Your friends and family paid a lot of money to come to your destination wedding, which is no surprise to you. Between flights, resort accommodations, attire, and taking off of work there’s a lot of expenses involved in attending. You want to be able to show your gratitude to the guests who’ve traveled to attend your wedding. Here are 5 ideas to make your destination wedding guests feel special during their stay.
Keep in mind that each idea varies greatly in cost. Make sure to take a look at your wedding budget to determine which of the below options you can afford.
A note in their room
A simple “thank you” and “welcome” note in their room as they’re checking in can start their trip off right. Acknowledging that you appreciate the time and money it took for them to join in your wedding trip is a small way of showing how much you care.
Also consider including an itinerary as well. We have a post that goes into further detail here: “Why an Itinerary for your Destination Wedding Guests is Important.” To summarize, an itinerary will give your guests the times and days they need to attend certain events. It also lets them know which days they can plan excursions, spa treatments, or other events for themselves.
How will you distribute these? Ask the resort for assistance. We gave ours to the front desk and then they were able to give one to each of our guests as they checked into the resort.
A welcome dinner or cocktail hour
A welcome dinner or cocktail hour can serve a few different purposes. First, it gives you and your fiance a chance to properly say hello and welcome everyone to the resort. Otherwise it may be hard to track everyone down as they check in and start their own vacations. A lot of traditional wedding brides find that their wedding day went so fast that they didn’t have nearly enough time to talk to each guest. This is a good way to get some of those conversations in.
Second, it’s a great way for your guests to mingle with everyone in your wedding group and get to know each other. Family and friends get to meet the wedding party and who’s most important in your life. They’ll then remember who is part of your group as they’re enjoying drinks at the pool or on the beach and feel comfortable with friendly faces all over the resort.
This will require more planning from the resort as well. For a welcome dinner make sure you discuss with your on-site coordinator in advance and they’ll go over the cost and planning.
A cocktail hour is a little less involved, but the resort still may want a heads up. Personally, we did not tell the resort about a cocktail hour we planned at the lobby bar and we didn’t run into any issues. If you want the resort to make a signature drink then they’ll obviously have to be made aware of this event ahead of time.
Wedding favors
Wedding favors offer your guests a souvenir to remember your wedding trip by, and serve as a thank you as well. Common destination wedding favors include personalized sunglasses, bottle openers, and luggage tags. Etsy is a great resource for gifts like these.
You’ll want your wedding favors to be small and easily packed to save as much luggage room as possible. Some resorts are okay with you shipping things to them ahead of time, but a lot are not. If this is something you’d like to send to the resort in the mail make sure you check with them first to determine if you’re allowed to do so.
Welcome bags
This is an idea that can serve alongside the note in their room if you choose to have one. Welcome bags are a great way to provide your guests with some essentials they may not know they needed, as well as bond with your wedding group that will have similar items.
We have a post, “The Ultimate Destination Wedding Welcome Bag Guide” with plenty of ideas to include in your welcome bag, as well as where to get the bags and items themselves.
Here are a few ideas to consider:
- Sunscreen
- Aloe Vera
- Pain reliever
- Hand sanitizer
- Alka Seltzer
- Chapstick
- Electrolyte packets
- Personalized sunglasses
- Guest’s Itinerary
- Drink mugs
- Key card holder and wrist band
- Inflatable drink holder
Paid excursion
This would probably be the most expensive idea on the list. If you feel obligated to show your appreciation with a paid excursion you’re definitely going above and beyond. Some couples know they will have a very small, intimate group so an excursion on the cheaper side doesn’t end up costing too much.
A lot of resorts offer excursions right on their property like tequila tasting, snorkeling, or scuba diving. This is a great option to get everyone together and experience something new.
Have you heard of other ideas to make your destination wedding guests feel special? Drop a comment below or contact me here so I can consider adding it to the list!
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