OOT Bags Out?

OOT Bags Out?

March 14th, 2011 @ 2:09 pm by Mrs. Cinnamon Bun
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Something I’ve seen on a lot of blogs (that I don’t know if I would have come up with by myself if I’d cut myself off from all wedding media once I got engaged) is out of town bags: bags that you leave at the hotel for your out of town guests. That doesn’t mean I don’t think they’re a great idea, because I think they’re an awesome idea! If I ever receive one, I’ll be so happy and so grateful for it. I suppose if I want to receive one, I need to start going to weddings—I haven’t done much of that, but that’s a story for another day!

I don’t know if it is something we’ll get to do, because we’re trying to keep the budget reasonable, and unfortunately, out of town bags are one of those ‘nice-to-have-but-not-essential’ things that get chopped in the first round of cuts. This hasn’t stopped me from looking for bags and things to put in them, though!

OOT Bags Out? : wedding calgary favors Il 570x

I blame this bag for even getting me thinking semi-seriously about OOT bags! How perfect for our wedding is this bag by BucktoothedBunny? Sadly, at $14 each, they’re not something I’d want to buy in bulk. I searched Etsy again, and found these booky bags:

OOT Bags Out? : wedding calgary favors Il 570x01

(by gigart from San Francisco. Because we got engaged there, I have a soft spot for everything San Francisco!)

OOT Bags Out? : wedding calgary favors Il 570x02

At $8 each (cheaper if you use their buy 4 get 1 free listings!) this bag from whodoesntwantthat might be the most likely candidate.

I do own a Gocco (purchased 3 years ago with the secret hope of ‘If I ever get married, I can make our invites!’) that I’ve never used, so I could buy blank bags and print exactly what I wanted. I don’t know if I want to take on learning a new skill at this point in planning, though.

I’ve also thought about what I’d put in said theoretical bags. I’d gather some maps and guidebooks for the city, and there’d be a welcome note or something stuck in there, too. I thought it might be nice to bake something simple like muffins, and wrap a couple up for each bag. But, people might want jam with their muffins, and I could include that, but then they’d get more jam as their favours from the wedding… that seemed excessive. A local magazine has their annual food issue out right now, I want to buy up a bunch of copies to give to people, because the recommendations are great.

I’m also not sure who would get a bag. Would it be one per room? So, married aunt and uncle share one, but so do the 3 high school friends of mine who are sharing a room? To save money, could we get away with only giving them to immediate family? Only those who are traveling internationally? It feels a little funny to pick and choose our people like that. Looking at our numbers, even though we’re having a small wedding, I think there may not be any OOT bags in our future. We’d need close to 40 bags, because 2/3 of our guests are from out of town (and 1/2 of the out-of-towners are traveling internationally to get here).

I think that to save, OOT bags may get downgraded to a nice welcome letter in an envelope, maybe with a copy of the magazine I mentioned above.

What were/are the logistics for your OOT bags? One per room or one per person? Were they for everyone from out of town, or just closer family members?

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27 Responses to “OOT Bags Out?”

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Member

Gerbera (message) 4,481 posts, Honey bee

I looked into these extensively as well. I even had an ongoing list of uber cool items that reflected my husband’s hometown and my hometown. Ultimately it was one of those “nice to have but not necessary” items for us. Especially because all OOT guests were spread out to 4-5 hotels. It would have been too much to get to that many hotels in all different boroughs days before our wedding.

3/14/11 @ 2:28 pm (reply)

Member

xtatic1 (message) 778 posts, Busy bee

I got so excited to make OOT bags but like you was concerned with cost. I just couldn’t come up with something reasonably priced so they got axed.

3/14/11 @ 2:32 pm (reply)

Member

iRun2004 (message) 223 posts, Helper bee

We did the OOT Bags instead of favors actually. Figured that people would appreciate snacks, water and advil upon arrival at our destination wedding more than a favor on their plate at dinner. So we figured out how much we were going to spend on favors and used that budget as a rough guide. I think they can be affordable if you buy in bulk at costco and don’t bother with an expensive bag.

