I was recently out of town for a wedding and was treated to a clever wedding favor. When I arrived to the hotel and trudged up to my room, inside an “emergency drink kit” was waiting to greet me. It’s not unusual for the bride and groom to leave behind a little welcome basket in each room for the non-local guests; usually it’s filled up with stuff like maps, restaurant suggestions, the wedding weekend itinerary, some snack foods and such. But this was way, way cooler considering I really needed a good drink after a long and stressful day of air travel.

The couple had taken a personalized cooler (embroidered with my monogram) and filled it with an assortment of soft drinks, juices, and bottled coffee beverages. Also included -- drum roll-- were plenty of mini-bar sized bottles of liquor, from Jack Daniels whiskey to Baily’s Irish Cream. Now I wouldn’t have to raid the hotel room stash and end up with a sky-high bill upon checkout.

In addition to all the liquid refreshments was a pair laser engraved double old-fashioned glasses, perfect for mixing up a drink. Depending on the tastes of your wedding guests, you might consider switching up the contents of an emergency drink kit. For wine connoisseurs, include a bottle of a popular local variety along with a cork screw! Hey, what about a bota bag that can be slipped in like a “roadie” to the ceremony? Just kidding, or am I? For lovers of small-batch beer, mix-and-match a six pack with some favorite brews unique to your part of the county and include a set of personalized beer mugs to help it all go down in style! Don’t forget the bottle opener.

If you don’t have the budget to treat every out of town guest, you could also make up these drink kits and swap out the personal cooler for a nice paper gift bag with ribbons in the color of your wedding scheme. Then, assemble a few of the upgraded emergency drink kits to give to your buddies for sure-to-be-appreciated groomsmen gifts. This sort of on-site refreshment center will set just the right tone for down time after the rehearsal dinner or getting ready for the big day. Nothing like having your friends and a few drinks nearby to settle the nerves.

Now, if there is going to be a lot of imbibing at the various wedding events, it might also be good to provide plenty of water so that guests can keep themselves hydrated. Remember that old college trick of drinking a glass of water between every alcoholic beverage? It really does help with getting too tipsy and preventing hangovers. If you’d like to provide reusable water bottles as gifts for the groomsmen or best man gifts, https://branddepot.com/collections/groomstand has some personalized aluminum bottles that may be customized with a monogram, name or initials. Long after your wedding, these bottles can be used at the gym or outdoor events – and the recipient will always remember what a great time was had at your wedding.