Welcome packets

We are doing welcome bags that have a handout that lists things to do/schedule for the wedding weekend, as well as bottled water, snacks, a postcard. We are leaving them at the front desk to be handed out when people check in. Many of our guests are from OOT, but I think if your guests are local, while it's a nice gesture, but probably unnecessary.

A packet? What? Why would they need that?

I personally am not doing welcome baskets.

I work for a hotel and if you put them together and give the front desk a list of names, they can either put them in the rooms before they arrive or hand them out when they check in. Most welcome bags we see have a weekend plan in them, directions to the ceremony/reception site from the hotel, a snack, a bottle of water or pop, and usually some kind of "gift" from the bride and groom. I've seen things from a letter, general for everyone "thanks for coming to celebrate our big day" to a koozie. It can really have anything you want or don't want in them.

Our venue hotel charged $3 a piece, to distribute gift bags. We didn't do them.

We had 52 rooms reserved, in our block, and only 1 was booked for guests who had to fly (stayed 2 nights) and 2 for guests who had to drive 2 hours or more. Everyone else wanted the convenience to change there, attend the ceremony and reception - which ended 11:30 PM, and go upstairs to their room. I didn't see where it was necessary to give guests a bag if they were only staying there 16 hours.

It was a full service hotel which gave-out courtesy bottles of water, with their famous cookies at check-in, had a basket of toiletries in each room, and also had an honor bar in the in-room fridge.

A "packet"? Do you mean a welcome bag? Or are you talking like, a bunch of instructions?

I put all that information on my wedding website.