Guys! We have some exciting news....... This week the amazing Jamie, founder and owner of Marigold and Grey, has blessed us with insider secrets on how to create the most awesome welcome basket for your out-of-town guest!

Filled with love, Marigold and Grey's artisan gifts are perfect for any occasion, including wedding, workshop, client, and corporate. Based in the Washington D.C area, Marigold and Grey lets you chooses from pre-designed baskets and boxes, or if you're feeling creative, custom design your own gifts that tailor to your wedding's theme, colors, or location. Lets take a look at all the juicy tips and tricks:

How pricey can this get? What should a realistic budget be when designing your welcome basket?

With our wedding welcome gifts being completely custom, the sky is the limit. However, we don’t believe in including items just for the sake of making gifts over-the-top or more expensive. We strongly believe in each item being selected for a specific reason. Our gifts start around $30/each and go up from there though we typically see an average spend of $45-75 per gift.

How many items should be included in a welcome basket?

There really isn’t a set number per se. However, we recommend something savory, a sweet treat, beverages, some amenity items such as Advil and Pepto, a locally inspired keepsake and of course, a custom welcome letter including itinerary information and a heartfelt message from the couple welcoming their guests to town.

All for show? Should there be useful items included for your guests?

Gifts should not be “all for show”. They should be both functional and beautiful at the same time.

How do you include local vendors or make it local?

We try to source from local vendors as much as possible to give the gifts a local feel. This is especially important when most all of the wedding guests are visitng from out of town and aren’t familiar with the area. It’s a great way to introduce them to town upon arrival!

Only one of each? Should your gift be designed for a couple?

We recommend one gift per couple and if you happen to have single people attending without a “plus one”, then they deserve their own gift for sure!

Should the welcome basket coincide with your wedding colors?

When designing gifts, we love to give guests a sneak peek of the wedding by incorporating the color palette into the gift. This can be done with packaging, ribbon, or even the gift contents themselves!

Any finishing touches that would really take it to the next level?

We love to use luxe materials such as silk ribbon or custom-designed welcome booklets. Incorporating the couple’s monogram is also a way to take the gift to a whole new level.