Are you planning a destination wedding? There are many moving parts, so let me help you knock one thing off your list– DIY welcome bags for wedding guests! We wanted to give our guests destination wedding welcome bags of things to make their beach week as comfortable as possible, without making this take out a huge chunk of our budget. Remember there is no pressure to have destination wedding gift bags if that’s not something your and your fiance can/want to work into your budget.
DIY Destination Wedding Welcome Bag Ideas for Wedding Guests

What Is a Wedding Welcome Bag?
A wedding welcome bag is one of the first ways to greet your guests that travel for your destination wedding. It’s the perfect way to say “thank you for being here” and kick off the trip on a great foot. We also did destination wedding gift bags in leu of wedding favors.
Are Destination Wedding Gift Bags Different Than Typical Wedding Welcome Bags?
In my experience, DIY welcome bags for wedding guests of a destination wedding include items specific to the location. Since our wedding was at an all inclusive resort in Mexico, we also wanted to focus on items that you might be able to buy at a connivence store if it was a normal wedding and you needed it. Welcome bags for traditional weddings tend to be more about snacks and drinks. But at the end of the day, there isn’t much difference between the two. They’re both meant to be a small token of appreciation for the guests.
Which Destination Wedding Guests Receive Welcome Bags?
All destination wedding guests should receive welcome bags. However, we did one bag per room (aka couple or family) with enough items for each person in the room. You can also add to specific bags if you have items that are kid friendly, specifically for women, bridal party, etc.
Ideas of What To Put in DIY Destination Wedding Welcome Bags

Nearly everything we purchased for our destination wedding welcome bags can be bought online– and the items that are not available for purchase, I have similar ideas linked for you. I hope these ideas help you curate a perfect DIY destination wedding welcome bag for your special day.
Tumbler
We purchased our custom tumblrs from Courtney Tayler. You can DM her to get a quote and place an order. We went with the color that best fit our wedding theme, but there are many variations!
If the colorful tumblers aren’t quite your vibe, you could go classic with an RTIC + reusable straw.
Liquid I.V.
One of the most important things in our destination wedding welcome bags was the Liquid I.V. If we had to do it over on a smaller budget, I would have done a tumbler with Liquid I.V. in it. Between the heat of the beach, the way travel dehydrates you, drinking, etc, the extra hydration was needed! I also have a Liquid I.V. code to save you some money: STREETSBEATSEATS.
Party Patch
We knew there would be plenty of drinking involved between the wedding and hanging out at the pool bar, so Party Patch was a no brainer for us to include. My husband and I first tried Party Patch at another wedding and it was the best hangover prevention product we had ever tried! We keep our house stocked with Party Patch, so of course it had to make it into the wedding welcome bags!
Megababe
I feel like this one is a bit out of the box, but I wanted the ladies to get a taste of my beach must have, Megababe! We did Megababe Thigh Rescue minis in our destination wedding welcome bags to help prevent chafing (and pain) from happening. I also have a Megababe discount code to save you some money: CASEYMEGA15.
Advil
Not only is Advil great for hangovers, but it can also come in handy throughout a destination wedding trip for injuries, caffeine or dehydration headaches, soreness form travel, etc. We ordered Advil packets from Amazon, but you could also buy a bulk bottle and separate into baggies. That was a too much work for us. We were willing to spend a few dollars more to have that handled.
Wet Swimsuit Bag
We used a wet swimsuit bag for the actual “bag” part of our DIY destination wedding gift bag for wedding guests. I’m not sure if you can still find at Target because it was a dollar section find. Here are a few other wet swimsuit bags I found online: Amazon Clear Bags and Personalized Waterproof Pouches.
Breath Mints
Whether you go Tic Tac, Life Savers, or another brand, I encourage you to go with mints over gum. A lot of people already travel with gum because of flying… plus mints won’t melt on ya!
Chapstick
You don’t have to get something fancy, but I do think chapstick is a great addition for your DIY destination wedding gift bag for wedding guests. We ordered from Amazon in bulk to keep the cost down. Chapstick is one of the items for your destination wedding welcome bags that people will use on the trip, and at home.
Face Mask
I know during Covid times, this is probably assumed to mean a facial covering (which is another great idea to include), but I actually mean the beauty kind. We included one of my favorite sheet masks from Amazon in our destination wedding welcome bags. This face mask is both cost effective, and feels incredible on your skin.
