Wedding Welcome Bags (Oriental Trading Edition): Full bags for only $1.15 each

Oriental Trading provided some of these products for this post. Additional items were purchased out of pocket by A Bride On A Budget.

I went up north for a wedding two weekends ago, and of course, I was an out of town guest (well, my parents were the out of town guests and I was the person too cheap to pay for a room for myself so I crashed in their extra bed).

When they checked in, they were handed a welcome bag (I used to always call them hotel bags but someone said welcome bag during a recent #BridalBabble Twitter chat and I liked that). Actually, the entire #BridalBabble was about welcome bags a few weeks back. We were chatting about what people like (and don't like). And then, when I was at the wedding earlier this month, I surveyed people there and asked what they did and didn't like.

Call it market research.

I took everyone's ideas and created these wedding welcome bags on a budget.

There's a ton of stuff going on in that bag, so I'll walk you through it little by little.

Start with the actual bag. When I asked, the overwhelming majority said that reusable was better than disposable (although the minority only said disposable because of the additional cost of reusable bags).

I actually found a really great deal on Oriental Trading. You can get a 50-piece tote bag assortment for only $31.50. That's only $.63 a bag, which is actually less than I was finding disposable bags for.

Reusable bags are great, especially in practicality. See, people are coming from out of town and every time I go out of town, I always end up coming home with more than I went there with. But I never end up with any extra bags. This is a great way to actually have that extra bag to pack your souvenirs in.

I wanted to include post cards on the front of every bag, but they were a little out of my budget (I mean, they're 3/$1, which isn't terribly bad, but every penny counts -- especially when you're like me and have to make 100 bags).
So what I did was design my own, then I printed them at Walgreens. You can use PicMonkey.com to edit your photos (I edited the coloring and more). Then, you can get great deals on prints (as low as free, which is when I got mine, but usually around 10 cents each on sale).

When I asked people what they wanted most in bags, water and snacks was the best idea. I'm saving all my Walgreens points to get free water (more about that here). I was thinking about including one bottle per bag, but my mom said it should be at least two per bag. People are staying in the hotel room as a couple and you shouldn't expect them to share water.

As far as snacks, I'm planning on using my Kmart points get bags of chips for the bags (although they're not pictured because it's a bit early to pick those up).

I did, however, get some themed candy. I picked up some beach monkey banana candy and tropical-shaped candy fun packs, both from Oriental Trading. Since we're having a beach wedding and everyone we know will be traveling to the beach, these were totally fitting.

The banana candy is $7.25 for 48, so only $.15 each. The tropical candy is $4.99 for 57, so $.08. Add one to each bag and you're spending less than a quarter each. What I'm actually thinking is throwing these two candy packs along with a pack of gum into a mini organza bag. That way, the small candies won't get lost in the large tote bag.

It's November now and it was 82 degrees last I checked. So imagine how hot it'll be for our June wedding. People will need fans. Maybe not at the wedding itself, but this bag is more for their time outside of the wedding. So I figured plastic fans would be great.

If you can see, the purple fan in the middle is closed and the other two are open. This is something a woman can throw in her purse and pull out when she's sightseeing. The fans, you guessed it, are from Oriental Trading. You can pick plain fans, but I picked the hibiscus print fans. The're $3.50 a dozen, so $.29 each.

The other items in the photo (the shampoo, hair spray, and razors), that's all recapped here. If you remember, that's all stuff I got for free after coupons.

Our budget for the bags is $2 per bag. That's $200 total. I know, it seems crazy to think that we'll be able to make that budget ... until you actually recap.

Welcome bags:

Tote bag: $.63

Shampoo/conditioner: free after coupons

John Frieda hair spray: free after coupons

Personal postcard: free at Walgreens

Trident gum: free after coupons

Mens/womens razors: free after coupons

Tropical candy: $.08

Banana candy: $.15

Fan: $.29

Water: free with Walgreens Balance Rewards

Total so far: $1.15

Ideally, I'm going to add chips to this (but that'll be less than $.85 for two bags) as well as area maps and information. I can get the maps and info free at the chamber (I've already asked and they will give me 100 of each, for free ... and more if I need it). So my $2 per bag budget is completely possible. And that bag is awesome and looks like it's more than $2. You just have to know how to spend your money.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What else do you think this wedding welcome bag needs?

Want to see our finished wedding welcome bags?
Check out our final wedding welcome bags post.

Note: This post was written in 2013. Prices may have changed. A Bride On A Budget is not responsible for price changes.

Virtual Engagement Party: Wood Wedding Collection From Night Owl Paper Goods

A Bride On A Budget was provided these cards for this review. All thoughts and opinions belong to ABOAB.

I went to a wedding last weekend and the table cards were so cute. They had leaves cut from card stock and each person's name and table number on them.

The leaves were a variety of colors and were either on a table or hung on strings with mini clothespins.

So cute. That's the kind of stuff that really makes a difference at your wedding. All the small details add up. Night Owl Paper Goods has an easy way to bring small details into your wedding.

