Our Gift to You

Sunblock and snacks? Nice try. The latest flex is for couples to shower their guests with highly curated, and very pricey, welcome bags.

- ANNIE GOLDSMITH

When Elizabeth Petrella Iklodi began planning her Tuscany wedding, she was concerned less about the presents she would receive than about what she would give her guests. She needed to craft the perfect welcome bag. After scouring Instagram and TikTok for inspiration, she ultimately commissioned 60 handmade Italian straw totes (to be bestowed on her guests upon arrival), each containing a cashmere Falconeri wrap, an engraved wine bottle opener, a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino, a monogrammed Tuscan apron, and a recipe book, all tied up with a silk scarf on the bag’s leather handle.

“It feels a little over the top as I’m talking through it, but we couldn’t narrow it down,” says Iklodi, who is part of a new class of engaged couples who are emphasizing gifting as a core piece of their wedding experience.