Do we really need wedding welcome bags for out of town guests?

In a word, yes.  Providing welcome bags for your guests staying in hotels is a gracious courtesy that your wedding guests will really appreciate. Do you remember the time you arrived in some strange city and got to your hotel room late at night?  Your options, a $4.00 bottle of water and a $5.00 Milky Way from the honor system mini- bar, a $25.00 hamburger from room service, or starve to death.

But wait, your wonderful hosts anticipated your plight and provided you with a swag bag with fresh fruit, trail mix, chocolate chip cookies and bottled water.   Fortified with these goodies, you are able to wait until morning when the complimentary breakfast is served.

Consider for a moment the effort your guests exerted in order to attend your wedding. Assuming they are normal people and not flying in on Donald Trump’s private jet, they had to ask off work, use up their precious vacation days and vacation budget (to fly to Detroit?), buy a new dress or suit, have their nails done, visited a tanning salon, get a haircut, buy a gift, travel by air or car costing lots of money or saved up points, take a taxi or shuttle from the airport, tip a bellman? Are there still bellman?

Traveling is a hassle. It is tiring and expensive. So when your wedding guests arrive at the hotel and they are warmly greeted by a pretty and welcoming guest bag that you painstakingly prepared and designed with them in mind, they feel their efforts are appreciated. The message the hotel welcome bag delivers to your wedding guests is more than just Thanks for Coming. The message is “WOW, you are awesome and we love that you made this big trip and all the sacrifices to come be with us on our special day”. Of course you can’t say all that on the bag, but the welcome bag demonstrates that you too went to trouble and expense and considered what they would like.

Since 2004, www.favorsyoukeep.com/welcome.html has been the number one source for wedding welcome bags. Setting the trends not following them, the designs are original and varied.  These bags are surprisingly roomy and can accommodate all that is necessary. The bags measure approximately     8” x 10” x 5” deep excluding the handle.  The next size up from there is really too big for most weddings. The larger size measures 16” x 12” x 6” which is more appropriate for destination weddings where you would want to put in a beach towel and flip flops etc.

When budgeting for your wedding, do not skimp on those small thoughtful things that will add to the enjoyment of your guests. They will not know the difference if your roses come from Oregon or Brazil but they will feel the difference in how they are greeted and valued.