Guest Book 101

To guest book, or not to guest book...that is the question. I'm trying to figure out what to do exactly for our wedding guestbook. I haven't written off the traditional "book," where people sign and write cute and clever messages. But...in the interest of inspiration, I'm seeking other creative ideas. So I ask, what would you do for a guest book?

In the mean time, I'm enjoying these ideas...
Pass a note to the bride a groom
Type a note to the bride and groom
Guests find their birthday and sign their name
"Send" a postcard to the bride and groom

photos via myeventdesign

15 comments

Callie Grayson said...

For my cousins wedding (I did her flowers and decorations) I made a manzanetta (sp?) tree with decorated with moss and orchids, roses and other pretty flowers with hanging envelopes for people to write on little cards and hang from the tree, I called it the "Wishing Tree"
For people wish the bride and groom whatever they felt, and they could place money in the envelops as well. It turned out really pretty, If I can find a photo I will forward to you.
xx
callie

Mary said...

These are fun ideas. I like what my sister did - in addition to the traditional book, they set up a large canvas. They used pencil to draw blocks for everyone to paint. They set out paints and instructed everyone to fill in a spot. They had it on display at their house all weekend, as well as at the reception. It was fun to watch it take shape and see what people came up with. In some cases, people drew a representation of their connection to the couple, or some shared symbol. Here's a link to the final product. You could do this a bunch of different ways. I love seeing it hanging in their house - it's a fun reminder of a great day.

http://mwazloves.blogspot.com/2010/07/wedding-painting.html

meghan said...

We're having our photographer make us a sign in book with our engagement pictures. There will be room all around the engagement pictures for people to sign. I've asked him to use black paper so then people can sign in metallic silver and gold sharpies. That way I can leave it on the coffee table and look at it every once in a while to remember the special day.

I just can't imagine where you would put notes or cards or something like that that would make them easily accessible. But I can see how it would be a cute idea.

Holly said...

we are doing a traditional book. it doesnt take up any space in our house after the wedding and honestly i feel its different to have since everyone is doing something else these days!

i think the postcards are cute too!

Lindsay said...

Love the calendar idea!

Kristen said...

GuestBook ideas are my fave, and I am not even engaged yet! How about:

-purchase (from a craft store, I'd think?) two large letters for both of your first name and a large ampersand that you'd hang for wall decor. Have your guests sign that with a little note.

- purchase a coffee table book full of photography of anything you'd like (archetecture, art, animals, etc.) for people to sign on their favorite pages. They could be asked to answer one of two questions: "What is your favorite memory of the bride or groom?" or "What does love mean to you?"

-similar to above, purchase a travel book and have guests sign on their fave place they've visited, or where they've always wanted to go etc.

-another question for any kind of guestbook - "where do you see us in five years?". As you can see, I think it's fun to ask guests to add something besides just their names!

-I do love the fingerprint tree guestbooks, but that could be more costly!

I think that's all I have for now! Good luck!!!

-

Stephanie Marie said...

A friend of mine did a "wish bowl" and had everyone fill out a wish we had for the couple on a small card and put it in the bowl. I imagine they kept the bowl for their first year of marriage and read a new wish each day together. You could put them all in a book at the end of the year for the future. I loved writing a wish for them :)

Leslie said...

I love the calendar idea! We did a variation of that at my bridal shower, and it would be something to remind you of your wedding throughout the years!

Unknown said...

I tried doing a guest book at my wedding with a photo album where guests got their photos taken and then wrote in the album next to their photo. I ended up with a bunch of bad photos and two or three lines of just people signing their names. It was such a waste!

But, I just recently saw the calendar idea on Pinterest and thought that it was spectacular! What a great way to be reminded of your friends and loved ones birthdays and such a treat each year when you send them a card, because they will be reminded of your fun wedding as well!

Ashlee Gadd said...

I love all of these ideas! We just had a simple guest book to sign, but beside it we had a wedding time capsule...we asked all of our guests to write us a note to open in ten years on our 10 year anniversary. After the wedding, we put all the notes and a few wedding trinkets in the time capsule, and packed it away in a hope chest. In six years, we'll read all the notes over dinner! ;)

Glitter, Inc. said...

Love these sweet ideas! We had sign-in postcards and they were a big hit.

xox Lexi
Glitter & Pearls

Katie said...

So many cute ideas in this post! xo

Dania @ Always Dania said...

oh i love these! they are super cute! at my graduation we did a guest quote book, where people have to write their favorite quote before signing their name!

http://xoxo-carolinalove.blogspot.com

uncannytraveler said...

We had my artist friend paint us a huge bare tree on a canvas, then we bought fast drying stamp pads at Joann's (Don't get the washable kind) and had our guests "leaf" us a fingerprint all over the branches. They also signed a small guest book. At the end of the wedding, the tree was filled with blue, purple, and green leaves! We're going to frame it, put our own fingerprints on it, and put it on our apartment wall. It's a beautiful way of remembering all the wonderful friends and family who were there for you at your wedding. You can also buy fingerprint trees on Etsy in all kinds of varieties. Hope this helped :)
-Shelby

SarahD said...

We sent a letter to all of our guests a few months before the wedding and asked them to send us their favorite recipes. Then we turned the recipes into a cookbook on tastebook.com, and had everyone sign the page with their recipe at the wedding. Not only do we have a fantastic collection of recipes, but it is cool to see notes from our friends and family whenever we cook from the book!