Operation 31 Days and Counting: Mission 1, Out of Town Bags

So it is officially ON! Today marks 31 days before our wedding and I am pumped! (Ok, not really...this is just what I need to tell myself in order to attack the ridiculous amount of projects I need to get done...wah, wah, waaahhh). So, today, I am officially naming the rest of my engaged time "Operation 31 Days and Counting." Call me General Miss Glen Echo!

Mission 1: Out of Town Bags

(such a lovely NY out of town...NY is so easy...found here)

As Miss Fairfax pointed out, it should be easy to figure out DMV themed out of town favors, however, at least for me, my pool of creativity has been drained over the last 18 months. There are a few items that I knew from the beginning I wanted to include, but other than those few items I had no idea what else I should include. I decided to just google "Maryland out of town bags" for some ideas and I think I have come up with a decent bag of goodies for our out of town guests.

1) Rock Creek Soda

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According to Wiki Answers, the Rock Creek Soda Company is located in Landover MD. For those from the DC area, you know that an order of wings and mambo sauce is not complete unless you have a pineapple Rock Creek Soda to go with it! This is a truly DC favor and one of the few items I came with all on my own.

2) Crab Flavored Utz Chips

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Another item that I came up with all on my own. I am not into the idea of giving Old Bay Seasoning or a crab mallet. I want something in the bags that our guests could immediately enjoy. What is more Maryland than crabs and snacks, hence, crab potato chips. Perfect!

3) Goetze Caramel Creams

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Manufactured in Baltimore since 1895, these have been one of my favorite candies since I can remember. Not specifically a "DMV" favor, Baltimore has a place in my heart because I go to school there and honestly, who would not want to have a few of these after a long ride. Check out their website for more info.

4) DMV Visitor Info

This will include a metro map, a welcome brochure from us with places to eat and visit while in the area and maybe a Washington Post (although I think the guests might get those for free in the hotel room...).

My plan is to keep the design simple, probably a brown craft bag with our monogramed stamp and some tissue paper. It will look a lot like the image below.

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So what do you guys think? Aside from going into a fatty-sugar coma from the soda, chips and candy, would you be excited to see get a welcome package like this? What are you putting in your out of town bags?

Out of Town Bags Part Two

Wow!! So many great ideas for local flair in the out of town bags!

Keep the comments coming and I'll do another post on cool local treats for VA, MD, and DC, as well as ideas for OOT bag "essentials."

The Out of Town Bag Wiki

The Out of Town Bag: To do or not to do? I hadn't initially planned to put together out of town bags, but after talking with my Future Mother-in-Law I came out with a new stance on the issue. I'm not going to stress over them, and they won't be super fancy, but I'm going to do them.

Ours won't be quite this fancy, but how cute!

FMIL has had the opportunity to travel to a number of weddings in the past couple years, friends of the family in New England, nieces and nephews in far off islands and New Jersey. With all the traveling to distant and not-so-distant lands, she said that she and FFIL, were always grateful for a little note from the bride and groom, and at the very least, a couple of restaurant suggestions where they can grab a bite or get some coffee.

I love the gable boxes! I wonder what treats are inside?

Whenever I travel someplace, I go to town with the Google maps. If you've never used the "My Maps" function you should check it out stat. I'll wait.

Pretty cool, no? But I realize not everyone is like me, mapping out everything and researching before they travel somewhere. Hence, there will be out-of-town bags for our out-of-town guests!

Love it! Simple and adorable!

I've already got a short list of places I'll recommend to guests and we've started composing our welcome note, but what else should we put in? We don't have much budgeted for this, but I want to include one unique item. Preferably something local that says, "You're in Virginia!"

I checked out WeddingBee's wiki section to see what they had to say. They have a great wiki on OOT bags, with ideas for special items for specific cities...but NOTHING FOR VIRGINIA, DC or MARYLAND! What?!

The DMV

So come on, let's get the ball rolling! Leave me your ideas for unique out of town bag items in the comments! Let me know what state or region (i.e. "Virginia," "the Eastern Shore," They Northern Neck," "DC," etc.), and what item you would suggest (and why! if you want to). Also, what do you consider a great essential? Bottled water? Granola bars? Local map? Leave it in the comments! Can't wait to see what great ideas we come up with!!