OOT bags,... too much?

[Lvenok]

I found cute straw beach bags for $2/piece at Target. I don't want to personalize anything, so guests can use these bags as they see fit. Instead we will just have a brochure and a letter from us to the guests. I haven't figured out what we will put in them yet but the bags alone already look nice.

[Dez921714]

I agree that you should give your guests something. They are spending a lot of money to come see you get married (when's your wedding?)

 

My FI has the same attitude as yours...apparently I was talking about OOT bags one night, in my sleep and he started a fight with me about it...even though, in my sleep, I was telling him that I am asleep. It was kind of comical, but still annoying.

 

Dollar tree has become my best friend LOL I got my totes on cheaptotes.com and paid .98 for them...iron on transfers were about $1 each...and a bunch of other things (most from the dollar tree). When it gets closer and we have a better count, we plan to put some slightly more expensive things (sarangs for ladies, bucket hats for me and maybe a tee shirt each...also, still on the fence about mugs) but that's if we have the funds...

[Cattie]

I'm doing OOT bags. I found really nice beach bags in different colors at 5 Below. There's a picture of them somewhere around here. They where $5 each. I figure I'll go to the dollar store and get a bunch of little stuff. Also since people are traveling so far, it is a nice token to show that you actually care that they showed up. After the wedding and I have my pictures, I'll be getting nice frames if I can find them at Kohls on sale again and putting a pictures of us in it with a nice thank you.

 

I haven't really set a budget, my parents are helping tons with shoving there CC in my face so thats been a huge blessing. I think after us being together for 11 years they're just happy to see us finally getting married!!

 

Like alot of girls have said, you can get nice paper gift bags cheap. I always check Target endcaps and find cheap gift bags for less then $1. Then just get some nice paper from Michaels or AC Moore and get crafty! I know I plan on making a nice folder and including maps of the boat, different things to do in Bermuda, plus a time line for the wedding day. Also a personalized thank you for each guest.

 

Its totally up to you how you would like to do them. If you have a strict budget then just stick to it. Anyone would be happy to receive anything from the bride and groom, it doesn't have to cost a fortune!!

[Pisces]

Okay, I do not want to insult anyone, but do want to offer my personal opinion after giving it a lot of thought.

I hope I do not offend anyone.

 

I personally do not really like the OOT bag thing. I want to do something for my guests to show my appreciation, so we are paying for them to attend a luau. I personally think that too much time and money is often spent on these bags that could be spent on something the guests might enjoy more. Again, I'm not trying to insult anyone and I know a lot of people like the OOT bags, but to me I just know that I wouldn't appreciate them very much if I were a guest. I would much rather enjoy some one on one time with the bride and groom or go for a pedicure with the girls- something like that. I honestly haven't seen anything in the bags that I wouldn't bring for myself anyways.

 

So I can see your FI's point of view because I also think that money could be spent differently.

 

But if they are really important to you then you should continue discussing it.

[pvinnov]

Pisces, I'm on the fence about OOT bags. I do tend to think about it more generally as a gift from the bride & groom. I think it's great that you are doing a luau as your gift. After our welcome reception and our wedding day, we can't afford something that nice. (Wish we could though!) I think it will come down to whether we can come up with a meaningful/thoughtful gift that all of our guests would enjoy.

[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 :~)

[JulieG]

I did the OOT bags and spent a lot of money on them, but I must tell you my guests all LOVED them. I got thanked many many times over. All the women wore the flip flops and pashminas I got them and they all used the bag and still do. The men loved that they got a bag to carry stuff around and down to the beach because none of them even thought about that. They loved the stuff I put inside because we put our logo on all of it, so they have keepsakes from their trip and our wedding. So while it was a lot of money and a lot of work, I highly recommend them as a way of thanking guests for coming. I think you need to do something, and this is much cheaper than paying for a excursion or something like that, so its much more budget friendly.

 

At the same time, no one is expecting them either, so if you can't fit it into your budget, do not stress about it, you are the only one who knows about them, so no one will be upset if they don't get one. Does that make sense?

[MelanieS]

We made OOT bags for my daughter's wedding and my daughter & her DH met everyone as they arrived at the resort to welcome them and give them the bags. Since everyone arrived at different times, it was really nice to be able to greet them, thank them for coming with the OOT bag, and walk them though the check-in process. If they had to wait for their room, we would go eat with them at a beachside restaurant. Everyone used the beach bags all week long.

 

I agree that no one at all was expecting to receive anything, so you aren't obligated to do it, but it was a fun way to thank them for coming, and frankly we had more fun making the OOT bags than anything else we did for the wedding. Ours cost about $10 per person or $20 per bag.

[beachbride08]

I don't think the bags have to be expensive or elaborate if you want to do them. I think we'll be spending around $200 for all the bags and stuffers. We wanted to do an excursion with our guests, but it was too hard to pick an event that everyone would enjoy and with the amount of people, and having to pay for transportation it would have been too expensive for us. Also, our guests are all coming in and leaving on different days so that would have been another issue trying to pick a day that everyone was there. I also didn't want to monopolize their vacation either. The OOT bags are a great alternative.

[Celina]

I agree wit everyone else here but the first thing that came into mind was you need to get someone on your side to help influence FI. Thank God, my FMIL was all about the bags. She is STILL buying stuff for the bags! LOL!! Cheaptotes has great bags for cheap!

 

Check the Dollar Stores and pick an amount you are going to spend. Luckily for us, we only have 20 bags to make - I ordered extras to give to family members who couldn't come.

 

Determine how many bags you will need to buy and if you buy a little at a time, it will not seem expensive at all. Oriental Trading has cute stuff too to put in your bags.