Do You Really Need to Give Guests Welcome Bags at Your Wedding?

Creating a memorable and enjoyable experience for your guests is essential to any wedding, especially when attendees have traveled great distances to join in the celebration. However, is it really necessary to provide welcome bags for attendees checking into the local hotel?

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. Plus, your welcome bags can replace a wedding favor and are often more useful than a cheesy favor.

Especially if you are hosting a more intimate ceremony, a welcome bag is a nice gesture—and it's definitely doable if you have a smaller invite list. Your guests will appreciate anything you give them to kick off to your wedding weekend, but here are some tips to pull together the perfect welcome gift bag.

Mix It Up

To create a welcome bag that is both useful and fun, include a mix of necessities (like refreshments and travel must-haves) and fun gifts that will ensure your guests have the time of their lives throughout your wedding weekend.

Try Keeping It Local

Many brides use the welcome bag as a chance to introduce their guests to the wedding locale, including great eats, spots to drink, maps of the immediate vicinity, or gifts the region is known for producing. Offering up goodies like these can be cost effective, and many cities have free magazines, maps, and other local guides you can pick up for your welcome bags to introduce guests to the area.

Offer Some Refreshments

In addition, supplementing the pack with snacks and drinks is common so guests have fuel throughout all events. Mini champagne bottles to pop while getting ready or Gatorade for recovery the next day are perfect picks.

Give Out Hotel Must-Haves

Toiletries, antihistamines, aspirin, or beauty supplies are also handy supplements for guests who may have forgotten to pack a particular item for the wedding weekend. You can buy travel-size products in bulk online, and you don't have to go over the top.

Don't Ignore the Bag Itself

You'll definitely stock your welcome bag with nice presents, but don't forget about the bag everything comes in. The bag itself is an opportunity to give your guests something that they'll use beyond your wedding day. It can be a simple reusable grocery bag or a nicer tote bag, but think of the bag like your wedding favor and your guests will be thrilled.

Add a Nice Note

Finally, polish off the bag with a welcome note to encourage your guests to feel at home the minute they set foot in their hotel room. Here you can also include details on the best spots to eat and drink in the area—especially if you're a local—or just write a sweet note telling your guests how happy you are that they're celebrating with you.