Imagine you’re a destination wedding guest. You’ve put in a full travel day and, despite having made good use of the airline amenity bag, you arrive at the hotel feeling tired, puffy, and disheveled. But the moment you open the doors to your hotel room, everything shifts. You are greeted, first thing, by the most beautifully packaged welcome bag, filled with local treats and treasures, an illustrated map and itinerary. Your travel woes have been forgotten– suddenly you can’t wait to get changed into a cocktail dress and join the party. A welcome bag can do that; after all, “the welcome bag sets the tone for the wedding! It’s literally the first experience your guest has to your wedding,” explains Dawn of DM Events & Design. Below, we’ve collected the best tips for curating the ultimate wedding welcome bag—and don’t miss the bottom section, where we design our dream bags for (almost) every destination!
Photography: Stephanie Brauer Photography | Planning & Design: DM Events
A great wedding welcome bag will feel fun, flirty, playful, and totally personalized. And while the design is totally up to you, a well-made wedding bag will likely include most or all of these essentials. According to us, these are the essential ingredients of the wedding welcome bag:
1. Personalized Paper Goods
A welcome bag should be both delightful and instructive. As you assemble your bag, you’ll want yours to include some practical information—like a weekend itinerary and transportation –for your guests to refer back to. Just don’t stop there: “Guests will always appreciate an itinerary but if you want to elevate the design of the bag, add in a custom neighborhood map or list some of your favorite neighborhood places” suggests Dawn of DM Events & Design. Wedding maps can be especially whimsical, as they often include charming illustrations of the town and local landmarks and read like something straight out of a storybook. We suggest working with your stationer to create artwork that complements your wedding invitations and feels consistent with your overall design scheme. “Paper goods are usually the most cost-friendly items you’ll put in your bag,” says Dawn, “so don’t be afraid to go all-out!” Whether it’s a custom wax seal with your initials or a hand-calligraphed thank you note, these touches will send your gift over the top.
If you’re still worried about costs, invest in one signature design—like a wedding crest or monogram—that you use repeatedly throughout the wedding, on invitations, programs, cocktail napkins, wax seals, vow books, and even—you guessed it—the paper goods you tuck into welcome bags.
Photography: Ashley Ludaescher Photography | Stationery: Jolly Edition
2. Water
It may not sound like the most glamorous gift in the world, but, at the end of a long travel day, bottled water is the first thing your guests will want. Hotel and resort water is always a bit pricey, so including water in your basket is a genuinely thoughtful gesture. Boxed water is very of-the-moment and sparkling water is perhaps the prettiest choice. Maybe it’s because it’s such an iconic picnic basket staple, but something about San Pellegrino always feels right.
Photography: Oliver Fly
3. Treats
Salty or sweet, hot, sour, or umami. Add some flavor to that welcome bag. To up the pretty factor, look for something local—whether that’s Mexican caramelos or Italian citrus. “I love adding local snacks!” says Dawn of DM Events & Design. “We’re based in Brooklyn and do a lot of Brooklyn weddings so I’ve had clients go crazy with Brooklyn products like MAST chocolate bars, Brooklyn Brewery Beer and swag, and the delicious Fatty Sundays treats.”
Photography: Larissa Cleveland Photography | Custom Cookies: Jasmine Lily Creative
4. Local Culture
Always add an element of local flair and flavor to your bag. From hand-hewn maracas from Mexico to Thai jasmine garlands, these cultural gifts make your bag truly memorable.
In a recent editorial for SMP, Dawn of DM Events & Design created this editorial designed to capture the local charm, pastel colors, and flower-laden buildings of Cartagena. For the shoot, they created a wedding bag infused with local color, culture, and flavor. “In our Cartagena welcome bag,” Dawn explains, “we included hand-painted fans from a local artist that are not only practical but scream ‘Welcome to Cartagena!’” She encourages brides and grooms to let their destination dictate their design choices: “if you’re having a destination wedding, let that destination shine in your welcome bag.”
Floral Design and photo: Bows & Arrows
5. Libations
Leave your guests with a little something festive to drink. We like sparkles & bubbles best of all– miniature Champagne & Prosecco bottles look so pretty!
Photography: Oliver Fly
6. Packaging & presentation
Don’t forget to be choosy about the bag itself. “Packaging is so important because it sets the tone for the welcome bag!” says Dawn of DM Events & Design. As you shop, make sure to look for a bag that is both beautiful and functional: “I always tell my clients to make sure the bag or box is something the guest can reuse,” suggests Dawn. “That way, when they’re using the bag or box, they will always think about your wedding! For our Cartagena photoshoot, we opted for a straw beach bag. The straw bag was fitting for the destination, provided a practical element when walking around the city, and it’s just plain pretty!”
