table of contents

What is the difference between a wedding favor and a wedding guest welcome gift?
How expensive are Wedding Welcome Gifts?
How to Package Wedding Guest Welcome Gifts?
How do you distribute Wedding Welcome Bags?
What to Put in Hotel Gift Bags for Wedding Guests?
What Paper Goods to Include in Welcome Gifts?
DIY Wedding Guest Gifts or Outsource Wedding Gifts?
3 Reasons to Outsource Your Wedding Welcome Gift
Lavender + Pine - Custom Gifting and What They’re All About
Steps for the Custom Gifting Process
Can I have Custom Wedding Welcome Gifts Shipped Anywhere?
A Special Offer from L+P

Bag or box, black, white, or beige, fancy or not, wedding welcome gifts are the perfect way to let your guests know they are being thought of. Picture this: Your guests frantically pull into their hotel -  tired, thirsty and rushing to change into wedding attire to make it to your wedding ceremony (and obviously you would love for them to arrive as on time as possible). They walk into their hotel room and there it is, the most beautifully curated and intentional welcome gift. They breathe a sigh of relief, take a sip of water, enjoy a little snack bar and tuck one away in their clutch to drive to the ceremony. You’ve now welcomed your guests with a wave of warm hospitality and started their wedding weekend experience with a gesture of thoughtfulness. If you’ve ever attended a wedding, particularly ones with overnight stays, that had a welcome gift you know firsthand just how incredible this can be for your entire memory of the weekend.

This post is brought to you with help from my very favorite gifting gal, Alexandra, owner of Lavender and Pine, an incredible elevated gifting company based right here in Connecticut. I have a lot to say about Alexandra and her incredible team and they are without a doubt the business I turn to when I am in need of sending a gift for any occasion. All of the photographs you see featured throughout this post are images I’ve taken of L+P’s thoughtfully crafted gifts. I’m going to answer a few general questions about wedding welcome gifts first and then we’ll dive into details and thoughts directly from the expert herself, along with ways to work with her to execute your welcome gift vision, if you choose! Plus…. Alexandra has given me an offer to extend to you if you’re considering building the perfect wedding welcome bag or box. There really is no one I would trust more to create a more personalized wedding welcome gift! As a Connecticut Wedding Photographer, I can truly say this career has connected me with some of the most hardworking, inspiring, and downright cool business owners, creatives, and people and for that I will always be grateful.

What is the difference between a wedding favor and a wedding guest welcome gift?

Typically, the wedding favor is what is given to guests at the wedding reception. There are many options for wedding favors, including opting out in lieu of a donation to the couple’s chosen charity, organization, or other meaningful endeavor. If the couple chooses to offer a gift, I believe I can speak on Alexandra’s behalf when I say, we both encourage going the direction of experiential and consumable items. Getting married in Cape Cod? Saltwater taffy for guests to munch on in the colors of your wedding palette. Tying the knot in the woodlands of New Hampshire or Vermont? I vote maple syrup. Always. 

WEDDING WELCOME GIFTS ELEVATE YOUR GUESTS’ EXPERIENCE

I’m all about relationships and experiences and I truly believe a wedding welcome gift elevates your guest experience. If you’re looking for other ways to make your guests’ experience even more memorable be sure to check out my post 7 Ways to Elevate The Guest Experience at Your Wedding.

Back to wedding welcome gifts, which are in fact in line with what the title alludes to - they are how you welcome your guests to the weekend and typically can be found at the hotel, or if you’re having a destination wedding or a weekend filled with other events for all of your guests, could be found at the welcome gathering. I’ve been starting to see some truly gorgeous swoon-worthy setups to display these gifts and all I’m saying is that if you’re reading this and planning to have a display designed to distribute gifts… please fill out my contact form so we can chat about me capturing that memory.

How expensive are Wedding Welcome Gifts?

How much you spend on wedding welcome gifts for your guests entirely depends on how much of a statement you would like to make and how elaborate and memorable you would like the wedding welcome gift to be. There is a bit more of a cost breakdown if you choose to work with L+P further down in this post, but ultimately the choice is yours to make based on your budget. Welcome gifts can be a simple snack and water in consideration of their initial arrival needs, or it can aim to take care of them throughout the weekend with a few breakfast bars, hydration packs, advil, etc. or you can go a step further and make the gift specifically tailored to the local area and your guests making memories in the town and bringing those memories home with them. As a Connecticut Wedding Photographer based in the Mystic, Connecticut area I love when couples include coastal elements to their wedding welcome bags such as custom items from Mystic Knotworks, snacks sourced from businesses in Old Mystic Village (when my husband and I were married in Mystic we even included a local map to help guests acclimate to the local area). Speaking of - if you’re planning a wedding in Mystic, Connecticut be sure to check out my Complete Guide to Getting Married in Mystic, Connecticut!

