Best Local Maine Items to Include in Wedding Welcome Bags
Our couples love to spoil their wedding guests — especially those who have traveled a long distance to be there and celebrate them! Thoughtful wedding welcome bags are a great way to let your guests know “they’ve arrived!” Filled to the brim with local items, seasonal fare, and favorites curated by the couple, each guest will enjoy dipping into the goods upon arrival!
With your welcome welcome bags in mind, we wanted to share some of our favorite local brands preferred by us (& our couples, too!) as you bring the taste of Maine to your out-of-town guests. Fun items to include range from classic Maine-focused favorites like whoopie pies and blueberry jams to hand-made artisan crackers, and even custom candles that’ll *spark* memories of your big day!
welcome bag gifts
Below are examples of welcome bag gifts that we put together using an array of our favorite local products. We love to have a good mix of salty and sweet items in each bag. These gifts are meant to be things that guests can eat as a snack before or after the wedding. We suggest including a nicer more gift-like item that can be brought back home to use after the wedding — such as honey, jam, or a candle!
the brands we used
Maine Street Bee products are made using only natural, organic, and fair-trade ingredients. Additionally, they use plastic-free, compostable, recyclable packaging with zero negative impact on the environment. These products bring a sampling of Maine’s rich resources right to your door. Our favorites to include in welcome bags include their honey and amazing lip balms!
Popcorn is the foundation for all of the fun and lively flavors curated by Coastal Maine Popcorn. Focusing on quality throughout the entire process, they use only the best non-GMO corn and air-pop each batch. Furthermore, they hand-sift the finished product to ensure that customer orders don’t include any broken pieces or unpopped kernels. This made-by-hand popcorn offers quality and unique flavors fit to any taste!
The quintessential taste of Maine is found in one thing: Lobster! For out-of-town guests, consider including this must-add “How to Eat Lobster” card from Little Ivy Paper Goods to your welcome bag. This touch will not only make guests feel comfortable as they indulge in lobster for the first time, but it’s also an extra dash of care for your out-of-town guests as you welcome them to Maine’s coastline!
Mill Cove Baking Co. is a Portland-based, woman-owned company, that focuses on delivering tasty and unique crackers to markets in Maine, the local community, and beyond. These crackers are made with 50% Maine-grown grains and 100% Maine-made butter. They taste even better than they sound. An ideal pre-wedding snack to hold your guests over before the wedding ceremony, Mill Cove Baking Co. crackers are sure to be the salty snack of choice (& conversation)!
Bixby & Co. offer chocolates made with a conscience. Their chocolate is ethically sourced, always non-GMA, gluten-free, and includes ingredients you can actually pronounce. Born from a commitment to fairness, sustainability, minimal environmental impact, and community enhancement, Bixby & Co. chocolates are the ideal sweet treat to gift your guests so that they can satisfy their sweet tooth. Luckily, Bixby & Co. ships nationwide, so your guests can order more when they get home, too! Trust us, they’ll want more.
In Maine, when something’s good, we call it “good.” When something’s great, we call it “WICKED!” With a team of dedicated bakers, over 20 varieties of whoopies are made fresh every day in Maine bakeries. It’s time to find out why they say there are at least ten smiles in every Wicked Whoopie Pie. These gourmet Wicked Whoopie Pies were featured on Oprah as a great gift option, so if she approves, your guests will be equally as pleased to receive these in their welcome bag!
We’re convinced that you can’t go wrong with anything selected from Stonewall Kitchen for your welcome bag! Mini blueberry jams and Maine maple syrup are on rotation for most of our couples as they curate their selections! As one of the most-awarded specialty food brands in the country, your guests will love this take-home treat well after your wedding festivities have concluded — giving them a sweet reminder of the day!
Speaking of the perfect take-home gift for your guests: why not offer them a custom candle complete with a label to commemorate the day, featuring your scent of choice. Near + Native crafts small-batch candles to include in your welcome bag. Give your guests the gift of the scent of Maine. This all-female team in Westbrook keeps the celebration going for your guests — each time they light their candle!
Maine Crisps from the Maine Crisp Co. are made in good spirit. Derived from the best possible natural ingredients and responsibly farmed — they’re on a mission to delight. And they do. Every single time. Our personal favorite: pair Maine Crisps with your favorite cheese from Pineland Farms. Give your guests a better way to snack with Maine Crisps!
