Now that you have written your Welcome Letter, filled your welcome packet or bag, now how are you going to deliver them to your guests???

There are two main options:

1. Before you leave for your wedding – mailing their packet to them at home before departure. This is not the best choice since your guests would have to also pack these items for the trip. But if there are items you want your guests to have in advance this might be the only option.
2. When your guests arrive to their destination. This is the best option so they have a nice “Welcome” gift when they arrive. We talk about what to include in <this post>. There are three main options of how to delivery your bags to your guests. No matter which option you choose we always recommend to Tag Your Bags.

Tagging your bag ensures that everyone gets their bag and allows you to put special things in certain bags. For instance, you want to put kids toys or things to do in the bags for families, or an extra tequila bottle for your best friend from college or flipside of that give grandma some local honey instead of local liquor. This tag will include the name of the people getting the tag (starting with the last name so the hotel receptionist can find their reservation) and the date of their arrival to their destination.

Now that your bags are filled and tagged, here are the options for delivery:

• Upon Check in to the hotel – Some hotels are happy to help, others charge a fee. Contact your groups reservation department of the hotel to see what your hotel policies are. If it is free or affordable, I recommend only bringing down that days check-ins each morning (instead of handing over all 100 bags at one time), but the manager can help you with this as well. Some hotels will give the bags out during check-in and some will put the bags in each room before check-in. Whichever way, just follow up with the afternoon crew (usually after 3pm check-in time) to ensure they know what is going on and have everything they need to hand out your bags. Side note: We advise to make friends with the front desk staff of all shifts. The nicer you are to them, the more they will want to help you and your guests. If your group likes to party then you will definitely want to get on the good side of the night shift.

If the hotel doesn’t offer bag delivery (or the cost is cost prohibitive) or if you have many guests coming that are not staying at your hotel, then the next two options are best:

• In-Person – This might take a lot of planning and coordination but if you know most guests are arriving around the same time on a certain day, then hanging out in the hotel lobby (hopefully there is a bar within eye shot of the front desk) as most guests are arriving allows you to personally welcome each couple and hand deliver your Welcome Bag. For those getting married on Isla Mujeres, you might want to hang out at the ferry dock bar in order to welcome guests as they arrive on the ferry. Of course you will want the itineraries (arrival time) of your guests to ensure you are not waiting there for no reason. You can also delegate this task to a friend or family member that personally knows the guests arriving so you don’t have to spend your afternoon waiting for people.
• At the Welcome Reception – This is another option if many guests are not staying at your hotel. Schedule Welcome Drinks Cocktail Hour in a non-hotel location on the evening that 90% of your guests are arriving. This will allow everyone to mingle to get to know each other and a chance for you to hand out any extra bags that couldn’t be delivered in the above options. The only potential issue here is that if people are going to go bar hoping or dinner afterwards they don’t really want to carry the bag around with them all night. Maybe delegate someone who is not joining you to being the bags back to their hotel for them.

For those super late comers, we have delivered welcome bags AT the wedding. It is not ideal but at least they were not left out.

As always, talk through the options with your wedding planner to ensure it is all smooth and stress-free. Your planner might have more ideas depending on your plans and destination.

The post Welcome Bag Series: #3 Tips on How to Deliver your Welcome Bags appeared first on Sunhorse Weddings.

