How to make an Out of Town Welcome Basket- a tutorial

We have expanded the Kate Parker Weddings brand to include a number of products, most notably our custom Out of Town Welcome Baskets. We have been blogged numerous times showing off our products and occasionally someone comments on how expensive our baskets cost. While OOT welcome baskets are often a DIY project for many brides, I wanted to show you our process so you get a better sense of how involved they can be from the ordering through shipping of each individual basket. We will ship to as many hotels as a client requests, contacting each hotel in advance to let them know our baskets are coming. In addition we send each box with a list of guests as to minimize any confusion. I hope this tutorial gives inspiration for the DIY brides and maybe even some expert secrets and tips of the trade! Enjoy.



The first step is laying out all of the containers and filling them with whatever filler the client has requested. We have a number of containers available on our website but are always open to finding the perfect item if a client is looking for something a little different. The same goes with our filler- paper shred, crinkle paper, tissue paper, natural burlap...you name it, we can find it!



Next we add the heaviest of the items, usually the waters. We use local water companies within New England and then we use Fiji waters for the rest of the country. Sometimes we have them next to one another, other times we will separate them to make room for other larger items.



For this Chatham, MA basket, we wanted to include a Cape Cod travel guide as well as a map of the area for each guest. We usually get this from the local Chamber of Commerce and often times we create custom welcome letters and maps for our clients.



Because this basket wasn't very tall we needed to roll up the map and local guide. It ended up being cuter this way!




A KPW welcome basket isn't complete without our signature medicine kit which includes Tylenol, Advil, and Pepto Bismol. You never know how traveling will treat your guests.



Here is a photo of a completed basket. We like to include the following in each of our baskets: A sweet snack, a salty snack, 2 waters, a medicine kit, chamber of commerce guides and map, and an adorable container with filler. Some clients like to add additional items, some like a few less.



Sometimes we have to put items together in order to accommodate the size of the basket. Here we are creating bags of salt water taffy.



Here we are making small 2 cup bags of the BEST caramel popcorn in the world, Garrett's Popcorn in Chicago... it is so fabulous!



When the baskets are completed they are lined up to check for symmetry and to double check all the contents are included in each basket.




Packing baskets is not an easy thing, since we have to make sure the contents don't move or get destroyed in transit... we like to start with a large 30"x30" box filled with some biodegradable packing peanuts.



Each basket is wrapped in bubble. We don't like to use cellophane for each basket- it's a waste of money and it's not easy for your guests to deal with.



Once the baskets are placed in the box they are covered in more peanuts and bubble wrap, ensuring their safe delivery to each hotel.