Photography: Stephanie Brauer Photography | Planning & Design: DM Events
7. Something personalized
You’ll want to include personal touches that express your style and just feel like you. SMP predicted that personalized gift-giving would be a major 2019 trend, and it’s one we love– because personalized gifts really capture your essence and honor your guests. As you personalize your gift, think about “simply what you are your partner are known for” Dawn of DM Events & Design says sweetly. Maybe you want to convey your love of travel or your sense of humor, or include your favorite snack—whatever it is, make sure your gift leaves your guests saying, ‘that is so them.’
Photography: Abby Jiu Photography
8. Lotions & Potions – An organic soap, a great hand cream, even a quality SPF– travel-sized toiletries may not be essential, but they make for a lovely upgrade.
9. Monograms – Printed on totes, invitations, and even seals, monograms give your gift that extra cachet.
Photography: Jose Villa | Event Planning & Design: Joy Proctor Design
10. Gorgeous ribbon – Whether velvet, plant-dyed, or pure silk, a luxe ribbon gives your package that finishing touch.
11. A fabric – Serapes and shawls are gorgeous gifts, especially for a winter wedding. But the fabric possibilities don’t end there; Turkish towels, picnic blankets, and pretty embroidered or cultural items (like Mexican huipils and beautifully woven Guatemalan goods) will take your bag to the next level. Feel free to be creative, and seek out velvet, (faux) fur, organic linen, and anything else that gives your bag a little texture.
12. Something seasonal – Seasonal flora, seasonal fragrances, seasonal and local produce– all of these things capture the delicate, ephemeral beauty of nature and of the changing seasons. Evoke the seasons with everything from spring-blooming flowers to warm, winter gingerbread cookies. The seasons play such a poignant role in your wedding and the overall mood it creates, so it’s nice to give a gift that captures that seasonal poetry.
Photography: Jose Villa Photography | Planning & Hosting: Laurie Arons Special Events | Floral Design: Honey of a Thousand Flowers | Event Design & Styling: Daniel Tran
13. Something kind – Nothing could be more beautiful than a gift that gives back. Include a gift that supports your favorite cause or charity, and you allow your wedding to become interwoven with an even bigger, more beautiful story. The Grace Case fills a box with handcrafted heirlooms and pays a fair wage to girls and women who create them, along with its sister company, a line of home wares called The Grace Crafted Home. Meanwhile, Nena & Co. supports artisans in Guatemala, Ghana, and Morocco, so each beautifully patterned bag and accessory blends heritage with design and social responsibility. Gifts like these prove that grace multiplies; as we open these gifts, we can both receive grace and give it as a gift to someone else.
Always plan ahead and outsource the delivery of your bags. It is probably safest to leave the bags in the capable hands of your planners, who can coordinate everything from the design to the delivery. If you aren’t working with a planner, then be sure to check with the hotel concierge and arrange delivery well in advance. Ashley of The Graceful Host feels that delivery is part and parcel of a fine art service; in addition to designing welcome bags, “I also do the delivery,” she adds. “My goal is always to let our clients focus on being the bride and groom, and we handle the rest!”
Hiring your planner to design the baskets is also a huge aesthetic plus, as your planner is so steeped in your design details. Ashley of The Graceful Host explains, “As a fine art wedding planner, I will focus on creating a cohesive wedding design through each detail of a couples’ wedding day, which should include the welcome boxes. I have a heavy hand in the design of our events, so handling the welcome boxes is something I love to do for my couples.”
Photography: Joseph Rogero
A welcome bag is, at the end of the day, an expression of gratitude—and gratitude doesn’t have to be elaborate; it need only be sincere. As you focus on welcoming your guests– rather than impressing them– you will find joy in the design process. Dawn of DM Events & Design echoes this sentiment: “If you don’t have the budget to go all-out, don’t fret! Thoughtful notes or small welcome bags such as mini bottles of wine and cheese goes a long way. They let your guests know that you appreciate them making the trip and you can’t wait to share your special day with them.”
Now that you know how to build a welcome bag, it’s time to style it. Here, we design our dream bags for some of the most beloved and chic wedding destinations:
The Aspen – Create an alpine chic basket with a black watch plaid scarf, a bit of bourbon, and an evergreen bouquet (or, if you’re marrying around Christmastime, a sprig of mistletoe). Work with your custom stationer to create illustrations of old-fashioned ice skaters or, if you have an ironic sense of humor, artwork that looks like a vintage, Chamonix-style ski poster. On your map or guide, be sure to hit the best places to ski, après ski, shop, and dine.
