My OOT Bags~ the big hits and the things that weren't used

[MissBubbles205]

I was thinking of doing beach buckets as well at first.. But I too was worried about transportation of the buckets.. And if I put them all in one suitcase I was afraid they would get cracked and tore up before they made it to the destination. ( I know the airport luggage people aren't too kind with our luggage. But maybe this one be a great google search from past brides who may have had the same idea and great packing tips.

 

Originally Posted by Amanda Gardner 

Have not decided how I would transport them. Just started thinking about what to put in the bags and thought that would be cute, but maybe impossible to transport without having one whole suitcase just for beach buckets.

 

[sinuj519]

Hello All!

Thanks for this post, MsBlisMpls! I just found these bags at Target and bought some for my welcome bags today!! So excited!

 

Originally Posted by MsBlissMpls 

Target has some really cute tote bags in there "$1.00" section when you frist enter the store. I think they have them by the Spring Break Stuff section. They are probably only 12 inches long and 6-7 inches wide, so on the smaller side for a beach bag, but they are $2.50 each and look super cute & tropical. Photo below.

 

 

[MsBlissMpls]

No problem. Funny thing is I would have LOVED to get these bags for $2.50 each, but I already bought personalized bags from an Esty shop for $8.00 each. I think I even said "OH NO" out loud at Target when I saw them.... Glad someone got to get this deal!  

[allycat3630]

So many great ideas in here...  My head hurts just thinking of everything

[Dacia]

I know how you feel -- it gets a little overwhelming
 

Originally Posted by allycat3630 

So many great ideas in here...  My head hurts just thinking of everything

 

[sinuj519]

So first of all, congrats! Wow, a month away huh? Awesome! What are you putting in your bags? There are so many good ideas on here, I am trying to narrow it down!!

[MsBlissMpls]

Thanks! I'm so excited I could explode. Instead of exploding I'm trying to focus on working out  

 

We're keeping the bags really simple with only the bag & two other big items. We are on a budget so I wanted to stick with a couple of simple things that are memorable.

 

1)  Because the bags were so expensive they are part the present... hopefully they like them. 1 bag per couple with the couple's last name embroidered on them. I ordered them but haven't gotten them yet. If I could do this over I would have gotten the Target bags becasue they are so cute and tropical & less expensive. But as we stand they are coming and they are part of their gift.

 

2) Other than the bag I did travel mugs for each person (I think I put a photo a few pages back) that came out to $3.something each and I only had to order 25 of them, so that was nice because I don't have to pay for a bunch of extras. Honestly, our group is full of non- alchololic drinkers, but when we are in Mexico they will have ice water & probably a few blended drinks, alcholic or not, I know my guests want their drinks cold and not warm when we are in the sun. So I know these will go over well. We're putting a little tag on this item that says something like "Drinks melting in the sun is never any fun, bring this mug to the beach & to the pool to keep things nice & cool" Not quite perfected wording yet, but we'll get there.

 

3) Underwater camera for our group excursion. We thought this would be good because they suggest not bringing a good camera on the trip (partly because they want us to buy their expensive photos during the excursion), but we wanted everyone to have a camera for ziplining & snorkeling that they would be comfortable with losing or dropping. It's a tough camera that you can drop without harming it. We ordered these on Amazon and got 10 for about $64.00 We will give one per couple being there are 24 shots per camera and I didn't see people carrying their own camera and taking that many photos. Most couples would probably trade off who carries it, etc. For this we will have a little tag that says something like "Snorkeling in the sea or an adventure trying something new, Use this waterproof camera & be sure to share your photos when you are through..." on the back of the tag we'll have info on our WikiAlbums Group where everyone can upload their photos for sharing with the group. (We picked WikiAlbums becasue of their privacy policy) 

 

4) Not so much a gift as something for our ceremony, we are putting cute little containers with sand from the beach where we'll be married (we'll gather it once we get to Mexico) with a tag that asks each guest to spend time sending their intent of well wishes and happiness infusing the grains of sand. At the ceremony each guest will put in thier sand in first as the foundation to our sand ceremony. We'll add our colored sand on top of the sand from the beach. It is important to us to have everyone there to participate in our ceremony, being they are all so special to us. This is how we decided to do that. There will be a tag on this item as well, explaining all of the above.

 

5) I was SO close to buying personalized matches and little heart candles. I started to get out of control and was going to by "extras" of these for our at home reception and the cost went up to $150. I realized I was going crazy & needed to stop. So neither Mexico guests or AHR guests get these. I just had to stop. It was hard not to buy these because I really love candles and part of our theme is "Love & Light" - so hear shaped candles with matches would be PERFECT. It still is hard, but I'm not buying them..... for now.  

 

That's it for us. Every time I go into Target I get SO close to spending another $50 on cute little asprin or sunscreen or chapstick - the good ideas are so endless, but then I go back to deep breathing and I snap out of it. Buying stuff & getting creative can totally suck me in and if I'm honest to myself I started doing it as a "Thank You" to our guests and then I realize that something else takes over (maybe nerves, or wanting people to like me, or say I'm doing a good job?? ) and I really do have to stop.

 

So I'm done for now. As long as I can remember to breathe & put the wallet away!

[sinuj519]

Thanks so much for responding! I LOVE your idea for the sand ceremony!!! It is really beautiful! So sweet and has so much meaning!!! We  are thinking about doing a sand ceremony also, but not sure if we are doing it, because I heard that it's an additional $150 or something ridiculous! I have to check with my wedding planner on that.

 

I believe I remember seeing your travel mugs, are they the stainless steel ones that come in a box of 25? You put a waterproof sticker on it, right? So cool! I am getting really excited about our welcome bags! I know it will get out of hand if I don't limit myself!! I saw some small first aid kits at Dollar Tree and bought one to show my FI to see what he thought. We don't have a number of guests yet, so I don't want to buy too many things just yet, you know? How are you transporting all of your stuff? Mailing it or bringing an extra suitcase?

 

I know you must be so excited!!! One month is gonna go by so fast, and your big day will be here before you know it!!! Our wedding isn't til November 17th. So I have some time to get everything together (and lose some weight!!)   haha

[jlb392]

thanks for posting this.  I had wondered the same about the sunscreen, and you helped me make my decision

Originally Posted by KLC77 

So, I thought it might be helpful for people who are putting together their OOT bags to know some of the things that people liked in mine and what they didn't really use.


My bags had a lot of different stuff in them. The things that people used most and were really excited for were:

The Find a Word Puzzles/ Sodoku books~ A Big Hit!
Decks of cards (a last minute addition that I'm glad I put in)~ it was cloudy for several days and these came in handy
First Aid Kits~ the bandaids were good for people who got blisters
and the Pepto bismol tablets and Motrin

The things that weren't used that I could've done without were:

The sunscreen with spf 30~ everyone knew they were heading somewhere sunny and packed their own
Mini beach balls~ I didn't see one of these used except by my FI who kept beaning me in the head and finding it hilarious! lol
Spanish for Dummies books~ as cute as they were no one read them
OFF wipes~ I never saw a bug and no one mentioned anything about them

I also would've added twice as many Motrins to the bags. I put in the 99 cent packs that had a total of 6 tablets in them. People used them and probably could've used more.

 

[bride81]

Thank you for sharing all of these websites!! They are great, and I needed something like this!  You rock