A newlywed recently highlighted the items she gave away in her wedding welcome bags to out of town guests, garnering a lot of appreciation online.
The TikTok, captioned, "Welcome bags we made for our guests checking into the hotel #welcomebags," has been viewed over 376,000 times and liked 10,300 times since it was shared on March 29.
According to The Knot, a wedding marketplace, in a survey of 15,000 newly married couples in 2021, the price for wedding favors and gifts amounted to $450 on average. The survey also found the price fluctuated based on the region in the United States where the event took place. For example, in the northeast and New England areas, the average cost was $464, but in the southwest, the cost was $377 on average for favors and gifts.
The 23-second clip was shared by TikToker @jordanbrittlovato, or Jordan Britt Lovato, the new wife of Philadelphia Eagles football long snapper Rick Lovato. The couple was married on February 19, and Jordan has shared numerous moments and ideas from her wedding via TikTok.
The video played along to music, and Jordan began by giving a look at numerous black and white fabric bags all placed together in bins.
"So these are our welcome bags that we made for our wedding," she said. "I got these on Etsy from ModParty, and then I got these cute maps of Philadelphia made, also on Etsy."
She gave a closer look at one of the bags, which said, "Welcome to our wedding." Attached to a strap was a colorful map of Philadelphia, and behind that was a schedule of events for the wedding festivities.
Inside the bags were a number of goodies, and Jordan shared a look at all the items given out in various piles in boxes and bins, which included Cheez-Its, tissues, eye masks, mints, Advil, Shout wipes, gum, makeup remover, and Liquid I.V., an electrolyte drink mix.
But that wasn't all. The TikToker also included custom cookies, which had the couple's last name and initials on them, as well as the word, "Love" written on them. There was even a cookie of the Liberty Bell that said, "Welcome to Philadelphia."
In a comment, Jordan revealed the bags were for everyone that stayed in their wedding block at their chosen hotel.
Many viewers seemed to appreciate the effort that went into the wedding gift bags, and a lot of people had specific questions for the bride as well. "Love!" a viewer said. "Where did you get the bulk Shout wipes and makeup wipes?" The creator replied that she got the items from Amazon.
Other comments of appreciation included things like, "Very cute," "Love a good welcome bag," and "Great idea! They look amazing!"
Another person was shocked at the sheer number of bags, saying, "Wow! You had a lot of out of towners at your wedding!"
Some people focused on specifics. "So cute," a viewer pointed out. "I love the Philly maps and cookies!"
However, one viewer wondered why the bride was giving out gifts. "It's your wedding," they stated. "Why are you making gift bags?"
One TikToker admitted they "don't care enough about people to do this. I wouldn't even invite my parents."
Not everyone saw the positive in the gift bags for guests. "Stupid," a viewer simply stated, while another called it a "waste of money."
Jordan told Newsweek: "We got engaged in 2019, and we then postponed our wedding from March 2021 to February 2022 in Philadelphia. So I had a lot of time to plan and think of details. I was really excited for our friends and family to all be together after so long. I felt it would be a fun treat for them checking into the hotel after most of them flew to Philly for the wedding. It's extremely common in the wedding industry for welcome bags to be provided by the couple at the hotel. I tried to cover all our bases in terms of what people needed and I bought most items in bulk to keep costs down. We got lots of great feedback from our guests."
This isn't the only viral video surrounding weddings. A woman received extra wedding invitations, so she sent them out to different companies and celebrities in a TikTok video. In another viral moment, a groom was surprised by his best friend wearing a dress over a suit instead of his soon-to-be-wife in a first look. A TikToker also shared two videos on tips for brides and bridesmaids.
Updated 04/06/2022, 3:04 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with comments from Jordan Britt Lovato and the verified video.
