Traveling for wedding can be a big sacrifice for most people. It usually requires time off of work, gas money/airfare and hotel rooms. Another way to show how much you appreciate your out of town guests is to provide them with a “welcome basket.” These are great ways to start the weekend off right.

Welcome baskets can be brought to the hotel concierge or front desk ahead of time and distributed to your guests upon their arrival. If your guests are staying with family or friends, drop off the baskets at the homes ahead of time. They do not literally have to be a “basket.” You can use decorative gift bags or boxes.  It’s great to include a weekend schedule, a map of the area, directions to all family events for the weekend, some local restaurant recommendations and other goodies. Here are a few ideas:

Wedding Theme: Make all the items relate to your wedding’s theme. For example, a winery.

• Include a bottle of wine from the vineyard
• Include the winery’s brochure
• A wine glass
• A bottle opener
• Chocolates that pair well with the wine

Couple’s Theme: Center all the goodies around the bride and groom

• The groom’s favorite candy and the bride’s favorite candy
• The groom’s favorite beverage and the bride’s favorite beverage
• A professional photo of the couple
• A keepsake from the bride and groom’s colleges such as a pen or a key chain
• A sample of their favorite coffee beans

Location Theme: Make all the goodies relate to the state or city of the wedding. This is what I did for mine:

• A bag of Virginia peanuts
• A bottle of Virginia Cider
• Virginia made potato chips
• A nice pen from the University of Virginia (also my school)
• Virginia made chocolate bar

I bought plain white gift bags from a craft store and decorated them myself. This was a fun way to invite some bridesmaids over to help decorate and assemble the welcome baskets. You can get really creative with this project and also create a very memorable gift for your guests!

One of the prettiest ways to end your reception is to make a grand exit through a tunnel of sparklers. It takes a bit more coordination than bubbles or flower petals, but it is well worth the great photo opt! It is best to buy 20 or 36 inch sparklers because the burn time on them is anywhere from 2 to 4 minutes!  My favorite online company to purchase the sparklers is Sparkle. They have great prices and offer better quality sparklers. Also, sparklers light much better when lit by another sparkler – this online company includes a small box of normal sparklers to help jump start the lighting process.

Make sure to utilize the help of your bridesmaids and groomsmen when lining all your guests up and getting the sparklers lit. But most of all, take your time making your grand exit. Walk slowly, smile pretty and take in the moment!

Would it surprise you to know that etiquette says wedding favors are not necessary if you serve your guests a full dinner? That’s right, all the guest needs is an appetizer,  a salad,  the main course and wedding cake to make them go home happy. Though sometimes excessive or unnecessary, we brides still want to send our guests home with a little token of our wedding day. Some of my favorite (and by favorite I tend to think “practical”) wedding favors I have been:

• A decorative photo frame that had a picture of the couple in it, but we were told to take it home and use it however we’d like
• A posh packet of wildflower seeds that doubled as our place cards
• A box full of real Belgium chocolates (I think that’s very practical)
• A personalized wine bottle (Full, of course)

Photo by Jason Keefer

A great source for printing your own personalized labels for any type of wedding accessory is MyOwnLables.com. Here you can make wine bottle labels, CD labels, coaster labels, hang tags, you name it!