How to Package Wedding Guest Welcome Gifts?

I would highly recommend relying on Alexandra and her team to custom design something for you and they will match the packaging with the aesthetic of your wedding day vision - this is one of the things I’m most impressed with L+P for and the attention to detail is incredible. What you display your wedding welcome gift in for guests can be a bag, box, tote, or other creative item. Be sure to keep in mind who will be distributing and how they will be transported.

How do you distribute Wedding Welcome Bags?

Often your hotel will distribute them to wedding guests’ hotel rooms or they will have the welcome gifts stationed at the front desk to hand to parties as they check in. In my opinion, working with a company that handles the delivery to the hotel makes all the difference. They will coordinate with the hotel, handle any broken goods, and make sure that you don’t have to stress about the logistics, timing or assembling of these thoughtful and unique wedding welcome gifts.

What to Put in Hotel Gift Bags for Wedding Guests?

SO MANY THINGS. The options are endless. Snacks, water, hydration packets, treats, local goods, first aid items, necessary items for the wedding ceremony and reception (sunglasses, handkerchief, etc.) - you get the idea. The only limit to what you can include to give a unique wedding welcome to your guests is truly desire and budget.

What Paper Goods to Include in Welcome Gifts?

If you know your guests will receive their gift at the true beginning of the weekend I love the idea of including a wedding weekend itinerary - Two Connecticut based go-to Stationery Studios are Tulaloo, an incredible Connecticut based artist that can supply you with custom drawings to match the location of your local or destination wedding and Phillips Designs who specializes in bespoke stationery as well as custom created signage and installation pieces. In addition, a beautiful calligraphed “Welcome” can really make such a statement and impact and for all of your calligraphy needs Erin with Nob Hill Jane is your go-to gal! These are good things to know if you choose to tackle creating wedding guest welcome gifts on your own; however, if you choose to outsource this task to a trusted business, Alexandra will handle the coordination and execution of the paper goods in your gift. Speaking of outsourcing…

DIY Wedding Guest Gifts or Outsource Wedding Gifts?

Listen - take it from someone who went the DIY route for our wedding (many years ago before Lavender and Pine existed)... while I was glad we were able to care for our guests in this way and the memory of putting these bags together with my now husband are so special... OUTSOURCE. Some things seem really straightforward until you really get into the logistics of pulling it together, especially on top of all of the general wedding planning things. That being said, the coolest thing about Lavender and Pine is that they give you the best of both worlds with basically two different options for approach. If you’re going all in on those gifts and want to hand over every piece of the thinking (read: stress) Alexandra and her team offer the Fully Custom approach. The second option is a more DIY approach (but still maintains contact with a business owner that will truly care about your experience compared to a big box store, and also #supportsmallbusiness). No bots, chat boxes, or automated responses - L+P is with you every step of the way! Below are 3 specific reasons to outsource to the L+P team.

3 Reasons to Outsource Your Wedding Welcome Gift

1. While yes, you can certainly choose the DIY route there are certainly some top reasons I would recommend outsourcing welcome bags. Lavender and Pine has the best branded products and from the photos you can tell - it’s a whole VIBE. When I was photographing these different wedding welcome gifts I couldn’t help but transport myself into the type of celebration it would be. I know it’s cheesy, but somehow she and her team have a way of making the gift make a statement, tell a story, and pull you in. I’ve often noticed that L+P puts in the time to seek out the branding for items that make your gift feel cohesive. Taking the time to do all of that and make it work with the packaging, it’s truly magic. I decided to theme the gifts pictured below: Elegant Garden Wedding, Luxurious Chic Soiree, and Coastal Wedding Celebration, and I think when you take a look you’ll see why.

2. They handle delivery. Need I say more. Truly.

3. You can relax and know your guests will be taken care of. Finding just the right company to outsource this service to is so important. While you could choose to outsource to a larger company, the truth is that the beauty in hiring Alexandra and her team is the level of service in care. You have to worry about nothing. And that alone feels like enough of a reason to outsource and let your hospitality shine with your most loved friends and family as they arrive to celebrate your wedding.

Without further ado, I’d love to introduce you to Alexandra and let her share some of the true details of her process for curating and creating the most beautiful wedding welcome gifts for engaged couples in Connecticut and beyond!

Lavender + Pine - Custom Gifting and What They’re All About

Gifting is clearly our love language at L+P and adding welcome gifting to the list of services we offer was a no brainer after I had been on the receiving end of one back in 2019! The immediate feeling of being handed a gift of goodies upon checking into our hotel room made my then fiancé and I feel so special. It just so happened that we were also hungry from in between the church and reception (we were running a bit late so went straight to the ceremony) and the local snacks and beverages inside were just enough to hold us over until it was time for dinner! At that time, I’ve never experienced a welcome gift before, and really didn’t even know that was a thing but I instantly knew I wanted to create my own for our wedding later that year.

