Poppy & Birch's celebration boxes include treats, fresh florals and gift items. (Photo courtesy Poppy & Birch)
With virtual weddings during the pandemic, couples got creative, finding new avenues to share the festivities with their friends and family. One way of spreading the love to your streaming guests is to send individualized gift boxes filled with goodies to help celebrate the moment.
“The past year has been incredibly rough for so many with the pandemic,” says Melissa Simmons, CEO and owner of Tailored Touches, RVA to Go and DC to Go. “Couples who have decided to get married naturally want to celebrate their huge milestone with family and friends. Custom gifts can help couples bring some of the celebration to those guests who cannot be there in person, to have them feel included in the big day [and] celebrate with them even from afar.”
Simmons creates one-of-a-kind custom gifts tailored specifically to the couple, including items that reflect their tastes. Gifts range from handmade soaps and lotions to tea and cookies.
“Each gift is carefully packaged in colors of the wedding or other colors that the couple chooses and mailed or delivered to the guests,” Simmons says. “For example, one couple loved beekeeping, so I made handcrafted flower-shaped soaps with tiny bees, then labeled the soaps with the couple’s names and wedding date. I also made custom lip balms in a honey flavor labeled ‘Meant to Bee’ with their names and wedding date.”
Lindsay Force, owner and lead curator of Gifted RVA, focuses on using all locally curated products made in Virginia in her gift boxes.
“We have a ton of options, but most things are edible snacks and food items,” Force says. “We also have candles, bath bombs, beauty products, air plants and custom tags.”
Often you have to think outside the box (pun intended) to come up with something that stands out in the gift box, like Picnic RVA’s signature charcuterie.
Picnic RVA offers to-go charcuterie boxes. (Photo courtesy Picnic RVA)
“Charcuterie is an art, so of course we put a lot of attention and detail to fill our boxes,” says owner Polina Bukina. “On a seasonal basis, we will include an assortment of popular cheeses, charcuterie, jams, honey, crackers, fruits, sweet and savory accompaniments, and decorative signs and flowers. We can do almost anything you can imagine.”
The company is happy to connect with charcuterie companies across the country to service out-of-state guests. “We can also create large spreads to deliver to the couple's home to create a stunning display to celebrate alongside,” Bukina says.
Boxes to welcome guests can also come in the form of canvas or burlap bags and baskets filled by Poppy & Birch.
“These gifts will set the stage for your special weekend,” co-owners Christina McCoy and Melinda Smith say via email. “We make it easy for our clients and handle all the shipping and delivery. We meet with our clients to learn more about the details for the event. Once gift designs are approved, we will start working on the gifts. Our clients can sit back and relax.”
There are plenty of other stores and services to select from locally that assist with creating individualized celebration boxes, so whether you’re creating them for in-person or virtual guests (or both), the only limit is your imagination.
