For a destination wedding, welcome bags are a great gesture to show your appreciation for guests that are attending your wedding. Below are a few welcome bag gift ideas for a destination wedding (that your guests will love!)
Personalized bag
The first thing you will need for a welcome bag is the bag itself! I used these bags here (18 came in a pack). It held all of the presents and can be used as a beach bag during your trip.
You can personalize them by designing a graphic on Canva and printing them on iron-on paper.
Welcome letter and itinerary
Including a letter in your welcome bag is a great way to thank your guests for coming and to share any plans with them.
What to write on your welcome letter can be as simple as thanking your guests for coming, the day and location of the wedding, and any other special activities that you have planned. Adding a wedding hashtag for sharing photos can help keep photos connected.
Tumbler
At all-inclusive resorts drinks are free, and providing your guests with their own personalized tumbler is are great welcome bag gift ideas for your destination wedding.
Designs on the tumblers can be as simple as the wedding location and year, names of the bride and groom, a fun picture, or your guest’s name.
I chose tumblers that had handles for easy carrying, and had a lid that could be closed securely.
Tip: Help make it easy for your guests to identify which tumbler is theirs. All of the tumblers I gave my guests were the same, so it was easy to mix them up. Something as simple as a different colored rubber bands can help!
First Aid Kit
Including a little kit with a few essential items adds a great touch. Travel-sized helps save space too.
- Lip chap with spf
- Advil in travel sized packages
- Bandaids
- Pepto bismol chewable tablets
- Hand sanitizer
- Travel sized sunscreen
Towel
This is a gift from the travel agency when guests booked their tickets, so check and see what freebees your guests will get before buying anything to avoid duplicating presents. But if it’s not a gift that is provided by your travel agent, a towel is a great gift to give to your guests.
When you are at the beach, it is easy to find other wedding guests because of their towels. AND they don’t blend in with the resort towels which all look the same. It’s also something they can use over and over again after the wedding is over.
Personalized fans for the wedding
A destination wedding will most likely have beautiful sunny weather. I chose to get married in the evening so that it would be cooler (and also for the sunset pictures!). A customized fan that matches your wedding colors is a great way to keep your guests cool and a nice memento.
Give the fans to your wedding coordinator so that they can put them on the chairs on your wedding day.
Welcome Bag Gift Ideas – Important Tips
Hand deliver your welcome bags. Do not depend on the resort to distribute them to your guest’s rooms. When I had my destination wedding, I relied on the hotel to distribute the bags, and I wish I didn’t because it was confusing for the hotel staff and a few bags almost got stolen. So learn from my mistake and give your guests the bags personally! You can always get their room numbers from the front desk or message them.
Assemble your welcome bags at home. Try to assemble them as much as possible back home to save time when you arrive at the resort.
Give thank you notes after the wedding is over. After the wedding is over and you are back home, thank your guests for attending. You can personalize it as much as you want. I made little photo album/booklets with pictures from the trip, with a hand written note inside, for each guest. I made mine on Vistaprint.
Suggested Reading: Tips for how to plan a destination wedding
As a guest, what would you want in a welcome bag for a destination wedding? Let me know in the comments below!
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