Wedding Guest Book Ideas
With big weddings nowadays, you have so many guests and people to talk to during the day that it can be sometimes be difficult to take it all in and remember all of the kind wishes and things people said to you on your big day. Guestbooks are an ideal way for couples to get these messages and blessings written down all in one place and a great way to look back on your guests and your special day long after the event.
While a traditional guestbook will fulfil this mandate, it will probably end up being consigned to the bookshelf or a dusty box in your cupboard never looked at again.
You can have great fun creating a guest book that not only will the guests enjoy signing, but also one that you will actually look at again in years to come long after the wedding.
- If you have a themed wedding, try to incorporate that into the guest book, for example if you have an autumn wedding you can used pressed autumn leaves with labels on them to hold each guests message. If you have seaside nuptials, use large shells and a design marker (eg gold-leaf marker)
- If your friends are very arty, or if you are having lots of kids at the wedding (although you may want this activity supervised!) you can prop a canvas from an art supply shop on an easel and provide some materials such as paint, brushes, coloured pens etc so guests can sign and illustrate it for you. You will have an original work of art at the end!
- Put note cards and envelopes on the tables so the guests can write you short letters. Then open them on your one year anniversary….if you have that much willpower to wait that long!
- If you are having a “destination wedding” or the location is of significance, hang a vintage map of the area or a large photograph or print of the location on the wall and ask guests to sign it. Afterwards you can frame it and hang it in your home.
Not so crafty? Buy a coffee-table book…
If you’re not into the creative ideas above, but still want something a bit more personal than the standard guest book, you can buy a coffee-table book that has a special meaning to you, such as a photography book of your wedding location, where you are going on your honeymoon, a favourite children’s book, or for movie or music buffs, a anthology book. Leave it on a prominent table at the reception venue entrance with a Sharpie marker for guests to customise.
Another lovely idea is to have a photo guest book. Place a blank photo album. I love these ones (http://www.kolo.com) with a Polaroid camera and photo corners. Guests can then snap themselves, put the photo on a blank page of the album and also ask guests to write a message. As the night wears on, the photos (and the messages!) will get funnier and funnier….!
