In the past two weeks, I have had the pleasure of attending two weddings. The first was for one of my best friends from high school and her high school sweetheart. The ceremony was at a gorgeous church in our hometown, and the reception at a classy golf and country club nearby. The second wedding was for my boyfriend's cousin at an adorable hotel on the Sonoma coast. Both were beautiful, sentimental, and a long time in the making-- both couples had a ten year history together!
Something I loved about both was walking into my hotel room and what was the first thing I saw? A welcome bag waiting to be enjoyed by me! I love welcome bags, and it's a really fun way to get your guests excited as the festivities are just beginning. It's also a great way to show your appreciation for their time and money, traveling near and far for your big day.
What goes inside of your welcome bag can vary greatly. It's a fabulous opportunity to customize this small gift based on your personality and theme of your wedding. A great starting point for a welcome bag is using items that are good for a person who has been drinking, whether night or the next (painful) morning. These items will be appreciated, even if the guest is not a drinker, and can be general enough that most everyone can enjoy them. It's also a nice touch to stay within your wedding theme (ie a chocolate chip cookie for "love is sweet," Swedish Fish candies if nautical theme).
The picture above shows the items included in the first welcome bag I received. A couple of waters, some granola bars, two packs of gum, a bag of Chex Mix, and the wedding program. My boyfriend and I drank the waters before the wedding, as we anticipated we would be having mostly wine the rest of the night. I munched on the Chex Mix while getting ready, and had a granola bar before brunch the next morning (I was starving!). Most of all, I enjoyed getting a sneak peak at the wedding program. Theirs was especially sentimental, with numerous stories and sweet notes. I love that in it, they explained the meaning behind all of their guest table names for the reception. Some of the names appeared quite random, but truly had so much meaning behind them.
The second welcome bag was similar, but was equally personalized for this wedding as well. The fig bars made for a yummy late night snack, as well as the peanuts and the salt-water taffy. This wedding was a couple hours drive up a long windy road, and along the way we passed a bright pink store advertising salt-water taffy. I'm not sure if this is where the relation came from, but either way I was very happy to have a sweet treat! My favorite part of this welcome bag was the homemade Lemoncello. The groom's mother made it using lemons from the garden of the bride's family's home and work place. What a special (and yummy) touch!
We had such a great time with family and friends celebrating two amazing couples!
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