If most of your wedding guests will need to book a hotel stay to attend your wedding, I think it's nice to leave them a welcome bag with little treats. Here are eight things I love to find waiting for me at the hotel:
- bottled water I'm all for reusable water bottles in everyday life, but I find hotel tap water generally tastes weird.
- booze Nothing gets the party started like a tiny bottle of champagne, IMO.
- a note with an itinerary Just a quick "we're psyched to party with you" and "be in the lobby at 5:30 P.M. today," etc.
- a list of local attractions If your guests have never been to North Stonington, Conn., {where I got married! } let them know where to get a decent cup of coffee or a good lobster roll.
- Advil Rory's actually allergic, but I still prefer Advil to Tylenol, which can be bad for your kidneys if you have alcohol in your system.
- something salty and something sweet Potato chips and M&M's are the perfect late-night combo, IMO.
- something local If there's a nearby bakery with famous brownies, throw one in. (This could also count as your "something sweet," obviously.)
- something "you" When Petra got married, her welcome bags had Toms of Maine products in them. So cute! (She grew up in Maine, if that wasn't abundantly clear.)
I don't think you need to spring for fancy customized fabric gift bags for your guests. As much as you'd love a bag with your name and wedding date, I'm guessing your guests would prefer carrying something generic after the fact. Or you could save money and use paper gift bags, which work just as well. We used cardboard boxes with handles, like these, because, as I've mentioned, I worked for Martha Stewart when I got married, so obviously everything involving my wedding had to be as complicated as possible.
One thing to keep in mind before you start assembling welcome bags: Some hotels will charge a delivery fee—as much as $7 a bag—to get the bags to your guests' room. (This is especially true if the hotel doesn't have space to store the bags at reception and can't hand them out upon arrival.) One way to get around the fee is to deliver the bags yourself, but that's probably not something you want to be dealing with the day before your wedding. You could ask a friend to help you out, of course, but you'd have to do so very sweetly and then thank that person profusely. (Maybe with a nice bottle of wine or a pedicure gift certificate.) Remember: bridesmaids =/= actual maids.
Do you like getting a welcome bag at a wedding? Will you give them to your wedding guests? Or do you think they're a waste of money?