Weddingbee Blog

One area we really splurged on was the OOT bags. We loved our guests for traveling to be with us and we know Newport isn’t the most cost-friendly location. We really wanted to let them know we appreciated their time, love, and support.

I found a lot of ideas for what to include in the OOT bags and my favorite items are always the water, the snacks, and if I’m not familiar with the town, restaurant recommendations. I had tons of ideas, but knew I needed to narrow it all down. Everything else seems super helpful, too, but I felt like these were items that would definitely be used. So, we decided to go with these.

To start, I created information folders. I really wanted a rubber stamp that said “welcome” for the cover, but couldn’t find one anywhere and didn’t want to pay for a custom stamp. Instead I used the Starfish stamp from our save the dates. The folders included a welcome note, schedule of events (I always forget my invitation with times), restaurant recommendations, and brochures. I embossed them to make sure they coordinated with our other paper products. The folders were informative and matched our theme!

Next, we purchased all of the fun snacks. I really wanted a nautical theme, so we included two kinds of Goldfish—original cheddar and pretzel, Swedish Fish, DIY chocolates, homemade cookies, and Sister Starfish’s and my favorite snack, Pirate’s Booty! We tried to vary the types of snacks to include something for different taste buds including salty, sweet, crunchy, and gummy.

Inside the information folders  we included a note to our guests, restaurant suggestions, a schedule of events, maps, and brochures. Writing a welcome note was really important to me. It was our way to thank everyone for making the trip to celebrate with us and to give a little background into why we chose Newport as our wedding location.

We had a lot of fun picking the restaurant suggestions. Our first four years together were spent on dates at various Newport restaurants. It was fun to include stories with our suggestions. We included recommendations for our favorite dishes at certain spots and gave brief descriptions on what each restaurant is known for. A few examples:

Bliss - 311 Broadway, Newport, RI (401) 608-2322

Bliss serves natural and organic foods. When Mr. Starfish proposed, we had a picnic on the beach, including our favorite sandwiches from Bliss. We highly recommend the Griddled English Cheddar.

Brick Alley Pub - 140 Thames Street, Newport, RI (401) 849-6334

Brick Alley is a Newport staple. They have great comfort food and a large menu. It is located in the downtown shopping area of Newport. The calamari is a favorite of Mr. Starfish’s.

Sardella’s - 30 Memorial Boulevard West, Newport, RI (401) 849- 6312

Sardella’s was our date spot in college. We went at least once a week and also went there the night Mr. Starfish proposed. They have amazing Italian food and Mrs. Starfish’s favorite dessert, the chocolate decadence cake.

ViaVia- 372 Thames Street, Newport, RI (401) 846-4074

ViaVia is a popular late night destination of Salve students. They are open until 2:00 AM and are popular for late night pizza.

People really loved them. We had a few guests comment at the wedding on how helpful the folders were. One couple told us they felt like they got an inside glimpse to Newport. A lot of the out of towners went to restaurants on the suggestion list and came back with their reviews. It was really fun to hear that people found them useful.

If you’re on the fence as to whether or not to do OOT bags, I think they are definitely worth the cost, time, and effort. Many details on the wedding day go unnoticed because there is so much going on, but when guests arrive at their hotel, they actually have a chance to notice the bags, and from our experience, people appreciate this personal touch. I think they are a nice way to let guests know you care.

Are you doing OOT bags? What are you including? If you already got married and gave these to your guests, did people appreciate the gesture?

All photos by David Bibeault