Welcome bags? Worth It?

I've never felt that welcome bags were too exciting when we've gotten them - almost everything in there we already had or could get very easily. If it's not a lot of extra time and effort, it's nice to have waters and maybe motrin if your guests are big partiers, but honestly unless you're in the middle of nowhere, it's pretty easy for them to get those things, should they need them. I thought the bags would be a nice touch, but cut them pretty quickly because we didn't end up blocking rooms and just didn't feel they were going to be do-able.

I have seen super cute ones with local knick-knacks, cute chapsticks, snacks, maps of the area, etc. and I love the concept, but especially if you don't have a huge budget, it's unnecessary and not something people expect.

They're just like favors, misspent money for stuff people don't care about.

We had a destination wedding so we had a welcome letter and snack food for everyone to munch on. There wasn’t anything else really around so it was nice for the midnight snacks.

I don't think they are expected. I see this as more of a splurge item. If you have already arranged for your guests to have a fabulous reception with lots of food and full open bar and you have extra money then it is nice to do. I had most of the people comment on their welcome boxes being a really nice surprise and that they enjoyed the snacks I provided as well as the hangover kits.

My welcome boxes included:

- caramel popcorn

- chili lime peanuts

- cookies

- granola bars

- ponytail holders

- chapstick

- makeup remover wipes

- 2 bottles of water

- a hangover kit that included Advil, Emergen-C, Shout wipes, bandaids, mouthwash, mints and a granola bar.

The boxes were placed in each guest's room before arrival along with an itinerary, a card addressed specifically to that guest and a bottle of wine.

We are for guests staying in our hotel block. Doesn’t have to be expensive, go to the dollar store and get some nice paper party/ gift bags. We’re putting in 2 bottles of water, sweet snack, salty snack, mints or gum, and a small personal gift (haven’t decided on what yet, my cousin had a New Year’s Eve wedding last year and gave black and silver Christmas ornaments)

I think it depends. I really appreciated when I get cross country for a wedding. I am just doing on per room so logistically I can keep track of it. I am thinking of doing water, little bag of Hershey candies, mints, advil (my sister can get the individual packs for free), also some local items like a whoopie pie, apples from a local orchard and a local beer or other drink. I dont think it will be too pricey but I have really been looking for deals. I have only spent $42 on 50 bags and I have gotten bags, candy (chocolate and little mints), baggies for the candies, I think that is it so far. Also I decided since I am doing this I am going to skip favors at the wedding.

We are doing them because our wedding will only have 17 people and everyone is coming from out of state. We will have water bottles, Advil, shout wipes, trail mix (FS favorite), chips, and tissues and a welcome card with all the information they will need. We will be handing them out at the family dinner we are doing the night before that way we don’t have to pay to have them delivered to the rooms. I don’t think they are a requirement but I do think my guests (parents and siblings) will enjoy them. Also the money we are using to make the bags aren’t being taken out of the good & beverage budget, this is just an extra we are choosing to do for our family.

I'm having a destination wedding, so I initially planned on doing them, but my hotel charges $4 per bag and daily bottled water is included with the room. It just doesn't seem worth it to me for a few snacks. They will hand out a note or card for free, so I think we'll just do a welcome note with a timeline of events and a map.

I will say as a guest, I do appreciate them if they're done well and I don't think they're a waste of money.

We have budgeted to do the welcome bags for our DW with similar items as listed before (not water or foods since we are on an all-inclusive resort). We are adding some aloe Vera gel if we do the bags since most remember to bring sunscreen. We would be doing one per room with items per person on a personalised canvas bag (not putting our wedding things on it since I think it's tacky and not everyone wants our names or wedding date on things they would have).
The decision to do these will be based on how many rooms we would have to do them for since there is a likelihood of over packed suitcases containing everything as well as transporting my dress all in a plane.

Definitely don’t need them but we’re doing them. They’re definitely nothing fancy. I bulk ordered bags on amazon and wrote in paint pen on them. I got everything from amazon or Costco in bulk. I also like that this is a good way to easily tell everyone about the weekend events. Once everything is finalized I’m putting in a weekend itinerary sheet with times for each event, times the shuttle is leaving the hotel, where brunch is the next morning, etc.

Hey there! Welcome bags are done according to your preferences! If you feel the need to provide them, then go for it! However, if it's costing you extra time and energy then it is certainly okay to omit them!

I've been to my share of OOT weddings and have literally never ever gotten a welcome bag. this is 100% not something you need to do!

We did these for my sister's wedding because more than half of the guests were out-of-towners coming in and staying at the hotel where the wedding was held, including me & my parents! I brought some things from PA, they brought things from TX, and mom & I sat in their suite and stuffed boxes a couple days before the wedding. We put in chips, a "hangover pack" that included tums, single serve packs of advil, alka seltzer, and mints. bottled water with personalized wedding labels, and at Mom's request, I made and brought bride and groom oreos and pretzels. The boxes were a huge hit, and we got tons of compliments on the things we included.

I am not, however, doing these for my own wedding because it is just not that many out of towners at this one.

oreospretzelshangover kits

Gable boxes for hotel guests