Big Apple Welcome Bags

Who says wedding planning isn’t a transferable skill?  I recently became e-pals with Lauren, a fellow wedding lover, who took the OOT bag idea and made it her own!  Lauren recently relocated to one of the burbs near me (love when that happens) and just like any other NY newbie, had some friends come to visit and enjoy the city!  Lauren, ever the resourceful hostess, put together these adorable bags (made on Vista Print of course) full of city-goodies, featuring starbucks gift cards, bottled water and snacks, a lottery ticket, shout wipes, and circus peanuts.  Adorable, no?  Her friends loved them too!  Lauren saved money by using coupons for everything- and for more info on that, you absolutely need to read her blog, she’s quite the bargainista!   In fact, she did these bags for the ridiculously reasonable price of $15- but $6 was for the bag and $5 for the gift card, so you can see how easy it would be to keep this project affordable- maybe as a bridesmaids gift, if not for every OOT guest.

And I admit these may not technically have been for a wedding, but they would just be so perfect for big apple nuptials- and could easily be changed for other locations.  For example, in NJ maybe you add saltwater taffy.  Or maybe in Ohio you throw in some chocolate buckeyes.  Maybe add a local map, a coupon book, a subway card… so many directions you could take it.  I love them!   For more information on how she did them, definitely check out Lauren’s blog!!

Welcoming Guests from Out of Town

I can’t believe the wedding is almost here!  One of the final details we recently finished up was making our welcome boxes for out of town (“OOT”) guests who will be staying at the hotel.  We put a lot of thought and time into these, because we really wanted our guests to know how much we appreciated that they traveled to be there for us, especially during this very busy time of year!

Each guest will receive a box, and an envelope.  The boxes are gable boxes with a green toile print, and an embossed foil sticker with our wedding monogram.  I tied each box closed with gold or white ribbon.  I think they look adorable!

The finished OOT boxes, with their embossed foil seals!

Inside the bags are two bottles of water, with labels I made on our home computer.  We purchased Halloween candy on sale on November 1, and wrapped up a selection of our favorites for each bag in cello.  We also made cello bags containing hand creme (a winter essential!), hand sanitizer (possibly even MORE essential!), tums and tylenol packets (for the morning after the wedding).  Also enclosed were pita chips and apple chips, which I found in bulk on Amazon at very reasonable prices.

And the contents! Pita chips, apple chips, chocolate, bottled water, tylenol and sample goodies!

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Vintage Postcard Breakfast Invitations

One of the absolute most wonderful things about getting married so close to Christmas is that, in fact, it is so close to Christmas (!!), my favorite holiday!  And one of the things J. and I have been mulling over as the final countdown gets closer, is whether to have a breakfast the morning after the wedding for the guests, and if so, how to invite them!  So I began thinking about all how much I love those old victorian post cards you see in antique shops, and how fun it would be to incorporate them into our potential breakfast invitations.

After spending just a little bit of time surfing the net, I’ve already found three potential images which I think would work well, and I made a couple of little mock-ups for what such an invitation might look like.  These little cards could have the details of the breakfast itself on the back (postcard style) and could easily be printed at home or at my favorite place, Vista Print!  These samples are literally something I spent 5 minutes on, and nowhere near close to the final product (I’ll need to spend some time in Photoshop getting the resolution and colors just right) but isn’t it fun to see all the directions one might take this project in?  What do you think, is this a project you would attempt?

click on image to see source for original postcard

I cannot figure out where I got this image- if you know, please comment!

click on image to see source for original postcard

UPDATE:  Since writing this post, I have totally changed directions with this project.  The victorian thing ultimately didn’t work out for me and I found a better format for shape to work with.  Stay tuned because I used some Mad Men-inspired fabulousness that was even better!

(Free) City Guides

Yesterday I blogged about how we are giving our guests coupon books for the outlets in their out of town bags… and today I’m excited to tell you about another totally free find we scored for those OOT bags.  NYC visitor guides!  These little booklets have all kinds of information for would-be tourists, including a fold-out map of the city.  We thought this would be a perfect addition for all those who are in from out of town (Ohio shout out!), who might be looking to make a weekend vacation out of their trip!

