Sneak Peek: Out-of-Town Bags

When you plan a wedding it's easy to get swept up in "Me Too." To avoid this, for every DIY project or item we look at whether it reflects "Us."

As you've surmised by now, food is very important to us. As you're also aware, we're on a budget. A budget means we need to make decisions as to how much we do.

For our out-of-town bags (OOT bags), we wanted to spend no more than $500. That means our OOT bags are a DIY project where quantity versus quality came in to play. Here we opted for quality over quantity. 

Before we reveal what we're doing, I need some of our readers to stop reading here.

Members of Dan's Family

(Image Source)

PLEASE STOP READING NOW

Okay, is everyone who's in Dan's family gone? Yep? Yay! I hate keep secrets, but at the same time I want people to be surprised. 

We didn't want to skimp on food that represents San Francisco. We also didn't want to stock our bags with items that our guests were just going to toss. With these two goals in mind, we decided to limit the OOT bags to just cubes' immediate family (Mom, Dad, Nan, and sister Jamie will receive an OOT bag). cubes' brother is in our wedding party and will be getting a Day-of Survival Bag. Don't worry, there will be some additional goodies in his bag for cubes' Sister-in-Law.

Besides a Wedding VIP Contact card, customized Google Map, and Weekend Guide, here's what we're going to be including in our OOT bags.

The Goodies ($420 - less than our $500 budget)

1. Canvas Maptote from at the WeddingChannel. On sale for $13.99 (regularly $15.00).
2. San Francisco Food Lover's Pocket Guide, Second Edition from BettyCrocker Store. $8.15.
3. Tickets for Anchor Steam Brewery Tour. Free.
4. Tylenol, Advil, and Pepto-Bismol packets from Minimus.biz. $0.39 to $0.95 each.
5. Columbus Italian Dry Salame. $8.50.
6. Tcho Hot Chocolate and Chocolate Bars. $21.50.
7. Ritual Coffee Beans, 12 oz. $15.95.
8. Boudin 8 oz Sourdough Round. $2.83.
9. Re:newal Premium Spring Water. $1.29 each. (This bottled water is eco-friendly. The BPA-free, biodegradable bottle and label are made entirely from plants not crude oil.) 
10. Bi-Rite Creamery Gift Certificate. $10.00.
11. Portable Wine and Cheese Set from Picnic Fun for picnicking in the park or at the vineyards. $18.00.

What did you do for your OOT bags? Did you go for quantity over quality?

Check back next Wednesday for a Sneak Peek at the Survival Bags we put together for our wedding party.