Out-of-town guest gift baskets: logistics, or are they even necessary

I don't think they're necessary. We're not doing them.

We skipped them. (The were on the list of things that were eliminated to save my sanity.)

Nobody said anything. So, if anyone was offended, they kept their lip zipped.

Sounds like the gift baskets would be more effort than it's worth. You're fine with the welcome dinner and favor.

For budgetary reasons, we are not doing them.

We are putting them on cabin doors because as you mentioned our venue charges us a fee to hand them out. I think think that not doing them is fine. We are doing them though cause I want people to have info.

We're doing them because we're in a similar situation with 90% of guests coming from out of town, but the hotel doesn't charge for handing them out at the front as long as they're all generic bags, not specific ones for specific people (there's a charge for in room delivery). In your case that sounds pricey. Could you hand them out some other way? If not, skip it.

Welcome baskets are a nice optional touch, but your guests shouldn't be offended if you don't have them. I have never been to a wedding that provided them and would never expect them. I would say skip them. Or give them out at the welcome dinner, which is a perfectly acceptable venue to give out the welcome baskets.

I will be doing them, but my hotel doesn't charge and it is down the street from where I work a few times a week; so drop off will be easy. I expect that most of my guests will have never been to a wedding that gave out welcome bags before.

I love welcome baskets. But I think your welcome dinner is a fine substitute. It's just a way to show your guests that you are happy they have arrived and travelled for you.

I don't think that's necessary esp if you are hosting a welcome dinner. We are doing the bags because we aren't doing favors at the wedding (we are having a photo booth, but nothing actually out for them to take). Any of our family that is in early thought we will invite them in to our rehearsal dinner.

Oh no! I don't think anyone will be offended. You're already treating them to a welcome dinner. That's pretty nice and will for sure cost more than a welcome bag with waters and snacks in it.

We did do welcome bags...but we didn't treat our OOT guests to a welcome dinner.

I think welcome bags are nice but I personally wouldn't pay a hotel to have them. The welcome dinner sounds really great and thoughtful!

We will have many OOT guests for our wedding, but we aren't doing any type of welcome gift for them. We will also be OOT for the ceremony ourselves!

We are most likely skipping them, too. I've attended a ton of OOT weddings in the last few years and I can only remember getting a welcome bag at one of them. It was nice, but I didn't miss them the other times.

I'm not doing them. I don't think they're neccesary.

One more money suck.

Thanks all! Natalie gave me the idea, maybe we can just bring a case or two of water bottles, and perhaps some little snack packs, to the welcome dinner, and encourage people to take what they want. Or we could even put a case of water bottles out near the ceremony site. (I'm fixated on the water bottle idea because it may be on the warm side, and people who have arrived by plane are unlikely to have brought water bottles with them.)