Vintage Maine Kitchen offers small-batch potato chips that really stand out! Made at a small, family-operated farm in Maine, Vintage Maine Kitchen uses ingredients sourced from local family farms and producers to provide a delicious treat with flavors built on unique nostalgic New England food memories. Elevating a simple snack, using their simple process, the flavor profiles of these small-batch chips are unmatched. Looking for the perfect “crunch” to add to your welcome bag? Look no further.
Our friend, Jill, makes the perfect Maine-themed stickers to add to your welcome bags. Gert & Co celebrates life through bold, bright patterns. Jill uniquely blends various paint mediums with graphic design to create whimsical motifs that bring a pop of fun to the world. A charming addition to any welcome bag — these stickers will add a playful touch to your wedding weekend!
Tandem Coffee Roasters offer instant coffee packs that are the go-to to keep your guests fueled all weekend long! With hardly any prep required (just add 8oz of hot or cold water!), these delicious packets, paired with a few water bottles in the welcome bag are a useful consideration for your guests. They can enjoy hot or iced coffee — right from their hotel room!
Grandy Oats specializes in organic products made in small batches, right here in Maine! Grandy Oats believes that the purest pleasures are found off the beaten path. Shaped by the spirit of the rivers and mountains of Maine, this company offers yummy granola enjoyed best by the handful! If you plan to encourage your guests to get out and explore what Maine has to offer while in town, packing their welcome bag with any Grandy Oats product will ensure they won’t go hungry as they explore the natural beauty found only here.
Bleuberet captures the taste of summer in their artisanal offerings! In Maine, summer is short, and the wild blueberry season is yet a blip. Bottling the taste of the short and sweet season, Bleuberet’s jams, sauces, and relishes are made with local, sustainably grown, and produced fruit and vegetables, with a mission to support local farmers and other artisanal producers and businesses. Couples tend to include the wild Maine blueberry preserves (& they offer an option infused with lemon and lavender, too). Allow your guests to savor the short summer season together as they enjoy their Bleuberet gift beyond the wedding weekend!
Hearth and Harrow began as a way to share the owners’ love of art, nature, and eco-friendly living through thoughtfully designed and hand-printed textiles and home goods. Our absolute favorite tea towels — each piece is hand-drawn and hand-printed in a home studio in Rockport, Maine. Support a local artist and offer your guests a Maine-inspired gift in their welcome bag that’s sure to bring the beautiful memories to mind (in a beautiful and sustainable way).
Blue Lobster Urban Winery is founded by longtime Portland resident, Chris Gamble. He chose the name ‘Blue Lobster’ because they’re a little different than just any lobster. Maine lore has it that with the catch of a ‘one in a million’ blue lobster comes good fortune. They offer canned wine options that work well in wedding bags! Let your guests know that the party has started, with the first sip of Blue Lobster wine!
For the chocolate lovers on your guest list (aka everyone), Ragged Coast, is another great option to include truffle, bonbons, and more! For our winter couples, their individually packaged drinking chocolate is the perfect add to bring warmth to your welcome bags. At Ragged Coast, they make all of their confections with fresh cream and butter from local farms.
ADDITIONAL ITEMS
Candy is always a nostalgic addition to any wedding welcome bag! And there are a few favorites in Maine: Lobster Gummies, Chocolate Covered Blueberries, Needhams, Saltwater Taffy, Bangor Taffy, and more. At Havens, you can place candy orders in bulk to satisfy the candy craving for your guess in a local way. We suggest adding cohesive candy labels to match your wedding stationery or colors to compliment your candy selections!
The most underrated yet most consumed wedding welcome bag item: bottled water. Rest assured, your guest will get thirsty! And Poland Spring water is 100% natural spring water born in Maine. Their commitment to Maine goes beyond community involvement. They care about the quality of their products and the sustainability of Maine’s spring sources. So help your guests sip local during their stay for your big day!
Maine Root offers delicious sodas and beverages — but these are different. And you can taste it. Crafted without high-fructose corn syrup, they use 100% organic sugar cane from Brazil to sweeten these Fair Trade Certified beverages. Select an array of flavors to stock your welcome bags with delicious sodas (sans all the bad stuff)!
The official state soft drink of Maine. Its slogan is: distinctively different. Its been described as both, "a great tasting soda", and "an acquired taste." This is a unique item to include in your welcome bag — allow your guests to decide which camp they fall into as they try it for themselves!
We are so fortunate to have an array of local vendors, family-owned businesses, and even small local farms that offer such intentional products to locals and visitors alike! Any of the above items will perfectly complement your out-of-town guests' weekend away in Maine — as they celebrate you as a couple! So, which items will you choose?