At Night Owl Paper Goods, you can order a sample pack of the Wood Wedding Collection items, which arrives with a thank you card, invitation, RSVP card, and table card sample.

The table cards are my favorite.

There are a variety of images to choose from for the place cards. For me, personally, I was most excited about the starfish and sand dollar cards, since we are having a beach wedding. This small touch will make a huge difference. Plus, these are made of wood, which is sustainable, and it just makes me feel a lot better.

If you know us, you know we try to reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible. And we try to incorporate bamboo into our lives because of its sustainability. Bamboo can grow at rates of 98 inches in 24 hours. So using it, it makes us feel better.

So it's nice to incorporate this small bit of our lifestyle into our wedding.I mean, your wedding should be a reflection of you, after all.

You can write directly onto the cards, but I prefer to affix something onto it. If you're looking to save a little, you can just use clear tape. If you have a few extra dollars, you can purchase clear address labels, print on them, and affix those to the cards. That's actually what we did when we used them.

What's good about not writing directly on the card is that if you realize everyone at one table has a sand dollar card and you just stuck someone at that table with a starfish, you can just lift the tape ...

... and stick it on a different card. Simple.

My plan is to use these for our wedding and stand them in a mini sandbox. We could lay them out on their own, but they would do well standing up since they are quite thick. I'm planning on burying their bottomsin the sand so they stand, and organizing them alphabetically by last name rather than arbitrarily standing them up. Makes it a lot easier for people to find them. Plus, standing takes less room than laying flat.

Night Owl Paper Goods makes a ton of items, including wedding cards. That wedding I referenced above, I actually gave them a wedding congratulations card from Night Owl Paper Goods.

I want to give you a heads up about ordering, though. If you head to the site and look at the prices for the table cards, it says $1. However, that is an arbitrary price. The price starts at $3.95 if you order 25 cards and only drops to $1 if you order 200 cards. The price will drop again to $.69 if you order 1,000. Since the main page says $1, I thought they were all $1 no matter what, but that is not the case. I actually discussed this with Night Owl Paper Goods and the pricing was to be removed from the main page, but since it hasn't happened yet, I wanted to let you know so you are not shocked at checkout.

BRIDAL BABBLE: How are you planning on doing your place cards?

Virtual Engagement Party: Brix Chocolate For Wine

A Bride On A Budget received this for review. All thoughts and opinions belong to ABOAB.
I'm obsessed with chocolate. My dad is always eating the chocolate my grandma puts out in her room, so I figured my sweet tooth came from him. And then I found Brix Chocolate for Wine. I shared it with my mom and she was obsessed so I gave her a piece to take home over the summer. She did and shared with my grandma. And then my grandma became obsessed. So when Brix Chocolate was amazing and sent a gift box with four 4oz. bars, I gave it to my grandma.

The Brix Collection 4 variety gift box set come in a gorgeous "book" containing milk, smooth dark, medium dark, and extra dark 4oz. bars. The box is closed with a Brix Chocolate for Wine wax stamp. 

When you open the box, you're greeted with four chocolate bricks and a bit of an explanation of each. You are told what wine pairs with each bar and a few tasting notes.

The sweeter chocolate pairs with sweeter wines (like milk chocolate with a riesling).

My 92-year-old grandma opened the box and was so excited. She couldn't wait to tear into it.

You're supposed to cut into it. You can pick up a gift set that comes with a cutting board and knife or you can just use what you have at home. The four-piece gift set comes with an explanation about how to cut the block (basically shove a knife into a bar that is resting on a cutting board.

My grandma had another idea. She unwrapped the chocolate, held it in her hands, and ate it.

Do you want me to chop it up for you? I asked her, once I started to notice that she had chocolate all down her shirt and all over her face.

No, she said. If you chop it, you're going to waste the crumbs.

Point grandma.

So she put on a bib and stopped herself after she had finished an ounce.

Yes, my love of chocolate must have come from her -- who, mind you, is diabetic. She checked her sugar after eating it and her sugar wasn't high, since she was noshing on the dark chocolate. I'm not a doctor so I can't tell you anything about this chocolate's health benefits but I wanted to add that.

The chocolate is meant to be paired with wine, although my grandma ate hers without any. Brix was incredible and sent a box for my parents as well -- and my mom decided it was too pretty to enjoy herself and has plans to give it away for a gift.

Although I tried to explain to her that it was a gift for her, she wasn't listening. But I definitely get it. The boxes are gorgeous. They are one pound worth of chocolate, but they definitely feel heavier. The boxes are $25.99 and you can purchase them on Amazon.

The presentation of the box is amazing. It looks like you spent more than $26, that's for sure.

And that's why I'm so excited that A Bride On A Budget is giving these away to you. We are giving away five boxes in our final Virtual Engagement Party giveaway.

You can either keep them for yourself, give them with a bottle of wine for an engaged couple, or pair it with wine as a thank you gift for your parents (or whoever else helps you with your wedding).

BRIDAL BABBLE: Which of the four variants would you like to try most?