Weddin Wednesday is in full effect! Today we're finishing up the week with our welcome bags. On Monday we shared our in house welcome bags for our wedding party, and now I'm really excited to share our full welcome bags for our guests! I'm really happy with how these turned out, and we have some pretty cool items in here you definitely want to add to your idea list!
Yay! Really excited to share our welcome bags -- I knew, just like the goodie bags we gave to our house guests, that I wanted to spoil our guests since they traveled all this way to be here for our special weekend. The plan was to fill it with things we as a couple love, things they would probably need during their time with us and a little extra fun items to make their weekend enjoyable!
Our guests were scattered all over the island, so there wasn't one central location we could drop them all off (like a hotel). My original plan was to create a map and on Friday, drive around the island delivering them, but I was tired lol, and I didn't want to leave the house. It was also raining, and some people were delayed so we decided to just hand them out at the welcome party.
It worked out this way anyway, so I'm glad I was able to take back that time for myself that week! I think Friday we instead watched a movie in the theatre, went into town for ice cream and I believe I took a small nap!! It was a great day, lol. So here's what we put inside the bags...
The Jute Tote (c/o The Giftwell): Funny story about this! If you saw Monday's post, then you're aware of our original plan to make our welcome bags with gable boxes. I bought them a couple months ago and didn't really think how everything was going to fit into them and then when we ordered the Zola kits I knew it wasn't going to work. But by this time I was just kinda like screw it and went along for the ride lol (#bridelife).
It wasn't until the like week before we left that The Giftwell reached out to me introducing themselves and I was like OH I NEED YOU. They actually specialize in making your entire welcome bag, but since I had already bought everything on the inside, I asked if they would just want to team up for the bag itself.
They have some pretty great options at all price points. If I were just a tad more boujee, I would have loved the boat tote, but I knew it was probably best to do the Jute tote. In the end, it worked out perfectly! The bags were sturdy and spacious, had a great little outer side pocket for our paper goods and velcroed shut -- which was helpful with the weather!
The Giftwell also provided the tags with our monogram crest on one side and our wedding print on the other. They arrived pre-tagged and tied too! It really did make the bag so unique.
Paper Goods:
Brant Point Penny c/o: This was something I saw online and loved the idea of. It's a tradition to throw a penny overboard if you're leaving the island via ferry and my family has a special thing with pennies, so I thought the two went hand in hand. I created these little cards via Zazzle, and I loved the way they turned out. We hot glued the pennies to the card and dropped them into their bags.
The original plan for almost all of our guests was to take the ferry, so this worked out well, but last-minute White Plains airport opened up flights to Nantucket for like $150, and everyone ended up going that route. So I don't believe the pennies were used outside of the ones Andrew, Jim and I threw. Either way -- it was one of my favorite things in the bag!
Welcome Party Directions c/o: This was kind of a sham since we gave out our bags at the welcome party.. but the right idea was there! The house we rented was in a new development and therefore not easily found on the map and Uber would try and take you down a dirt path to get there, so we decided to make more precise directions. We also included walking directions from town, but that also went out the window since it was raining that night lol.
Welcome Note + Things to Do on Island c/o: This was a little program that shared our weekend schedule with times and places, a welcome note from Andrew and I, and on the back shared our favorite things to do and eat on the island if they found themselves with some downtime!
Nantucket Map: This wasn't pictured as it was in the side pocket, but Andrew went to the chambers of commerce downtown and picked up a handful of Nantucket maps with more detailed information on the island, and we popped these into the bags. This is a simple (and free) idea for anyone else doing a destination wedding as well!
Drinks:
Zola Kits c/o: THESE were AWESOME. I went to a Zola event a few months ago when they launched these and I was so in love with them I begged the Zola team to pair up for our welcome bags! They had two different kits: one with Vodka and a bridesmaid message and the other with tequila and a Welcome message. We obviously chose the latter! It's called the Zola Paloma, and it's. SO GOOD.
It was such a fun and unique way to add a nip to the bag but have it be something much cooler AND have everything you'd need to make a great cocktail! My sister and I opened a box (it serves two people!) before the welcome party, and it honestly was delicious, and I ended up drinking them the rest of the night!
Water Bottles + Custom Wrappers: We ordered water bottle wrappers for the house and for the welcome bags for all the water. I mentioned it in my Zazzle post earlier this year. They were so cheap and easy to use/put on. It's just another little fun way to use our wedding print and make something custom for our guests! Zazzle is the best.
Custom Koozie c/o -- This was a last-minute add (again from Zazzle) but one I'm happy we went with. I have a big rule on not giving wedding branded items to our guests, so this was a subtle way of doing so. One that will help them remember the wedding but not have it be like "KRISTA AND ANDREW ARE MARRIED" all over it, you know?
Extras:
Tide to Go Pen -- I use these all the time and thought it was good to just give them in the box. Especially with all the white during the week -- it's a good thing to have on hand!
Advil Packs / Liquid IVs -- these were there to help with the hangovers and/or just overall exhaustion that came from a week of partying lol. My sister swears by these IV packs that you just add into your water to help rehydrate you.
Food/Snacks:
Aunt Leah's Fudge: This was a late minute add from our last trip before the wedding. I just love going in for fudge every time I'm there, and on their wall, I always see their little wedding gift boxes. I just couldn't resist! You can completely customize them with your name, date, and any kind of logo you'd like! Out of all the fun items in the bags, these were the most talked about!
Cape Cod Chips / Candy (chocolate and sweet) -- For some late-night snacks!
WHEW! That's it! If you missed it, check out what we gave our house guests for their welcome bags HERE. And you can always see all wedding-related content HERE!