Photography: This Modern Romance
And, because summer in the mountains deserves an entire section unto itself, look to this gorgeous watercolor wedding for more Aspen ideas. We love artwork that recreates the color and magic of a mountain meadow, complete with gondola, hiking trails, and, at the descent, the chicest places to lounge around.
Photography: Rachel Havel | Stationery: Happy Menocal
Napa – This basket should feel so natural, it’s as if you took it with you on a vineyard walk and filled it with your forages. Wine and tasting chocolate are musts, and California produce is always a marvel— consider California citrus or grapes, wrapped with a bit of pretty ribbon. To make your basket even more ‘California,’ think in terms of sustainability– like a soy candle or something from the apothecary. Budget permitting, you could include a small, handmade piece of jewelry whose proceeds go to a favorite cause; Love Heals is a favorite (10 trees are planted for every design sold!).
Photography: Jeremiah and Rachel Photography
France – Capture the feeling of a French picnic by packing your gifts in a wicker basket or foraging bag. Start with a bottle of rosé, and build your basket with favorite treats like local honey, baguette, or your favorite Ladurêe sweet. A lavender bouquet adds a hint of the countryside and can be dried and kept forever, so its fragrance transports guests back to the wedding weekend. Your gift will embody the French sense of the word souvenir, ‘to remember.’
Photography: Ashley Boyan Photography
Ireland – Create a jewel-toned basket with a rich emerald green blanket or tartan, a sprig of champagne grapes (or champagne truffles), Ireland’s famed milk chocolate, and your celebratory drink of choice (whiskey or beer, naturally). An Irish blessing, written in calligraphy, would make for such a lovely gift– pretty enough for your guests to frame and keep.
Photography: Laura Gordon
Tahoe – Picture a box wrapped with a chocolate or toffee-colored velvet ribbon, complete with a little cowhide-covered notebook, a ski guide, and a pair of furry earmuffs. Rich, velvety, wintery, and divine.
Photography: Jose Villa Photography | Planning & Hosting: Laurie Arons Special Events | Floral Design: Honey of a Thousand Flowers | Event Design & Styling: Daniel Tran
Nantucket – We’d love to receive a striped tote bag filled with the best saltwater taffy, a throwaway camera, sunscreen, a little sachet bag filled with seashells, and a map to the island. And you basically have to include a restaurant guide and list of all the places to bike, boat, beach, shop, lobster bake, see and be seen. Go for the whole nautical motif and embrace lighthouses, stripes, anchors and more on your stationery.
Photography: Cameron Clark Photography| Stationery: Albertine Press
Mexico – Create a basket that feels like the embodiment of a Mexican market: overflowing with color, humor, and all things handmade. The authenticity factor is key here, so it’s best to keep everything hecho en México. Our basket would include an exquisitely embroidered fan, a dried flora crown, Lotería card, Mexican coffee beans or tamarind-based sweets, and something, like a sugar skull, that captures Mexico’s slightly morbid sense of humor.
Tuscany (or Pompeii, Positano, Ravello…): Include a handful of Italy’s famed citrus fruits and a map of the beautiful boot-shaped country. Fragrant bread and cheese is lovely, along with refreshing limoncello. And don’t forget miniature bottles of champagne or prosecco!!– when in Rome, you know.
Photography: Facibeni Fotografia
Ranch (Texas, Montana, Wyoming…)- Think Ralph Lauren Americana here: a cowboy hat, a bolo tie, a faux fur wine holder, a flask. Brand your initials into some kind of leather good, and get very prairie chic.
Photography: Larissa Cleveland Photography | Custom Cookies: Jasmine Lily Creative
Cartagena – The best-ever Cartagena bag has already been created, by none other than Dawn of DM Events & Design! “For our Cartagena bag, we had a calligrapher write ‘Welcome to Cartagena’ tags and added hand-dyed silk ribbon that matched the wedding palette,” explains Dawn. The straw bag included gorgeous fans hand-painted by a local artist and “local favorites like coffee and a straw hat!”
Photography: Stephanie Brauer Photography | Planning & Design: DM Events
Wherever you call home – Remember that welcome baskets aren’t just for destination weddings! You can welcome guests wherever you are, and include hometown treats and treasures. Include whimsical illustrations of your wedding timeline and a list of local landmarks and meaningful or nostalgic things to do– all the things that make your hometown ‘home’ to you.
Photography: The Cloud Nine Co. | Stationery: Wide Eyes Paper Co.