Creating Nashville Welcome Bags for Your Out-of-Town Wedding Guests
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
What's in your welcome bag? That's what we were left wondering after featuring Chris and Amy's wedding last month. As a Tennessee native now living in Los Angeles, Amy returned to Nashville for her wedding and created welcome bags for her out-of-town guests.
We reached out to Amy to get a full list of her bag's contents in order to help you plan for your out-of-town guests.
As we'd hoped, it was full of Tennessee goodies!
What was the idea behind using blank (no-design) beige bags for your welcome bags?
We just wanted plain brown bags. We had everyone’s name printed on little manila tags and tied them to the bags with twine. The design of the bags went along with the rustic venue, the Fontanel. The bags are plain and that’s what we wanted, they went with the feel of our wedding. They had a simple southern feel, especially the twine.
What components did you include in the welcome bags?
My mother and I worked hard on those. Especially my mother, because some of her friends were coming in from afar and she wanted to showcase good Tennessee stuff. Everyone got Goo Goos, Moon Pies, a miniature bottle of Jack Daniels and an RC cola or two. Maps of Nashville and a list of things to do downtown and in the area. And some basics like water and Advil. My mother also found little mini boxes of Martha White cornmeal, which were really cute. There was also a wedding agenda. The bridal party had a slightly different agenda, while the guests had agendas that invited them to additional events and also made them aware of the shuttle service from the hotel to the wedding venue.
We had so many items left over, my mother bought way too much stuff.
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Who were the gift/welcome bags given to and how were they distributed?
The bags were for the out of town guests. Most people were staying at the hotel where we were, in the Hilton downtown. So we personally delivered them to the hotel, to be held for everyone when they checked in. There were a couple of people who we knew were staying nearby and we had a happy hour welcome on Thursday (since this is when a lot of people came into town). So, we gave a lot of them out at that happy hour too.
How important do you feel that the welcome bags were to the guest experience?
I think they liked them. I think that some of the items appealed to some individuals and not others (i.e. some people may not drink whiskey, while some might not like Moon Pies). I think it’s probably important. I have been to some destination weddings and I think it means a lot to get there and see that people are thankful that I came all this way and left some cool things for us during our stay here.
I think the addition of the wedding agenda was a big help because not a lot of people are checking the website to get the additional information. I think it’s really nice to show out of town people that these are the things that Nashville and Tennessee are known for. It gives them refreshments in case they get back to the room late and need something small to snack on. I think it’s very handy.
Photos: The Collection
About the Author:
Intern Laurie
Hello beautiful brides! I spent the greater part of last year planning my Nashville wedding and discovered just how much fun the entire process can be! My first stop, of course, was Ashley’s Bride Guide. It helped me with everything from finding a venue to preserving my wedding dress. I would have been lost without it. When presented with the opportunity to intern for Ashley’s Bride Guide, I jumped at the chance to give back to the fantastic resource that had been so instrumental in planning my wedding. I look forward to utilizing my wedding experiences to help other local brides prepare for their big day. I also can’t wait to absorb the abundance of ideas and information that Ashley and this industry have to offer.
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Posted on September 25, 2013 |
Filed under: Destination Nashville Weddings!, Guests, Gifts & Favors, Real Nashville Brides,
