First, there is no rule that you have to give your wedding guests any type of gift bag. It is a nice gesture and can be helpful for out of town guests, but it is not a necessity.

While gift bags are not a necessity, they are a great and easy way to welcome and thank your out of town guests! Wedding guest gift bags are usually left in the guests’ hotel rooms and are waiting there to welcome them after they check-in!

Bags can be big or small. You may want to use plastic party bags in your wedding colors or a custom canvas tote, any type of bag is acceptable. What guests are really interested in is what is waiting for them inside the bag!

At a loss for what to actually put in each gift bag or how much to spend? It doesn’t have to be expensive or stress-inducing! Putting together gift bags can be surprisingly easy and inexpensive.

Below are our top five items to include in a wedding guest gift bag!

1. Maps of the area and suggestions of fun things to do. This is the easiest (and cheapest) one! Contact the Chamber of Commerce for the city that you are getting married in a few months before the wedding day and let them know that you are looking for information on things to do in the area for your wedding guests.

A lot of chambers will put together packets of information for you and may even provide a bag, all for free! These packets usually include maps, brochures for tourist attractions and maybe even some coupons.

For Vero Beach, Sebastian, and Fellsmere – you can contact the Chamber of Commerce here.

2. Some sort of beverage. A lot of hotels charge for drinking the water bottles or soft drinks that they provide in the room. Gift your guests’ mini water bottles, a beverage that can only be found locally, or even some Gatorade to help them re-hydrate after dancing the night away at your wedding!

3. Sunscreen. Whether or not you are having a winter, spring, summer, or fall wedding in Florida there are some things you can usually count on – it’s going to be hot and sunny. If all or part of your wedding is outside, sunscreen is a great goody bag gift!

Even if your wedding isn’t outdoors, guests may participate in some other outdoor activities while they’re in the area.

The cheapest way to get your hands on a lot of sunscreens is to bulk order online through a retailer such as Amazon and to buy mini and travel sized sunscreen packets.

4. A snack. Look local for unique snack ideas! If your area is known for fresh citrus maybe include an orange or two. If the bride or the groom has a favorite local treat, then maybe that’s something that you would like to share with your guests!

Again, minis and sample sizes will help save money while still giving your guests a “taste” of the local area!

5. A thank you! Whether it’s an actual thank you card, a postcard from the wedding location, or a fun saying or print that you write on the back of – writing out a small thank you to your out of town guests is a great way to greet them and to let them know that you appreciate them making a trip and spending some extra dough to be there for your big day!

Plus, you are going to be so busy the day of the wedding, you may not get to thank every guest personally or get to spend as much time catching up with people as you may want to. Slipping a thank you note into their gift bag ensures that each guest does receive a heartfelt message from the newlyweds!

Check with the hotels you have reserved blocks at to make sure that they will place the gift bags in the rooms for you (most of them are very familiar with this and are happy to do it). Then, a couple of weeks before the wedding assemble some volunteers and start stuffing those bags!

Most hotels will ask you to drop off your bags a day or two before the big day (Tip: this is an easy errand for a wedding party member to run for you). Keep in mind though that if you have guests coming into town that is also included in the rehearsal that you may need to drop off the bags a little earlier.

Don’t forget to include gift bags for your wedding party members and their guests!