It is DIY week at Oh Lovely Day, and I want to kick the week off with a DIY project I did for my own wedding. I've been to a lot of weddings. AAAAA LOT! And as an out-of-town guest, I have always appreciated a good welcome bag. So when I was planning my wedding and knew a majority of our guests were coming to California from all over, I vowed to make them as comfortable as possible.
I wanted to make my welcome bag a little more personal than the generic brown or colored paper bag with a couple of things thrown in. I wanted them to include what I believe are necessities. And I wanted them to be easy and inexpensive for me!
Materials for the bags:
- Canvas tote bags (from cheaptotes)
- Iron-on printer paper (from office depot)
- An iron
- A printer
- An image to print
We had a monogram that we included on our save-the-dates, invitation suite, and other wedding details, and I wanted to put in on our welcome bags. I had to reverse the image so that when it was printed and ironed on it would read correctly. I bought enough tote bags to accommodate each out-of-town couple or guest for our wedding. I printed a coordinating number of monograms. Then I found a hard surface (a table works well- an ironing board doesn't work as well). Follow the directions on the transfer paper packaging. I laid an old pillow case down on the table, put the tote on top of that, and placed the printed paper where I wanted it on the tote. Then I ironed each image on until I had done enough totes for everyone.
Next you have to fill the bags. Here are what I consider essentials:
- 2 bottles of water (this is the most important thing, and one bottle is NOT enough unless for only one person!)
- Snacks (in ours I included special K cereal bars, a bag of chips or crackers, and a small bag of Isabella's Cookies, which are made where we had our wedding and are my absolute fave!)
- Hangover helpers (tums, advil, etc.)
- A map of the area and activities & restaurant recommendations
- Mints and/or gum
- An itinerary of events, including any shuttle departure times (if applicable)
- Sunscreen (if in a beachy area)
Here is a picture of our finished product, complete with itinerary and other items with our monogram:
Total approximate cost per bag = $6
Making your guests feel welcomed, comfortable, informed, and hydrated....priceless
Has anyone else done their own DIY welcome bags?
Has anyone else done their own DIY welcome bags?
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