3/14/11 @ 2:45 pm (reply)

Bee

Mrs. Lemon (message) 628 posts, Busy bee

Our bags were $3 each (bag and contents), and I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat! They were so well received, and our friends/families still use their bags to this day!
We handled the logistics ourselves, and every unmarried friend who attended the wedding made sure that they gave out OOT bags at their events because they appreciated ours so much.
http://www.weddingbee.com/2007/07/30/diy-details-out-of-town-bags/

3/14/11 @ 2:49 pm (reply)

Member

therascalqueen (message) 112 posts, Blushing bee

I agree, it’s nice to have but not necessary. I think a lot of wedding stuff is designed to appeal to young women, who are after all the main consumers of wedding media–but think about it, what’s your uncle going to do with an adorable reusable tote?

3/14/11 @ 2:49 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Magic (message) 628 posts, Busy bee

I own a Gocco that I have never used either! OK, I used it once…not very successfully…. I think we’re gonna do everyone who stays at our hotel blocks gets one, but only one per room. I guess. Although if four people are in a room, maybe they should each get one? Or one per couple?

Great. This is now another dilemma to solve. Let me know what you decide and I’ll just follow suit!

3/14/11 @ 2:51 pm (reply)

Member

Courtnee (message) 153 posts, Blushing bee

I found gift bags in my wedding color at Hobby Lobby for 3 for $1 (much cheaper than the canvas ones you are looking at). Each room will get one. I am from Amish country so I’m going to an Amish bulk store and buying pretzel sticks, Amish made peanut butter (great for dipping pretzel in), candy made from a local Amish store, a bottle of water for each person and some tourist brochures. It gives them something to snack on as well as providing tourist info I think they will like.

3/14/11 @ 2:52 pm (reply)

Bee

Mrs. Trail Mix (message) 6,328 posts, Bee Keeper

I think the OOT bags are a really nice gesture for guests who have travelled to come to your wedding and they can be done for cheap!!
We used white paper bags that I decorated myself and I think we spent maybe $200 at Costco on goodies to put in them, plus a welcome note and schedule of events…
Ours were one per couple (obviously, if someone came alone they still got one) and if it was a family of more than, we just threw in a few extra snacks in those bags…

3/14/11 @ 2:52 pm (reply)

Member

sparks (message) 649 posts, Busy bee

All of my FI’s family has to travel to our wedding, so I really want to do something to welcome them, thank them for coming, and introduce them to the area. If the price is right, we will definitely do OOT bags for each family or couple that comes.

3/14/11 @ 2:55 pm (reply)

10.

Member

tinylittlebird (message) 1,695 posts, Bumble bee

I think that OOT bags are nice, but we probably won’t do them. We’re on a tight budget, and that money could go to SO many other places.

We will be doing welcome notes, though. I think that it’s a nice gesture

3/14/11 @ 3:11 pm (reply)

11.

Member

Lo (message) 538 posts, Busy bee

We are doing OOT bags and I included a line on my RSVP so people could indicate which hotel they are staying at in case they didn’t book their rooms in our block. I am doing 1 bag per couple, 1 for individuals and families will get a bag with a few extra snacks thrown in. I found recycled cotton bags at BB&B for $1 and created my own booklets with information and will get local goodies from Sam’s Club to fill them.

3/14/11 @ 3:18 pm (reply)

12.

Bee

Miss Elephant (message) 6,182 posts, Bee Keeper

We’re doing OOT boxes and are thinking of just one per room. That way it keeps the costs down, the boxes were less than $1.00 and we’re hitting up Costco for bulk items to put in them.

3/14/11 @ 3:28 pm (reply)

13.

Bee

Miss Tartlet (message) 3,207 posts, Sugar bee

Tentatively we’re doing OOT bags, and we’re going with one per room. If they make the cut we’ll use kraft paper gift bags and make a Sam’s Club run to fill them!

3/14/11 @ 4:11 pm (reply)

14.

