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So, in an effort to be gracious hosts (and encourage our friends to visit us again), we want to make things as easy and as fun for them as possible. Afterall, we couldn't be more thrilled that so many people are traveling far and wide to be here. We want Annapolis to leave a great impression. So we've reserved the room blocks and posted travel information on our wedding website, but one major thing on my to-do list is to create welcome bags for out-of-towners.
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I cannot wait. [Let the glitter gun frenzy begin.]
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I've been ainstorming for months, but before I begin to make these, I wanted to toss a few ideas around, for feedback, suggestions, or encouragement.
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We've decided to theme our welcome bags “Eat, Drink, and Be Merry While We Marry.” And here's what that will include:
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1. A welcome letter. We want guests to know how incredibly excited we are that they’ve traveled to join us, and even though we can’t greet everyone personally when they arrive, we want them each to feel personally welcomed. On the flip side of the letter, we’ll include a schedule of the weekend’s events, with addresses. It’s so easy to forget to ing the invitation with all that info.
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2. A hand-drawn, personalized map. This is potentially the most important item for out-of-town guests. I’ve been shopping around for cute little food and party-related stickers, and I plan to outfit a map with all our favorite places [to eat] and things [to eat] using those stickers. For example, we’ll put a chicken wing sticker on the address of our favorite place to get wings, and a burger sticker over the site of where (we think) they'll find the best burgers in town. We’ll include an oyster sticker for raw bar suggestions, a wine glass at our favorite wine bar, an egg over our favorite unch spot, and of course, a crab over our favorite place to crack crabs. I’d also like to include sites that are important to us. Where we first met (I'm picturing stick-figure stickers holding hands) and where we got engaged (a ring sticker). It should come as no surprise that you can eat at both of those places too—imagine that. A “you are here” sticker would surely be helpful. Then we’ll attach a key or guide with the names, addresses and phone numbers of those places, as well as the cards of a couple of our favorite cab drivers, and of course, the water taxi.
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3. A crab-picking tutorial. I can imagine there are PLENTY of these floating out in the cyber world, and I plan to track down a cute one that guests can use to enjoy these little Bay treasures, if they opt to do so over the course of their stay.
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4. A contact sheet. We want them to know who they can call if they have any questions or get lost. (That’s idezilla speak for “don’t call me 20 minutes before the wedding because the parking garage is full.”)
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5. Two bottles of our favorite (locally- ewed) beers. I’ve seen wine bottles incorporated into welcome bags, but with so many out-of-towners, we fear that the idea—as cute as it is—might eak the budget. Instead, we’ll slip in two bottles of beer and double check with the hotel that each guest has a mini-fridge in which to chill them.
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6. Old bay. Sure, there is enough around town to try in every restaurant our guests might visit, but we’re confident that by the end of the weekend, they’ll be tickled to have a bag or jar to take home.
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7. Water bottles and aspirin. Because we fear they’re less likely to come back if their drive home Sunday morning feels long.
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8. Crab chips. Yum.
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9. A copy of the August edition of What’s Up? Annapolis magazine.
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10. Locally-crafted chocolates. Have you seen those cute sailboat-shaped chocolates? Adorable, local, and yummy.
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11. Mints. For some reason I seem to think that matches will be made at our wedding, and fresh eath can’t hurt that notion.
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12. Fisher’s Popcorn. (Actually, my dad makes a version that rivals theirs, for real.) Again—local, and delicious.
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Am I missing anything? If you received one of these bags before, what was your favorite part?
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