The Little Things that Make a Difference on your BIG Day - Part 1

This post goes out to all of my future brides out there! 

Just like everyone told me, my wedding day was the best day of my life, but went by so quickly. You spend months and months planning, and if you are like me, that means even the minor details that the majority of the guests will never notice. However, those were the things that I enjoyed the most. I wanted our wedding to be an experience and in order to do that, every little thing from start to finish had to be just right! The ironic part is that despite how much you plan, there are just certain things you can't control.

My husband and I got married in Cape Cod (which if you ask my great aunt is considered a destination wedding, even though we live in the same state). This did mean that the majority of our guests had to get hotel rooms for the night/weekend. As I mentioned, I needed to make sure that the 'experience'  was kicked off from the very beginning. This meant creative Cape Cod guest bags filled with so many goodies that the bags break (yes this happened to a few). I spent months searching for the right items to put into each bag that represented us as a couple, our wedding, and Cape Cod. Regardless of where you are getting married, hopefully some of the ideas I used can help with kicking off your own 'experience'! 

+ FOOD

What kind of guest bag doesn't have food?! You can stick with easy to eat items that represent a theme, such as a location, color scheme, or something that starts only with the initials of your new last name or just add the necessities. With Cape Cod, we had Cape Cod potato chips, granola bars (not relevant to CC but just practical), salt water taffy, red, white, and blue mints (we had a nautical themed wedding), homemade chocolates out of seashells (total credit goes to my MIL for making and packaging them), and a pack of gum.  

+BEVERAGE 

This can be as simple as just water bottles. However, once again, I couldn't leave anything 'simple' for my wedding, so each bottle had a custom label made by my bridesmaid (holla to Mary) with a stamped anchor. You can buy the water bottle labels at Michaels and just added a little emblem (either initials, symbol, or message) that your guests can enjoy. In addition to the water, we also included a can of Cape Code Cranberry Soda for just an extra tough. I had also thought about adding Gatorade, crystal light packets, or even pedialyte packets (great hangover cure). 

+ OTHER NECESSITIES

Every bag can use the basics - tissues, aspirin, sunscreen, hand sanitizer. You can even get creative and use a tropical or holiday scent to match the time frame of your wedding. 

+ HANG OVER KIT

The one thing you should consider for your wedding (not just for welcome bags, but in all aspects of planning) is to know your audience. We had a lot of younger friends, Irish family members, and an open bar, so we expected some of our guests to not feel so great the next morning. Within each welcome bag, I included a separate little bag called the 'Gordy Hangover Kit'. It included aspirin, a 'do not disturb' sign, a sticker with Baby Carlos on the front and some pedialyte packets. 

+ PAPER GOODS

This doesn't refer to paper plates, cups or napkins, but rather actual paper. Because a lot of our guests were staying for the weekend, we included different maps of the area and some post cards (more for the CC feel and not to actually send). We also included a timeline for the guests to know exactly when they had to stop drinking and get to the buses for the ceremony. Even with this, we still had plenty of guests that missed the transportation! 

All in all, I loved the welcome bags and that was all that mattered. I know that the guests appreciated them as well and when you look back, you can say that you didn't miss a trick! 

Stay tuned for more wedding filled details in a future post! And if you need any help/suggestions with your wedding details, please let me know!