We love intentional details and truly want to create an experience for our clients and their guests. We take packaging and products to an elevated level and our service is engaging and fun from design all the way through to delivery.

Consider us your personal gift Concierge!

Below are the steps of the Custom Gifting process:

1. The very first start of our process is a scheduled consultation call with you and/or your Planner. This is when we discuss all of the fun details about your welcome gifts and answer any questions you have!

2. We then design a fully custom proposal for your gifts. It includes our recommended gift design, alternative options to plug and play, itemized pricing and more! It's very detailed and tailored specifically to your event. Bonus! If your proposal includes goodies from our Favor Line, you can sample our products before making a decision by purchasing our Favor Sample Kit. Should you decide to purchase one of our favors for your gifts, the cost of the kit will be deducted from your overall project cost.

3. Once a design is approved, we create a production calendar based on your event timeline. We handle all of the coordination here, so you don't have to worry about due dates or deadlines. This includes reaching out to your hotels for shipping/drop off coordination and Stationery Designer for timelines on your day of paper goods!

4. When it's time for your gift assembly- that's when the magic happens in our studio! Like a well-oiled machine, we create assembly lines and pack up everything nice and neatly, ready for their destination!

5. It's time for your gifts to be delivered! Whether we are delivering them to your event directly or shipping them to one or multiple destinations, we handle the logistics here for you as well and confirm when everything is dropped off and your time with us is officially complete. 

6. BONUS: If you are working with a Wedding Planner, we are now providing “Welcome Gift Kits” which will include one extra welcome gift, including stationery, ribbons, products and packaging specifically for your Photographer to photograph while they shoot all of your details! This kit will be mailed directly to your Planner to hand off to the Photographer the day of, or prior to your Wedding Day.

If you want welcome gifts that are a bit more turnkey, our latest and greatest offering is our one of a kind Welcome Gift Builder that allows you to build your own in just minutes! Whether you need 5 or 500, you can build your own gifts, schedule your ship date, ship us your stationery to include and we will have them assembled and ready to go when you need them!

how to build a beautiful wedding welcome gift

So, if you’re planning and your wedding and feeling inspired to include gifts for your guests at the wedding but feel intimidated by tackling the task yourself, he is the breakdown of the options for working with Lavender and Pine for your wedding day needs (and be sure to read through to the bottom for a special offer to all of you reading):

FULL CUSTOM WELCOME GIFTS

Minimum: 24 Gifts

Starting Cost: $40 each (including the service aspects: design and fulfillment)

Turnaround: 6+ Weeks

BUILD YOUR OWN WELCOME GIFTS

Minimum: None

Starting Cost: $19 each

Does not include shipping (this cost is added at checkout)

Turnaround: 3-4+ Weeks

WEDDING & PARTY FAVORS

Minimum: Varies

Starting Cost: Varies

Turnaround: 2+ Weeks

Can I have Custom Wedding Welcome Gifts Shipped Anywhere?

In-person delivery is available within certain areas. If you are outside of the tri-state, gifts can be shipped anywhere in the US! L+P will provide an approximate shipping cost once gift and hotel locations are determined. In-person delivery fees will vary based on actual location.

So what’s the take away? Wedding guest welcome gifts are a small but significant touch that can elevate your wedding day from ordinary to extraordinary. They show your guests how much you appreciate them, set the tone for a memorable event, add personalization and create lasting memories. Whether you have a large or small budget, there are plenty of creative ways to incorporate welcome gifts into your special day. Don't overlook this important detail! Make sure you provide your guests with a warm welcome and a gift they'll always remember.

A SPECIAL GIFT OFFER AND DISCOUNT FROM L+P

Hopefully by now we’ve answered a few of your biggest questions about wedding welcome gifts! I’m thrilled to say Alexandra has extended a 10% off your entire order if you use this link here or simply enter code FROMCORA. 

Now please, go start a conversation with Alexandra, or begin creating your own wedding welcome bags and send me a photo of what you put together!! Better yet, if you’re still in the process of planning your wedding and selecting the creative team to walk you through your day, head to the contact form below and I would love to chat about your wedding day vision.

Cora is a Connecticut Wedding Photographer based near Mystic, Connecticut, photographing love stories throughout New England (and beyond). Cora is a wife, mom and photographer and finds joy in relationships - with her husband, her daughter & son, family, friends, and couples. Her photographic style emphasizes warmth and romance experienced by genuine people in classic New England places. When on the road or in the air you will likely find her exploring Boston, Massachusetts; New Haven, Connecticut; Block Island, Rhode Island; Newport, Rhode Island; Hudson Valley, New York; or New York City, New York. Learn More