OOT bags,... too much?

[azhuskergirl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by twinkletoes Depending on how many guests you are having, things can defitenly add up for the OOT bags. If you are crafty and have the time, you can totally do a lot of DIY projects to help cut down on some of those expenses. I am doing them, but only b/c I am having less than 20 guests and I caught a lot of bargains. My advice would be to make a list of everything you want or would include in the bag, do a price estimate and see how it goes. Like the other posts said, stick to a budget of per bag. Another expense you have to take in consideration is how you're getting the bags to your destination. With these weight allowances chaning with the airlines, you may want to be leary of that fact as well. In all honesty, guests can live with or without the bags, I just thought it was a nice, inexpensive, touch to show them my gratitude for traveling soo far for our special occassion :~)

I agree completely. We ordered 25 bags & we'll only need about 16, so it's very manageable for us. We added fun things like beer coozies (which are very appropriate for our attendees), some meds/shoutwipes/eyeglass cleaner/lipbalm from Hawaii (things that may be forgotten at home), local snacks & water, and infomation needed during the trip. None of the items are needed by the guests, but we thought it'd be a nice thing to receive after a long flight from the mainland.

If you have the time & money you can go crazy, but something small (even a $5 bag will be appreciated by your guests. Even if it's a few snacks & a bottle of water in a paper gift bag with a note from the two of you.

[NYJen]

I went to a wedding once out on long island where we needed to stay over night and the bride gave out "Welcome bags" but they were small paper shopping bags. Have you thought about that. I know they're not as cute as tote bags, but they'll still give the same message.

 

Check this site out for inexpensive bags:

 

Paper Mart Packaging Store

[1elephant]

i forgot about that, jen! my bfs wedding was down at the shore and she got paper bags, decorated them with scrapbook pages that had love quotes on them and filled them w/ a bottle of water and snacks from sam's club. nothing extravagant, just something simple.

[NYJen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by *lauren* i forgot about that, jen! my bfs wedding was down at the shore and she got paper bags, decorated them with scrapbook pages that had love quotes on them and filled them w/ a bottle of water and snacks from sam's club. nothing extravagant, just something simple.

Exactly!!! That's what we got (bottled water, snacks, gum, aspirin, etc.) Just a little token gift without them having to break the bank over it.

Also, I gave out paper shopping bags at the end of the night at my wedding (for guests to carry all their goodies back to their rooms - paper fans from the ceremony, flip flops, pashimas, luggage tag name cards, etc) and I went to Zazzle custom t-shirts and more, create or shop for unique designs shipped in 24 hours to have stickers made with our logo on it and I put them on the bags. It was cute without being over done.

[1elephant]

i just made logo stickers for a friend using the printable sticker paper. it's a couple bucks for a few sheets that can be cut. that's another option.

[DanielleNDerek]

Just like everyone else said you don't have to go crazy with the bags you can just throw in some snacks and $1 items and put in a paper bag if you want. Before you talk to your fi again i would research how much the things you want to include in the bag are and how much the bags are and then when you talk to him you can say "hey the bags will only cost us $ per person. these people are flying a long way to share in our special day so i'd like to do something special for them." And if you don't want to do favors tell him the oot bags are replacing favors. He's got to let you give the guests something, right?

[ericaandsy]

We are planning to do one bag per room. My FI feels the same way as yours it's alot of money to spend and we are already spending so much money on other things. BUT at the same time it's a nice thank you to your guests for making the commitment to be at your wedding.

try these two sites!!

Party supplies, crafts, party decorations, toys: Oriental Trading

Minimus - For All Your Travel Size Item Needs

 

Good luck you will find a bunch of other websites and ideas on here to make things cost effective!!

[Soon To Be Mrs. Gomez]

My FI things OOt bags are silly. He is not as detailed as I am, but I will wait until the main things are paid for before looking into the bags. I agree that the OOT bags add that special touch to the destination wedding.

[endlesslove]

We're trying to scale down costs as much as possible. And of course a *certain someone* thinks OOT bags are "stupid." But I want something nice for our guests. So I'm buying things when I see them on sale. I figure 2 years worth of buying sale items , won't add up to *too* much. It's a small gift, they're paying a lot to come. So I think it's nice to give. I even plan on giving one to our photographer to let her know she's not just there as a photographer, but our guest as well.

[zorlack76]

Regarding a different aspect of the OOT bags, how is everyone getting theirs to their destination? Do you fill them when you get to your destination? Is this something you would put in your carryon, or in your checked luggage