Eye Mask
We almost forgot to include under eye hydrogel masks in our bags, but I love that we did! It was a great way for the ladies to get a little day of wedding de-puff + refresh in, on us. Although Tula Eye Gels are some of my personal favorites, but there are other brands you can order from Amazon for a lower price point. I also have a Tula discount code to save you some money: StreetsBeatsEats.
Band Aids
Along the same lines as Advil, Band Aids are a great thing to include in your bags! You never know who might get a blister or small injury. We bought waterproof band aids knowing everyone would be in the pool/ocean.
Shout Wipes
We added Shout Wipes to our list after I discovered how useful they were … I’m not the cleanest person, and I spilled on a white dress. The Shout Wipes saved the day- and the dress. That day I decided we should include a few wipes in case anyone else needs something to save the day.
Hustle Clean Body Wipes
With a hot destination, we decided to include Hustle Clean Body Wipes as a quick clean/refresher for our guests. Hustle Clean has both body and face wipes available.
Handheld Portable Fans
This is one of the few items that we didn’t include that I had regrets about. It was a little out of budget for us, but as much as I used my own handheld portable fan from Amazon, it would have been a great addition. I’m sure you could find a cheaper option and/or a bulk option, too. Even if it this wasn’t part of your destination wedding welcome bags for everyone, it’s an idea for family or wedding party.
Disposable Cameras
One other item I wished we would have included in our wedding welcome bags. I didn’t have the idea until we were already in Cabo… So hopefully someone else can take this idea and have fun with it!
Where To Buy Wedding Welcome Bags
For our wedding welcome bag, we wanted to go the practical route and make sure we purchased a bag that our guests would be able to use again. We priced out different tote bags, canvas style bags, etc, from online shops, but most of the welcome bag ideas ended up being a bit more than we wanted to spend. Of course we could have gone the direction of gift bag, which is a really great cost effective welcome bag choice, but we knew that would just thrown away.
We ended up finding wet swimsuit bags in the Dollar Section at Target, which fit everything except the Tumblr. I found a few similar wet swimsuit bags from Etsy, linked below.
Things You Shouldn’t Put In a DIY Destination Wedding Gift Bag for Wedding Guests
If you’re getting married at an all inclusive like we did, there are a few things you shouldn’t put in a DIY destination wedding gift bag for wedding guests. At an all inclusive, your food and drinks are already covered int he cost of your stay. There is no reason for you to waste any money or suit case space on water bottles, pocket shots or snacks. Those items really only make sense if you’re staying at a villa or a hotel that isn’t all inclusive.
We toyed with the ideas of gum and sunscreen for our destination wedding welcome bags, but ultimately decided against them. I didn’t want to risk the gum melting and getting sticky on the other items. We figured our guests would have sunscreen covered. Plus, we didn’t want to be wasteful if they preferred spray vs lotion, specific brands, etc. Alternatively, we made sure to bring extra sunscreen to share in case anyone needed some!
How Much Should I Spend on Welcome Gift Bags for a Destination Wedding?
How much you spend on the welcome gift bags for your destination wedding is completely up to you and your partner. Every wedding budget is different, and everyone’s priorities for how they spend the budget are different, too.
The items we spent the most on were what we knew the guests would use after the trip. The best thing we could have gotten everyone was a tumblr… Our family and friends still use these + they were a great way to know who was part of the wedding when we were drinking at the pool.
We didn’t want to waste money on filler items that could end up in the trash. We chose not to put our names or wedding dates on the welcome bag item in hopes that it wouldn’t differ anyone from using after the wedding.
When Do You Hand Out Destination Wedding Welcome Bags?
Because our wedding was small, we decided to give the wedding welcome bags out to our guests as they arrived. If our wedding would have been any bigger, I would have either paid to have the resort put the bags in the room (from what I’ve heard, this is typically $1-$5 per bag), or asked our wedding party to help distribute the bags.
Do I Need Destination Wedding Welcome Bags For Wedding Guests?
While I do think the bag is a sweet token of appreciation for your guests, it isn’t something you should feed pressured to do. If creating wedding welcome bags for wedding guests isn’t exactly right for you, maybe you should consider a a welcome party? Something like a cocktail hour or excursion would be a great way to show appreciation to your guests.
Destination Wedding Welcome Bags
Creating DIY destination wedding welcome bags for your wedding guests is a very nice gesture that can be a lot of fun to put together! Your guests are sure to appreciate them, too. I know it can feel daunting to add another task to your wedding to do list, so I hope these destination wedding welcome bag ideas are helpful for you and your partner!
Most of the items in our destination wedding gift bags can be shopped below and throughout the post.
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