Wedding Welcome-Basket Ideas

• A handsome tin of tea in an inexpensive teacup and saucer and a handwritten note are thoughtful during the chilly months.
• Gift certificates to a local theater or a movie cineplex if there are no wedding-related events planned for the evening. Go to fandango.com, movietickets.com, regalcinemas.com, or amctheatres.com to order gift cards or download certificates you can print out.
• A paperback book written by a local author and a bottle of sunscreen arranged in a straw hat for sitting by the pool.
• A small gift bag filled with items that represent highlights of the couple's courtship. For example, one New York City bride marrying a Brit tucked an apple, Wrigleys gum, water, and nuts into a bag with a key describing what each item represented: A body of water had separated them for decades, until they met in the Big Apple and realized they were nuts about each other. They wed in Chicago, home of Wrigley Field.
• Record a humorous welcome video and burn it on discs for each guest.

When should you start assembling the baskets? See the Ultimate Wedding Planning Checklist