Has anyone else skipped welcome bags in the hotel rooms? Just curious what "the rules" say on this one. Do I need to budget for these or am I okay to skip it?
You're more than welcome to skip them. I'd say most people don't do welcome bags. They are not a nice "extra" but etiquette nor traditional call for them.
We have a number of out of town guests. We are not doing welcome bags. We are in Houston and know people will stay in whatever area of town they want and there are not nice hotels near the venue.
To becomingmcclain- our hotel said they would have our welcome bags at the front desk, and the guests would be given their bag at check-in for no charge. Maybe ask your hotel if this is an option?
To becomingmcclain- our hotel said they would have our welcome bags at the front desk, and the guests would be given their bag at check-in for no charge. Maybe ask your hotel if this is an option?
Sadly this is not an option. It's even more ($7) if I want to personalize it so that Aunt Mary gets a note from me, while FI's buddy from college flying in from New York gets a note from him.
At the end of planning, if we have enough saved, we would like to do them. A lot of the guests coming to our wedding are older, and I really appreciate them coming and staying overnight in a hotel.
We skipped welcome bags and paid for valet parking all weekend. No one complained in fact most were very happy to save 20 bucks a night rather than get a cheesy bag of stuff!
I went to an OOT wedding recently and they gave us welcome bags. They consisted of snacks, like small bags of chips and granola bars. It was a nice gesture, but not required. I don't eat a lot of junk, so most of it went to waste. I agree that water bottles are always good, but snacks and other trinkets are not.
Minority opinion here: I love welcome bags and would do them if you can at all squeeze them into your budget. How many bags do you need? You don't need to do a personalized note (a generic thank you from the both of you is fine), and you can stock it with things from Costco or whatever wholesaler you have around for not that much money.
If I'm travelling to a wedding, I appreciate getting a welcome bag. It makes me feel like the bride and groom understand that traveling required an effort on my part, and it's nice not to have to scrounge around for change and visit the vending machine if I need a bottle of water or a pack of crackers. Plus the style of the bag and items in it tell me a little bit about the bride and groom's personality and the style of the wedding.
They're not necessary and they're not required by etiquette. But they can certainly be appreciated, and it's another way to take care of your guests.
I like ewelcome bags and did them for our wedding. But I would not have thought twice about them if there was a $5 delivery fee. That's insane. Skip them and upgrade the bar, apps or the favors. Maybe add a late night snack or have bottled water and bagged snack set out at the venue for guests to take back to their room.
To becomingmcclain- our hotel said they would have our welcome bags at the front desk, and the guests would be given their bag at check-in for no charge. Maybe ask your hotel if this is an option?
My last boss did this for her daughter's wedding. Several guests, including fiance and I, never got ours.
I am getting married in Estes Park which is up in the Rocky Mountains. I plan on doing welcome bags, but mostly so I can give people multiple bottles of water so they can stay hydrated. It is so easy to get dehydrated up and then get sick. I don't want people having to pay a lot for water or having to go looking for it. I'm going to include a note or something that says, "Don't forget to hydrate!"
We did welcome bags and people told me they were the best ones they've ever received! We put a welcome note in that said to join us at The Starbucks in the hotel lobby the next am for a coffee and farewell and attached a $10 Starbucks gift card to the note (we did this as something casual in lieu of hosting a post wedding brunch). We also stuck in:
2 bottles of water
chips
M&M's
granola bars
mini Tylenol packs
door hanger (purchased from Etsy)-"Do Not Disturb. Up late last night celebrating the new Mr and Mrs JMS:
ETA They are certainly not required, but I really wanted to do them, bc I always appreciate getting one as a guest. We also had the bags personalized with "A and B's wedding weekend."
We had one hotel w a room block where all of our OOT guests were staying, so it wasn't complicated for us.
I know of more welcome bags distributed to people not associated with the specific wedding than ever associated with one. I'd skip them and upgrade something else for your guests with that money. Especially if they're going to gouge you $$$ to hand them out! (it's one thing if it's a $5 or even $20 total charge, but $5 each - unless this is the Ritz - no way!)
If you really have your heart set on doing them, set a table up with them at the reception with a note "For our OOT Guests"...
Re: Forgoing welcome bags
So you are not alone!
My last boss did this for her daughter's wedding. Several guests, including fiance and I, never got ours.
We did welcome bags and people told me they were the best ones they've ever received! We put a welcome note in that said to join us at The Starbucks in the hotel lobby the next am for a coffee and farewell and attached a $10 Starbucks gift card to the note (we did this as something casual in lieu of hosting a post wedding brunch). We also stuck in:
2 bottles of water
chips
M&M's
granola bars
mini Tylenol packs
door hanger (purchased from Etsy)-"Do Not Disturb. Up late last night celebrating the new Mr and Mrs JMS:
ETA They are certainly not required, but I really wanted to do them, bc I always appreciate getting one as a guest. We also had the bags personalized with "A and B's wedding weekend."
We had one hotel w a room block where all of our OOT guests were staying, so it wasn't complicated for us.
I know of more welcome bags distributed to people not associated with the specific wedding than ever associated with one. I'd skip them and upgrade something else for your guests with that money. Especially if they're going to gouge you $$$ to hand them out! (it's one thing if it's a $5 or even $20 total charge, but $5 each - unless this is the Ritz - no way!)
If you really have your heart set on doing them, set a table up with them at the reception with a note "For our OOT Guests"...