Welcome Gift for Destination Wedding

You could do welcome bags with water, sunscreen, sunglasses, things to do list, a welcome letter and snacks. Honestly, we didn't do any of this. We had a welcome river and dinner cruise for all the guests plus hosted a rehearsal dinner and a post wedding brunch. Gifts could add up and felt my money was better spent hosting a get together to spend more time with everyone.

I brought over decor in my carry on suitcase, which included cake topper, napkins, stirrers, straws, paper fans, guestbook, camera, film, menus, flower confetti, cake cutting knife and spatula (which almost got confiscated in Fiji!), agate stone place cards, and bride and groom signs for the backs of our chairs. I didn't send anything ahead to the destination. I didn't was to take any chances as it was going to Australia. Our venue had a strict policy of No DIY.

I'm bringing tablecloths because the rental prices were insane.

Welcome bags will have advil, lip balm, pepto. personalized shot glass.

We opted to do a welcome dinner as well instead of welcome bags. Since we asked guests to travel for our wedding we tried to cover the cost of their food/drinks as many times as we could. I opted to rent all of the decor from vendors where the wedding was being held and our wedding planner picked everything up. It was easier to travel that way.

I agree with @badgerbride. Not doing welcome bags.

We are doing a welcome event (cocktails, dinner, and a birthday celebration for MoH), but for welcome bags I found a local vendor who does favors and welcome bags. (Local snacks, first aid materials, etc). This way we're supporting the local economy, and no one has to travel with a ton of materials.

I'm carrying some of the personalized decor (I.e. Wedding broom), but nothing that can be purchased through my venue.

Signed, a bride who only wants to carry what she has to carry

ETA: explanation

Our destination wedding is only in the outer banks so we can drive and don't have to worry how much we take. We will be taking down a 6x12 trailer with all of the wedding stuff. We also found it was cheaper to buy most items online than rent. most everything will be reused for holiday parties. We even bought all the china, glassware and silverware. We will be bringing down the items for the desert buffet and various antiques to complete the luxury vintage feel.

We are doing a clam bake for everyone the first night. We will be there about a week and a half before the wedding and it is on a Tuesday and everyone should arrive on Saturday. We will have large baskets of snacks in the kitchens for all our guests and we will have a basket of bath and body works and candles in all the bathrooms. We have rented 3 large houses to accommodate everyone. We want it to be a week to relax and remember for everyone.

My wedding is at an all-inclusive resort, so the main item in my welcome bag will be an insulated drink cup that can be filled at bars on the resort. I'll also probably include a hangover kit, puzzle books, and local snacks (chocolate, tequila).

I haven't decided on decor yet. I am concerned about space being an issue, but hopefully we can have relatives help if we end up with too many bags.

I got an all inclusive package that comes with decor etc so hopefully I'm just coming over with a seating chart and table numbers. We're thinking of doing basically a hangover kit as welcome bags. These may change into favors instead of welcome bags bc our hotel adds $2 per bag to deliver them to guests or hand them to them at check in.

Future MrsComo I would suggest having your bridal party hand deliver them to each room. Especially if all the rooms are on the same floor it is easier.

Yay for destination weddings! =) We ordered beach towels and tote bags for guests, and personalized some of them to give to my bridesmaids.

http://speedysuppliers.com/wholesale-beach-towels-bulk.aspx

I got everything done from this website. It turned out to be the best option, cost-wise.

We did welcome bags just for the rehearsal dinner (20 ppl): Water, snack, personl note, Vegas survival kit, and a gift. For siblings, aunts/uncles, grandparents we did smaller souvenir gifts, and the typical fancy gifts for the BP and parents. Our guests stayed at several hotels, so it wasn't feasible to make one for each person at our DW.

Hi Sherrone! I like your question. Our immediate family are all lodging at the same place and we plan on putting welcome bags in each of the rooms for their arrival. Sample gift bag will include: Small sunscreen, bug-spray, mini bottle of rum made in the USVI, bottle of locally made root beer (for the kids), salty & sweet snacks from the local spice shop, a detailed map of St John (where everyone is staying), and a printout of the wedding day itinerary. We plan on packing the mini sunscreens and bugspray with us, and then purchasing the other local items once we arrive. We've been to St John before, so we know exactly where to go to get what we want. However, If your destination is some place you've never been before, it would likely be easier to bring all your gifts with you to avoid the added stress of shopping.

Oh and we have access to all the rooms, so we can place the welcome bags for free. I had no idea that other people pay to have this done!

I like the idea of buying some local things Rosaline! I'm sure I can search online to see what might be nice local welcome gifts from the Bahamas!

This has been very helpful. I think now we will do welcome bags with things like aspirin, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, and include a little gift, I found an adorable beach chair candle holder that would make a great little trinket for everyone. We have a room block, so I think we will just be sure to greet our guests shortly after their arrivals. We will be there for four days before the wedding so I think we can take the extra time to look for little local snacks/drinks to include

I worked with a Bride that selected 3 resorts for her wedding guests. There were a few guests, however that chose to stay at other resorts. For the guests that booked at the resorts she selected she left welcome gifts in each hotel room. The two of us worked together to ensure each guest (staying at those resorts) were welcomed with a gift bag pertaining to her theme in the room before arrival. (Water, tissues, water bottle (all-inclusive resort so for refills), sun screen, etc). You don't have to spend a lot, a small token will please your wedding guests.

We did a destination wedding and did welcome bags. I would strongly recommend don't do it. No one used anything we gave them nor read the info in it either. (We gave sunscreen water that kind of stuff).

We're doing sunglasses and little sunscreens. Our venue is doing the water for us. It's more like an optional favor for us, but it has the same idea!