1. Things to think of
2. What Kind of “bag”
3. What to include

Things to Think of

1. How much do you have to spend – Including the bag, contents and the delivery. You could spend as little as $7 each or as much as $100 each or more. It would be a good idea to decide your budget before making your plan so you don’t go crazy out of control.
2. How many bags will you make – It is easier to provide one bag per couple/family rather than one per person. This way you can personalize the contents and keep the amount of bags lower.
3. Keep it simple – Keep it to a handful of items. You don’t have to fill it to the top with things, just a few meaningful/useful items is better. Quality rather than quantity is best.
4. Make sure your items are travel friendly – Your guests will probably be flying home if having a destination wedding, so make sure your liquids are less than 3 oz, won’t get taken away buy TSA and Airport security and nothing is bulky to pack.
5. What items you want to bring from home vs buy local to the place you are getting married. Obviously you can buy bottled water once you arrive to your destination but bringing custom labels for those waters is a fun idea that shows your guests that you put thought into it. Some destinations do not have trial sized items as easy as you can find them in the states, so you might want to bring those with you.
6. Not everyone needs to get the same bag. Guests that you know don’t drink liquor can get a bottle of Mexican Coke instead to tequila or two coffee cups instead of shot glasses. Also, you might not want to give your Aunt Betty with the gluten allergy those local cookies.
7. Don’t forget the kids – if you have kids coming, make sure to add things for them such as an activity packet, local toys or added snacks. Family bags can also be bigger sized than the bags for couples or individuals.
8. Will your wedding party or parents have extra things in them? Like a more complete Schedule of Events for the wedding day or special gifts? You might want to think about this when making your “bag plan”.
9. Make a “Bag Plan” what includes a list of who gets bags, notes about each bag, what goes into each bag, When those bag owners arrive to the destination and which hotel they will be in (this will be helpful when you make your tags). I recommend to make this with a spreadsheet so you can sort by guest arrival date or hotel. With this plan you will know exactly how many bottles of water, etc you will need and where you will buy them.
10. Who will fill them with you – recruit your wedding party to help you shop locally and fill your bags once you arrive to your destination. You will need help putting them together, so pop open some champagne, crank the tunes and make it a fun process.
11. How will you deliver your welcome bags – Tips on How to Deliver your Welcome Bags

What Kind of Bag

There are so many different options here depending on budget and preference.  You could:

1. Order custom bags: Things to keep in mind: Make sure people will want to reuse your bag in their everyday life. The most popular is your wedding logo/theme (without names) with the location city and date of your wedding. Reusable shopping bags, canvas bags and beach bags are popular.
2. Buy bags locally from the island: This would lessen what you need to pack in your suitcase however, if you don’t pre-order it might cost more than you expected or you might not get enough of the same size/style for everyone. Mix and matching is a good idea here as well as having a good idea where you will be buying your bags. Talk to your coordinator about where to buy them.
3. Buy paper bags from your local paper store and bring them: To personalize them, you can either print stickers to put on them or buy a custom made stamp to stamp them. This is the most cost effective option. You can also buy collapsed gift boxes as well. This is just a different look but travels well.
4. Other options include a wet bag or a collapsible cooler.

What to Put in your Welcome Bags

The sky is the limit here but a few well thought out items are best. Here are our favorites:

Bring it from Home –

• Your Welcome Letter & Schedule of Events/map
• Recovery Kit (AKA Hangover Kit) – You can buy pre-filled bags (like this one) on Etsy or you can build it yourself:
  • Bag
  • Electrolyte powder
  • Tylenol or Advil travel size
  • Alka-Selzer travel size
  • Pepto travel size
  • Mints travel size
  • Vit C or B-12 travel size
  • Hangover Pill
  • Mini-Energy like 5 Hour Energy
• Other travel size things like:
  • Sunscreen
  • Aloe Vera
  • Stain Remover/Tide pen
  • Purell gel
  • Travel wipe/wet wipes
  • Bug spray
  • Lip balm
• Inflatable Pool Toys – pool games, float tubes, rafts, llama :-)- these are easy to pack from home and generally low cost
• Favorite items from home – these are items that are special to you as a couple. Maybe you love to create your own sugar shower scrub or maybe you want to give individually wrapped cookies from your favorite bakery.
• Go Green – Reusable straws, personalized reusable cups
• Custom Can Coozies
• Kids things – Activity packets with crayons, legos, beach toys, smaller inflatable toys, beach party set
• Bag Label –  You will want to bring a tag with your guests names, date of arrival and hotel to put on each bag so you know which bag goes to whom.

