FYI - Out of Town Bags

TinyTRex321

So maybe this is obvious but just in case someone hasn't thought of this... I just picked up packets of information at the Durham Visitor's center ( <----- clicky) for the out of town bags. I would assume most visitor center's handle these kind of request all the time.

They were super helpful and the process was very easy. I just emailed them, they sent me a form to fill out where I picked what I want and the quanity, then a few days later they were ready to pick up.  They gave me 50 Visitor's Guides to Durham, Maps of Durham, and brochures of 300 things to do in Durham.  Now I just need to add a welcome letter, snacks, bottles of water, and maps specific to my wedding and I'm done.

Also for the welcome letter I just made a nice short note on a postcard on Vistaprint that has a picture of FI and I.  Vistaprint offers 100 postcards for free so I just pay shipping.

I wasn't originally going to do OOT bags but then figured it would be a nice touch at a relatively inexpensive price. 

I hope that helps someone!

uneek1323

Thanks! Did you have to pick them up, or is mailing them an option? (NC bride living in San Deigo)

TinyTRex321

I went back to look at the form I filled out. It only said "date to pick up", but there is a section for special request. Maybe if you offered to pay shipping they would send them out?

uneek1323

Ok.. Great! Thanks for the info!

amandaandkyle

That's great info!  I'm sure Charlotte has something similar and would be a great addition for my out of town people.

Beth0882

The Greensboro bureau won't give them out to brides, you have to go through a hotel to get them.  I guess they are trying to save paper and money so people don't just go in and take piles of them without knowing if you are going to use them?  Our hotel was nice enough to say they would request anything we wanted for us, but we ended up scrapping the OOT bag at the last second to save money and because I was tired of projects

sunnysarahinNC

amanda- i am a CLT bride and also electing to do baskets/bags!

I have not looked into what we're putting in yet, but I think you can get the "Our State" magazines in different places, and we might also add the SouthPark magazine because it's close to our wedding events.

My venue (Levine Museum) has tons of magazines local to Charlote free for the taking next to their reception desk- it's like a "visitor's corner", but I take new magazines every time I am there!

GL!

amandaandkyle

Sarah,

I contacted the CLT visitors bureau and they told me to come by whenever (I told them I was a bride and how many I needed) and they'd be glad to give them to me.  They said they could mail them, but it would take 3+ weeks.  Some other great ideas though!!

clee2385

SouthPark mall has a rack of magazines near the water fountain and they have AWESOME books with things to do in Charlotte that are free. I am a wedding coordinator and I always keep a stack of these for my clients!

lizachristian

The Raleigh Visitor's Bureau has the same "fill out the form to reserve then you pick up" policy.  They give out visitor magazines, but no other material.  However, the magazines have everything you need - attractions, maps, bus lines, restaurants, etc.  The office is located on the 15th floor of the Bank of America Bldg downtown.

I am looking for ideas for North Carolina or Triangle-specific guest bag items.  Anyone found any fun snacks or local items to include?  Most of my guests will be from out of town and I wanted to give them a little flavor of the where my FI and I met!

sarak11

I am having a hard time thinking of items to put in our NC bag too.  Here are some things I found online:  Cheerwine, Krispy Kreme, and Burts Bees.  I think I might go to the farmers market and look for other little things.

NcsuPsych

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina_fyi-out-of-town-bags?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:115Discussion:dbd9169c-c74e-4f98-ae5d-27c5169e5d86Post:5f1b66d5-f50a-4c6a-a7ec-217c3353b0f5">Re: FYI - Out of Town Bags</a>:
[QUOTE]I am having a hard time thinking of items to put in our NC bag too.  Here are some things I found online:  Cheerwine, Krispy Kreme, and Burts Bees.  I think I might go to the farmers market and look for other little things.
Posted by sarak11[/QUOTE]

Great ideas. .just know this post is over 4 months old.
I wouldn't have thought of burts bees or krispy kreme. Pretty interesting.

shigaites

I was able to snag all sorts of free info from the Surf City Welcome Center.  I also filled the bag with local snacks like Lance's crackers, peanuts, and Cheerwine.  I then bought NC postcards from the History Museum and wrote a little note on the back of them and tied them to the bags.