Originally I had been hoping to simply buy some of these for a low price- but it wasn’t as easy as I had expected.  So I kept searching on Google for a while until I happened upon NYCgo.com, they had exactly what I needed for FREE.  The visitors guides they provide are chock full of information, but they also give out visitor maps, travel planners and meeting planners.  You only have to pay for shipping, and they’ll send out bulk packages of 25 (for us, x 3).  Cool, right?  I actually called to confirm they would be able to give me 75, and the super helpful lady who answered the phone told me to hold off a few weeks, because they’re issuing the fall guides soon- so that’s what I’m doing!

To order your own visitor guides, just visit http://www.nycgo.com/?event=view.ovgForm or call 1-800-NYC-VISIT.

Who Wants Coupons?

One of the things J. and I (well ok, just me) are focusing on right now, is what to put in our out of town bags for guests at the hotel.  So I did some brainstorming to try to think of things that are unique to the area where we live… and literally the first thing that came to mind was Woodbury Common, my favorite outlets.  This place puts all other outlets to shame.  They have the usual Banana Republic, Gap, Coach, etc., and they’re all good, but they also have Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade, Saks Off Fifth, I mean, I could go on and on.

So since I love it, I thought out of towners might too.  Maybe they’ll go there to finish some last minute holiday shopping?  I decided to try contacting them, to see if I could get coupon books to put in the guest’s goodie bags.  It was somewhat tough to figure out who to contact, so I ended up emailing customer service about making a “tour reservation” on the website.  Fortunately, it worked, and a friendly representative contacted me and agreed to send me vouchers so that anyone who wishes can get a coupon book if they visit the outlet!  I like this solution because (a) it doesn’t waste all that coupon paper for those who don’t need it, (b) it won’t take up much space in our out of town boxes, and (c) it will hopefully save our guests some money if they decide to go shopping!

If you would like to be put in contact with the person who gives out these little vouchers, just leave a comment with your email below (don’t worry, you don’t have to display your email for this to work), and I’ll send you her contact info.

Do you love outlets as much as I do?

image source

Do Not Disturb

Another engaged friend of mine recently emailed me to ask if I had ever heard of people adding customized door hangers to their OOT bags.  And I had seen one bride do a fantastic door hanger on Wedding Bee.  But a quick google search revealed that, in fact, these are a hot, fun project!  I think J. might just kill me if I put another project in the hopper, so I’m sharing the love in the hopes that someone else will find a good use for them!  Here are some great ones I found, and below each is the link to the relevant tutorial:

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Freebie H2O Templates!

You’re welcome!

This first free template is actually in a power point format. I can vouch for it, its easy to use, and you can change the colors or fonts.

I’m also partial to the second template, with its polka dotted option. Very playful.

This third template is at once both classic and modern. It would work for almost anyone!

And finally, this bride made a template to use on mini bottles (cute cute cute!) but I bet it would work just as well on the larger sizes.

What do you think? Would you give these a go?

Hotel Blocks: What I’ve Learned

There comes a time in every bride’s life when she must take the inevitable step of booking hotel blocks for out of town guests. How glamorous? But the ugly truth is that your choice in hotel actually does matter. I know I once went to a wedding where the hotel smelled like smoke, and my resulting headache ruined my night. I’ve also been to weddings where the hotel prices were so unbelievably sky high, I had to develop little mantras to make myself feel better about spending the money (“he’s been a good friend, he’s been a good friend, he’s been a good friend…”).

So yes, they do matter. But I learned something in these recessionista-bargain-hunting times. If you are willing to roll up your sleeves and work for it, hotels will work with you in return! For example, sometimes it makes more sense to have lots of rooms at one hotel, rather than planning smaller blocks at multiple hotels, because the larger your group, the more likely economies of scale are to kick in. Our hotel, the Pearl River Hilton (pictured above) threw in complimentary shuttle service to and from our reception for our guests, with a minimum booking. It literally saved us thousands! Another hotel I spoke with was willing to set up a complimentary day-after brunch for our guests at no additional cost (breakfast was included anyways, so they were willing to set up our own breakfast in a private room).

Ultimately, determining which resources, amenities, and price points will work best for you comes down to “knowing your audience.” For example, a hotel that offers a substantial military discount (mine does!) can be a great resource for some. For others, the free breakfast will be the right choice hands down.

No matter what you decide, there is one piece of advice I know will serve you well (one that was given to me early in the process): don’t procrastinate! Get this done early so you can move on to better wedding times!

What have you learned in booking your hotel blocks?