Destination Wedding Welcome Bags

What We Put In Our Welcome Bags

I was so caught up in planning the itinerary for our guests that it never crossed my mind to have a welcome bag until I read an article on do’s and don’ts of a destination wedding. It 100% made sense but with only a month until our big day, I had some research to do. I‘ve been to weddings where they spend a ton on favors that get left on the table or have no value to the guest…We tried to avoid this by making ours thoughtful, useful and budget friendly. Here is a list of what we came up with and I would not have changed a thing.

10 Items We Put In Our Welcome Bags

The Bag:

Etsy - $5 per bag. We went with this super cute, personalized, burlap bag and it was a 10 out of 10. Super cute and affordable. The bows came already attached and the navy fabric is non-wrinkle so they were ready to go right out of the box. There are two size options, 25cm and 44cm. The smaller size was perfect and easier to travel with. Not only did these make a great first impression and make our guests feel special, they were used as little beach bags every day.

Bag Name Tag:
Amazon - Pack of 100 for $7. What we liked about having our guest’s names on the bag is that it helped us know who still hadn’t picked up their bag since we had a few stragglers that couldn’t make the welcome reception. Plus, it added an extra bit of personalization for them.
Women’s Heart Sunglasses:
Amazon - 9 pairs for $18. This was a hot item that did not go to waste. Some of my favorite pictures are with my friends wearing these.
Men’s Sunglasses:
Amazon - 24 pairs for $22. The guys loved these! Sturdy and sleek for the price. My dad still wears his but I’m not sure if that should be a determining factor. lol
Pineapple Straw:
Amazon - 50 for $10. When these arrived, we were disappointed with how flimsy they were. With that said, they looked adorable and festive sticking out of the top of the bag and we would randomly see our guests at different times sipping their beverages poolside with them so they ended up being useful and cute.
Pool Float:
Amazon - 4 for $27. This was our biggest expense but also the most loved and utilized by our guests. We did one float per bag/couple because of the cost but there were more than enough to go around with some people in the water and some on lounge chairs. Added bonus, we did all blue and white stripes which matched our wedding colors.
Personalized SPF 30 Sunscreen:
Amazon - 12 for $39. These added an element of personal touch with our name and wedding date on it. We’re not sure how much our guests used it but sunscreen was insanely expensive at the resort so we’re glad we had it in there in case they forgot their own.
Bug Spray:
Amazon - 12 for $19. We were told to be prepared for mosquitos so this was something we needed to have. However, we were lucky that bugs were never an issue while we were in the Dominican. We would have left these off the list had we known.
Room Key Holder & Itinerary:
This was something I discovered in my welcome bag research that was a fan favorite. Not only did it have the 3-day itinerary, but it was perfect for carrying their room key and tip money. We had to purchased a few items separately to bring this together:
- Customizable Template: Etsy - Downloadable template for $9. Quick and easy to customize
- Wrist Coil Keychain: Amazon - 50 for $15
- Room Key Holder: Amazon - 50 for $13
An Ounce of Luck:
Since we felt so LUCKY IN LOVE, we were hoping our luck would rub off on our guests. We put a $2 lottery scratch-off in each bag.
Welcome Note:
Etsy - Downloadable template for $6. Quick and easy to customize. We had ours printed on cardstock at Staples.

In Summary:

We spent $13/per guest.

Your guests are not expecting a welcome bag but it is a thoughtful thing to do since they are traveling so far to celebrate with you. When putting something like this together, consider these 4 things:

Is it in my budget?
Will my guests really use it? Will it enhance their experience or go in the hotel trash?
Will it travel well? (Chocolate melts - Not a good idea!!
Will all the contents fit in my luggage? (We needed two extra suitcases to fit 25 deconstructed welcome bag items and assembled them when we arrived)

Happy shopping!!

Side note on when/how to give your welcome bags to your guests: We found it was best to give them out at our welcome reception on the first night. We originally asked the hotel to put them in our guest’s room but there are so many things that can go wrong... The room isn’t ready in time, your guest asks for an upgrade, the bag gets put in the wrong room, etc. It’s best to keep them in your possession and hand them out directly. Plus, you get the added benefit of seeing their reaction!

Here are some pictures of our welcome bag items in action: