A Guide to Welcome Bags for Brides on A Budget

Happy Thursday Afternoon Budget Brides!!!

I am currently traveling back to New York from my wonderful trip to Las Vegas. Today's guest blogger is Sara from Sara's Gracious Goodies. Sara is going to give you budget brides help with your Welcome Bags.



I often tell my clients who come to Sara's Gracious Goodies for help with their wedding welcome bags that although it is absolutely not necessary it is however a wonderful way to thank your family and friends who literally went the extra mile to share in your special day. Depending on how many guests you expect though it can get costly however I am happy to share a few tips!

Plan Ahead!

Wedding welcome bags are often a final detail usually passed onto someone in the family or bridal party and lets face it, haven't they done enough already?! All the packing and wrapping, researching and purchasing all just days before the big one... Thinking ahead will save you stress and money!

Ask the Hotel!

The hotels see these bags all the time so go right to the source for some inspiration! Make sure you coordinate your plans with the hotel to ensure they are able to provide the bags upon check in or have them waiting in each room. Each hotel has a different policy so be sure to ask in advance.

Be Creative!

If you are going to prepare something on a tight budget be creative and it will go long way. A fun and thoughtful way to welcome a weary traveler and provide a "taste of home" is to have some Milk and Cookies ready and waiting for them! If you have a favorite recipe use it! Bake something that's easy, wrap in a small bag, with ribbon that match the colors of your wedding and include a hand written note. Arrange for the hotel to provide a glass of milk and include a small "ticket" within each package letting the guests know they can have this brought up to their room when ready. This will not cost much however it is a simple way to show just how thoughtful you are! Having a beach wedding? Target often has small sized pails in their dollar bin. Fill with some shred and include a few small treats. Something we often provide for our clients are a box of Popcorn and a Sandal Rice Krispie treat! It's a small snack that coordinates with the theme of the wedding and does not cost much.

Costco...

Many of you will be going to costco to create a goody bag filled with snacks everyone loves! When you go make sure you know how many guests you have coming and pay close attention to how many items come in each package. Case counts are often different and you can leave having too much of one thing and not enough of something else. Make a list in advance to avoid goody overload and keep you focused. Remember to also get lots of water.

Extras

It's nice to provide an itinerary with directions to all of your wedding events as well as cell phone numbers of anyone that can help if necessary. It's helpful to provide the other guests in the hotel in case anyone wants to carpool! Collect a few menu's from local restaurants and even some local postcards. These are a nice addition to a welcome bag. Add a local magazine and playing cards. Try to think local and call your town's chamber of commerce for more ideas.

Whatever you decide your guests are sure to appreciate the effort you put in to provide a warm welcome!



Sara’s Gracious Goodies is a gift package service located in Long Island, NY. The company is the idea of Sara Mendelsohn who spent nearly a decade in business planning and development at some of the most luxurious retail companies in the world (Barneys New York, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Cartier), just to name (drop) a few. As Sara was expecting her first child (a beautiful baby boy) she and her husband travelled across the country for a wedding. Exhausted and hungry from a long ordeal, they were met by a welcome bag that unfortunately added to the misery of a long days travel. It was in that moment that Sara knew that there could be a better, and more fulfilling way to greet a weary and tired loved one. A seed had been planted...

Checkout Sara and her gracious goodies for more information and help here.