Member

mizzbaseball (message) 83 posts, Worker bee

I want to do OOT bags.. but they will be the lunch sized paper bags I already have not reusable ones (though I do love a great reusable bag!).

I used alltravelsizes.com for the Bathroom Baskets, so I will probably go to that again for Advils for the OOT bags. The maps I will hit up AAA for all they’re worth! Then a stop off a Sam’s Club for water & granola bars.

We only booked one hotel for everyone (since it’s the only one in the area lol) so I am going to stalk out my coordinator for a list of who has booked rooms. That way I know whether to do one bag per room or more.

3/14/11 @ 4:15 pm (reply)

15.

Member

DaniJ0716 (message) 17 posts, Newbee

We are doing out of town bags as well. We are doing one per couple or family that have to travel and book a room to stay… we’ll end up with about 40 bags to do. I bought our blank canvas bags at Hobby Lobby on sale… they were in packs of 4 for $3.50 each pack, so they ended up being just under 90 cents apiece. I bought a stamp of an aspen leaf (we are from and getting married in Colorado) and fabric paint, and just made a very simple stamp on each. I bought only local goodies for the inside… Boulder Chips, Izze soda, Chocolove bars, Celestial Seasonings teas, local honey sticks and we will also add in some local Western Slope peaches. On top of food we included some handmade soap and shampoo bars that I bought on Etsy, itineraries, and brochures of things to do in the area. I don’t think we did too badly… I was able to get almost everything in bulk or on sale. All 40 bags will be under $200. And I feel like they will be very much appreciated by our guests, some of whom are flying in from other continents.

3/14/11 @ 5:13 pm (reply)

16.

Member

eeper (message) 485 posts, Helper bee

I guess I have become way too accustomed to OOT bags - I would be pretty disappointed these days if I didn’t get one! However, almost all the ones in my experience are fairly simple - paper bags with a welcome note, list of things to do, water, maybe another drink, a few simple snacks, mints or gum, and maybe packet of tylenol inside. That’s essentially what mine were. This non-DIYer felt VERY crafty by stamping the plain kraft paper bags Each room got one bag, or 2 bags if more than 2 people were in the room. That’s all done pretty cheaply with a trip to BJs/Costco.

I love it when people put local goodies in their bags but there is nothing special about where I live! I have only seen a reusable bag once; it was for a destination wedding.

3/14/11 @ 5:29 pm (reply)

17.

Bee

Miss Carousel (message) 590 posts, Busy bee

We would like to do them to, but also have not figured out cost / logistics! Would definitely prepare one for couple though (with some exceptions for our single friends) and would use a cheap paper bag and try to decorate it.
Would not distinguish between OOT guests, if they are staying in a hotel they are getting a bag (or not, depending if we ax the whole idea).
Can’t wait to see how they evolve for you!

3/14/11 @ 6:02 pm (reply)

18.

Bee

Miss Lox (message) 1,128 posts, Bumble bee

CB you read my mind. I am just starting to think about OOT bags for our guests.

3/14/11 @ 6:33 pm (reply)

19.

Guest

I LOVE the idea of the letter + copy of the magazine. I was worrying about needing (seriously) like 80 OOT bags and am so not feeling it, but there’s certain things people NEED to receive. But I could just have a little printed note + local guide.

3/14/11 @ 6:46 pm (reply)

20.

Member

Kcoleybear (message) 683 posts, Busy bee

We are having out of town bags and they are a hefty part of our budget. This was important to me to do though, because we are having a destination wedding on a 3 day weekend in Vegas (Vetran’s Day happens to be the Friday before our wedding). In hopes of helping to cut wedding favors I will be doing these babies. I figured favors would be inconvient because then people would need to carry them around when they’re out and about on the strip or they would need to be edible. So I decided to go with welcome bags that are based on us as a couple. I am really excited about these babies. They are one of my favorite parts of the wedding. I know it will be a huge task to put 40+ of these babies together the week before the wedding, but it will be done. We will be handing ours out at the meet and greet because guests are staying as so many different hoteks and most hotels charge $5 fee to deliver them.

3/14/11 @ 10:22 pm (reply)

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