local flair (e.g. Virginia peanuts, Maine blueberries, etc.).
Kettle Chips are a great option for a salty snack.
Lightly salted Kettle Chips
For a sweet snack, consider these options from two of the best artisan chocolatiers.
Knipschildt's chocolate-dipped pear slices
Recchiuti's Black Box
3. …keep their breath fresh.
Jila gum and Choward’s mints are not only a refreshing treat for guests, but the smart packaging will be visually appealing, as well.
Jila Sugar Free Gum available through CandyDirect.com
Choward's Spearmint Mints
4. …know where they are going.
One of the most important things to include in a welcome gift is information about the timing and locations of the weekend’s events. Three great options for wedding maps include:
5. …feel even more comfortable during their stay.
Help guests make their hotel room feel more like home with thoughtful touches like travel diffusers or monogrammed slippers. For beach weddings, consider adding flip flops or a beach towel. For cooler climes, a cashmere throw, ski hats, or monogrammed scarves would be a nice treat. Guests will also appreciate other small items like asparin and a mending kit.
Travel Diffuser from Archipelago
Hermes printed beach towel
Williams-Sonoma Home Cashmere Throw
6. …capture the moment.
Yes, your professional photographer will be there to capture the key moments of your wedding. But don’t miss those behind-the-scenes moments that only your guests can capture. Single use cameras can be fun for guests; those cameras with black-and-white film are particularly cool. A luxurious option for capturing moments on film would be to provide guests (or even just your wedding party) with Flip cameras. You can even personalize the camera with a picture of the bride and groom or the bride/groom with that particular guest.
Kodak's Black & White Single Use Camera available through Amazon.com
The Flip MinoHD camcorder
7. …feel welcomed and honored.
A welcome back is not complete without a personalized note from the bride and groom thanking the guest for coming and for sharing their wedding with them. While personalized notes do take time to write, they will make each guest feel even more honored and welcomed and know how much you appreciate their presence and friendship.
8. …pack it all up.
Once you’ve assembled all of the special welcome treats for your guests, you’ll need to present the items to them in lovely packaging. This is a wonderful chance to incorporate your theme (e.g. gifts at a beach wedding could be packaged in canvas beach bags). Keep in mind that your guests will have to pack up these items and to take them home with them, so try not to make the packaging too bulky or awkward. Fun tote bags like the ones below or beautiful Kolo boxes can be good options.
City Out-of-Town Totes available at Blissweddingsmarket.com