Buy it Local – You can buy most things at the grocery store, Chedraui, or the many specialty shops on the island.

• Bottled water (you can buy at your destination) – possibly with a custom label or a bag of electrolyte powder rubber banded to it
• Local post card
• Local snacks – bought locally: spicy nuts, candies, snack bars, chips, trail mix
• Local liquor – mini bottle of tequila, pox (mayan corn liquor), xtambentun (mayan honey liquor), flavored tequila
• Local flavor – mexican vanilla, mexican coffee beans, mayan honey, chocolate, hot sauce, juice/soda (Mexican coke)
• Local Gifts – Shot glasses, coffee cups, cozies, magnet
• Handmade crafts from Isla Mujeres – pottery from Cafe 42, art from Nalu Gallery, art by Hannah Werchan

More honorable mentions:

• Turkish Towel
• Luggage tags
• Do Not Disturb door hanger
• Portable fan (especially May-October)
• Disposable camera
• Sewing Kit
• Beach games, like a frisbee, water football, hackie sac
• Hydrating face mask kit
• Instant cold compress
• Handmade Soap
• Travel candle
• Wrinkle release spray

Now that you have packed your bags, check out our Tips on How to Deliver your Welcome Bags

The post Welcome Bag Series: #2 Best Things to Put in your Island Welcome Bag appeared first on Sunhorse Weddings.

First, let’s define what is a Welcome Bag:

It is essentially a goodie bag given to your guests as a Thank You for Coming as well as a way to deliver more information to your guests which can make their lives easier.

Here are a few questions to help you decide to make Welcome Bags or not:

1. Can you afford an additional $10+ per guest?  These bags don’t have to break the bank, but even a simple bag can start at $10 per guest. Multiply that by 30, 50, or even 100 bags, and it adds up quickly! When doing the math, plan on making one bag per couple (or per hotel room).
2. Are there items your guests NEED when they arrive to the hotel?   Whether it’s a Schedule of Events or map, think about whether your guests need key items in hand right when they arrive. Welcome bags can be a convenient way to get them everything they need, no fuss.
3. Will it be easy to deliver your Welcome Bags to guests?  If all guests are staying at the same hotel, handing out bags can be a breeze. But if they’re spread out, consider passing bags out at the welcome reception instead!

If you answered “Yes” to all these questions, then you probably should make Welcome Bags. Check out our “Best Things to Put in your Island Welcome Bag” blog post. Here are some things to think about before you start buying your things:

1. It is a nice gesture to provide a “Thank You for Coming” letter for your Welcome Bag. Your bags should always include a Welcome Letter that Thanks people for coming but also includes contact information, helpful tips for the area (places to eat, things to do, where to get cash exchanged, etc) and the Schedule of Events with a map.
2. The cost of your bags will depend on a few things: 1. What you will put in them. 2.Will you provide one bag per person or one per family/couple? 3. What can you bring to your destination vs buy locally at your destination? By adding items like “Hang-over Kits”, local snacks, inflatable water toys, bottled water, then you can keep costs low while making a big impact.
3. Depending on when your guests are arriving and where they are staying, Welcome Bag delivery might get burdensome. If everyone is staying at the same hotel then it will be much easier, but if they are scattered then you might need to hand them out at the Welcome Reception instead. Check out the “Tips on How to Deliver your Welcome Bags” blog post for tips and tricks to ensure your guests receive their bags when they arrive.

If you decide that a Welcome Bag is not needed, then at the very least consider providing your guests with a Welcome Letter (as stated above) that thanks people for coming but also includes contact information, helpful tips for the area (places to eat, things to do, where to get cash exchanged, etc) and the Schedule of Events with a map. This could be emailed to each guest a couple days before they arrive or it can be at their hotel upon arrival. We spell out what should be included in the Welcome Letter in our “What to include in a Welcome Letter for your Destination Wedding” post.

The post Wedding Welcome Bag Series: #1 Welcome Bags? Yes or No appeared first on Sunhorse Weddings.