What are wedding welcome bags?
Wedding welcome bags are essentially a goodie bag for your guests, most commonly for your out-of-town guests. They are a great way to say, 'Hello, we're delighted to have you with us!' and to thank your guests for making the journey to your wedding. Typically, you only need to provide welcome bags to guest that you have invited from out-of-town guests, and most venues that you have your guests staying at will allow you to drop off these bags and will do the work of placing them in your guests' rooms before they arrive. Welcome bags can include just about anything that you feel will make your guests feel welcome and comfortable.
Are welcome bags necessary?
Welcome bags are completely optional and depends on your budget. There is no rule book that states you must provide welcome bags for your guests if they choose to stay in a hotel. However, greeting guests with goodies that they may need during their visit is a wonderful way to welcome them to your wedding.
What should be in a welcome bag for out-of-town guests?
Your welcome bags for your out-of-town guests should give them a "sense of place". The welcome bag being composed of local delicacies, consider incorporating regional snacks and drinks for your friends and family to sample, like cookies, popcorn, chocolates, and a local bottled beer or juice. If you have a themed wedding, you could link your welcome bags to your theme and give your guests a taste of what to expect from your big day.
How much should you spend on wedding welcome bags?
The same as all aspects of planning your wedding you should set a budget on what you are willing to spend on your welcome bags for your guests. For couples who would prefer to make their own welcome gifts or bags, you can spend as little as £7 to £10 per bag and simply include a nice bottle of sparkling water, a couple of pieces of fresh fruit, a couple of cookies or muesli from a local bakery, a bag of salty pretzels or chips, and a welcome note.
You can create a bag that is thoughtful or useful for your guests not the normal suggestion of two bottles of water and snacks but can be a beautiful guidebook for the city/town you are in with few small touches to what they must expect from your big day. The other option can be for you to save your money and put it towards another bottle of champagne, upgrade your centre pieces or that something extra that can be brought to your big day e.g., candy cart/post box
So, this blog has talked about what wedding welcome bags are which are goodie bags for your guests, most commonly for your out-of-town guests. Also discussed if they are necessary where we concluded that there is no rule book that states you must provide wedding welcome bags for your guests. I discussed ideas of what you could put in a welcome bag and how much it would roughly cost for per bag if you would to go down the wedding welcome bags for your guests.
If you are thinking of adding this extra touch to your wedding head over to my Facebook page and let me know https://www.facebook.com/EmmaLoiuseWeddingPlanner/
If you would like get some ideas of types of welcome bags for you guests check out my blog that gives 21 ideas
Hope you enjoyed the read
Emma Louise x