DIY: Local Flavor Wedding Welcome Bags

Guest will love their wedding welcome bags filled with local treats unique to your state or hometown. Inside their wedding bags guests will find a special handmade heart box filled with candies. Once the candies are gone, each guest will have a beautiful handmade box they can treasure forever. Name tags on the bags can be made in a shape that represents the state you are from. For example: Gift tags made on a Vermont wedding welcome bag can be made in the shape of a maple leaf.

Wedding Welcome Bags

Supplies:

Medium paper gift bag
Decorative placemat
Tissue paper
Specialty foods and candies
Card stock paper
Paper punch
Labels (bride and groom's name printed on them)
Scissors
Medium paper mache heart box
White acrylic paint
Small paint brush
Glue gun
Glue sticks
Silk white flowers and green leaves
White thin ribbon

Making the Heart Box

Directions:

1. Place the heart box and lid on a covered work area. Pour some white paint in an old bowl. Paint the top and sides of the lid, and the side and bottom of the box. Let dry, repeat.

2. Once both pieces of the heart box are dry, flip them over. Paint the inside of the heart box and lid. Let dry, repeat.

3. With the front of the heart lid facing you, glue the leaves and flowers cascading down the left side of the lid. You can refer to the picture included to help with the placement of the flowers and leaves.

Fill the heart box with candies or a special treat unique to your town or state.

Assembling the Wedding Welcome Bag

1. Make a gift tag for the welcome bag. Punch a hole on the top, corner of the tag. Place a label on the front of the tag, and write the recipient's name on the other side. Tie this tag to the handle of the bag with the thin ribbon.

2. Place bride and groom labels on all the goodies being placed in the wedding welcome bags.

3. Place tissue paper inside the welcome bags.

4. Fold the placemat so that it has a a triangular point on the front. Then take the point of the fold on the napkin and hang it over on the center, front of the bag. Tuck the remaining part of the placemat inside the bag.

5. Carefully place goodies inside the wedding welcome bag.

6. Place the homemade heart box of goodies on the inside, front of the wedding welcome bag. Have it slightly sticking out so that this is the item most prominent in the wedding bag.

7. On the front of the bag write wedding welcome bag with a glitter pen. Another option is to make and print special labels that say wedding welcome bag with the names of the bride and groom printed on the second line of the label. Once the labels are made, place one on the center, front of each welcome bag.