Welcome Baskets - Cleveland, OH

TaniaL2727

I am putting together welcome baskets for our guests.  Our wedding is in Cleveland, OH.  My fiance and I both love Cleveland!  We are getting married in downtown and we are incorporating Cleveland details in everything.  We thought it would be fun to also include some of our favorite Cleveland items in the welcome bags.  Almost 1/3 of our guests are from out of town.  Does anyone know the best way to collect brochures/maps?  I'm having a hard time figuring that out.  Also, any Cleveland ideas?  Here's what we have so far...

Great Lakes Beer, Buckeyes from Malley's Chocolate, Stadium Mustard, Cleveland magnet from Cleveland Store downtown (one of our favorite stores!),   Bonnie Bell Lip Smackers, Shearer's Chips

Inkdancer

TaniaL2727 said:

I am putting together welcome baskets for our guests.  Our wedding is in Cleveland, OH.  My fiance and I both love Cleveland!  We are getting married in downtown and we are incorporating Cleveland details in everything.  We thought it would be fun to also include some of our favorite Cleveland items in the welcome bags.  Almost 1/3 of our guests are from out of town.  Does anyone know the best way to collect brochures/maps?  I'm having a hard time figuring that out.  Also, any Cleveland ideas?  Here's what we have so far...

Great Lakes Beer, Buckeyes from Malley's Chocolate, Stadium Mustard, Cleveland magnet from Cleveland Store downtown (one of our favorite stores!),   Bonnie Bell Lip Smackers, Shearer's Chips

Go to hotels or convention centers. They tend to have tons of brochures about local attractions!

photokitty

I'd ask on your local board. We've discussed the topic on the Cbus board and thrown a lot of good ideas around.

Check the Ohio Proud web site for Ohio products.

melbenso

If you have a lot of guests coming in from out of town for several days, you might want to include a list of restaurants, etc.  Melt, Michael Symon's restaurants come to mind as some distinctive Cleveland favorites.  And a list of Cleveland attractions: art museum, Severance Hall, Great Lakes Brewery/Tremont, Cleveland Indians Games (I assume the wedding will be in the next few months), Little Italy, Coventry, Edgewater Park, and so on. And of course there is always the Rock Hall. Or maybe cannolis from Corbos in Little Italy if you were looking for more food to include?

~a former Cleveland girl who misses her hometown

sofakingmad

Honestly, I think that you could just make a list of your favorite attractions in the area and why they are important to you (as well as some popular attractions in the area).  That would make it more personal!  Or print out a map and mark on the map your favorite attractions and restaurants.  

~King Nut is out of Solon, OH, so that could be a snack in your welcome bag.   

I am also a former Cleveland girl

AprilH81

Visit here...  http://www.thisiscleveland.com/Planning-Tools/Visitor-Information/Visitors-Center/

 

 

ElcaB

You had me at Great Lakes beer I'm a stone's throw from CLE. You have great ideas so far. Depending on your budget, you could always purchase something from Cleveland Clothing Co. --- I think they have more than just apparel. 

What about something from the Rock n' Roll HOF? Cavs, Tribe or Browns gear (mugs, hats, etc.)? Little Italy spaghetti sauce?

sofakingmad

I would go to Marcs.  They always have Cleveland-centric tchotchke for cheap.

photokitty

DragonBlood13 said:

I would go to Marcs.  They always have Cleveland-centric tchotchke for cheap.

Excellent suggestion - and you can have more fun for your money!!! :-D

lennonkdc

TaniaL2727 said:

I am putting together welcome baskets for our guests.  Our wedding is in Cleveland, OH.  My fiance and I both love Cleveland!  We are getting married in downtown and we are incorporating Cleveland details in everything.  We thought it would be fun to also include some of our favorite Cleveland items in the welcome bags.  Almost 1/3 of our guests are from out of town.  Does anyone know the best way to collect brochures/maps?  I'm having a hard time figuring that out.  Also, any Cleveland ideas?  Here's what we have so far...

Great Lakes Beer, Buckeyes from Malley's Chocolate, Stadium Mustard, Cleveland magnet from Cleveland Store downtown (one of our favorite stores!),   Bonnie Bell Lip Smackers, Shearer's Chips

I'm a Cleveland bride too! 

Love these ideas, we're including a lot of the same things along with including a list of some fun uniquely Cleveland things to do- A trip to Big Fun, lunch at Sokoloski's, a trip to the WSM, and watching the sunset on the lake. 

Oh- maybe some popcorn from Campbell's and check out GV Art and Design in Lakewood for some cool things!

[Deleted User]

I live in Cleveland and here are some ideas

• Westside Market which is right by Great Lakes Brewery
• Check out Peterson nuts to see if they sell something small that you could include in welcome bag, yes I realize people have nut allergies but if the bag is sealed, they can easily get rid of them. But for those that love nuts a perfect salty snack
• Don't forget transporation optins like RTA trolley
• Art Musuem is always nice and free too
• Depending on time of year Cultural Gardens on MLK are nice & there is the Rockefeller Green House in that area which is also free
• Depending on time of year again, what about apples from a local orchard
• Don't forget there are lots of great wineries in northeast ohio. Just google Wineries Ohio and you'll find some good sites
• Rock Hall
• Science Center (especially if there are kids)
• Casino & shopping at Tower City
• Don't forget to include names of some of your favorite resturants in the area. Think of nice dinner and quick/cheap food on the go
• See if you can find out if there are any festivals in the area at that time
• Edgewater park if summer time
• Zoo/Rain forest

Think of the thinks that are near the hotel(s) where your guests will be staying at. Especially if they are staying downtown, things within walking distance of the hotel.

csuave

Those are good ideas!  I grew up in Parma (live in PA now) and I love the shout outs to Marc's in this post

I actually just got out of a meeting where someone mentioned that King Nut is located in the area--I never knew that.  I second DragonBlood; airline snacks would be great for a welcome bag.

TaniaL2727

Such great ideas!!! Thank you everyone!

lookame3639

Can i say I love the idea of a canoli from little italy! FI is Italian and most of his family lives in Cleveland, he said one of the things he always did while visiting was go to melt and also if you live in or love Cleveland you gotta grab some browns gear (Cleveland fans are not fair weather fans...they are true die hard fans that love their team no matter what.)

bobcats67

I love this post - I'm a CLE bride, too, and our wedding has a Cleveland theme (invitations & programs have the skyline, table numbers are photographs of our favorite area landmarks, etc.). One thing you could consider for your welcome bags, if you haven't already, is at that store on E. 4th they have these little Cleveland-themed buttons that are $1/each... we are putting a big basket of them out at the reception so everyone can grab one, pin it on and show off their CLE pride! Great ideas in the previous posts, too.