Wedding Guest Book Ideas:
Creating Experiences.  Capturing Memories.

 

Fresh ideas keep popping up for creative wedding guest books - and we’d love to share with you some of these fun and meaningful ideas for a totally fabulous, totally unique wedding guest book.

 

Wedding Guest Book on Table	Well Wishes	Beach-themed	"Sign Me"

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Why a Wedding Guest Book?

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Create a Unique Wedding Keepsake

On your wedding day, you will be surrounded by your closest friends and family. What a wonderfully rare opportunity to create a keepsake by those that mean the most to you!?

As you preserve the memories of your special day with keepsakes such as photo albums and videos, don't limit your memories to those you experience directly. Capture your guests' experiences so you can relive your wedding through your loved ones' eyes too.   By re-purposing the tradition of the wedding guest book, you can have a guest book, keepsake and family heirloom all in one.  

 

Create a Cool Experience

Who doesn’t want a wedding where your guests keep talking about your wedding long after it was over?!  There are so many different ways to create an amazing wedding day experience and capture the memories - from photo booth rentals with props, to finger print art, to messages on old typewriters.  You don’t have to fit within the four corners of a book - the guest book alternatives and inspiration are limitless!

 

	Themed-wedding guest book	Props for Photo Guest Book

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Creative Inspiration for a Personally Unique Wedding Guest Book

 These wedding guest book ideas can be broken into 2 concepts - 1) messages, wishes and advice and 2) collections names, signatures.  

 

 

Concept A:  Messages, wishes and advice (oh my!)

We have found that the most meaningful guest books are those that create a fun or meaningful experience for your guests AND capture memories and messages from your closest friends and family. 

Have your guests share a message, wish, piece of advice (or something specific), capture it in a cool way, and display it in style. 

 

Wedding Guest Book Idea #1:  Message cards

Invite your guests to share a personal message on our beautiful, stationery-quality cards. Collect them in a beautiful container such as glass vases, punchbowls, baskets, and decorated boxes during the receiption.  With loose cards, your guests will not have to wait in line to sign one book. To preserve your keepsake messages, tell your wedding story by weaving wedding & reception photographs together with the cards in an archival album.

 

Message Cards in a Decorated Box	Cards in a Suitcase	Keys to a Happy Marriage	Colorful Cards in Jar

High-end Stationery Cards	Vintage Inspired Message Guest Book		Keepsake Box	Cards in a Vase

Have fun reliving the memories when you safe keep these cards in an album, memory book or other safe place where loose cards can get lost.

 

 

Wedding Guest Book Idea #2:  Recipe for a “Perfect” Marriage

 

Recipe Card Box		File Card "Rolodex"	Recipe for a Happy Life - Ask with a sign

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wedding Guest Book Idea #3:  Clothesline

 

Clothes Line Messages	Origami Guest Book	Baby Shower Clothes Line

 

 

Wedding Guest Book Idea #4:  Wishing Tree

 

Wishing Tree	Decorative Wishes

 

 

Wedding Guest Book Idea #5:  Messages  that are “Tide” it into your Theme

Having a beach wedding?  How about you have your guest write a message in a bottle?  Or, write on drift wood?  Perhaps if you are having a holiday themed wedding, can you have your guests create Christmas ornaments for your tree.  If you are having an outdoor/rustic wedding, can you have your guests carve their initials/in a tree?  Or write on silicon leaves?  

 

Hanging Cards throughout the wedding	Postcards for Vintage Wedding

 

 

Wedding Guest Book Idea #6:  Photo Booth/Polaroid: Keepsake messages + photos = the perfect union.

 

A fun way to capture the essence of your day is to incorporate photos of your guests into the wedding guest book.  Enlist someone to take Polaroid pictures of your guests. Have your guests attach the picture to the pages and write a message next to the photograph.

Another popular option is renting a photo booth instead of using a Polaroid.  Lots of nostalgic fun but can be a bit pricey. 

Alternatively, create your own “photo booth” by creating a space with a backdrop/scenery such as an open frame.   Use fun props to loosen your guests up into showing some personality.  Have the guests write a message on a chalk board or creative sign for the photo.  (funny masks, mustaches, frames, party yell)

 

Photo Strips in Album	Fun photos from Photo Booth	Polaroids

Photo Booth Sign  & Props	Props for fun	Guests Messages	Photo Shoot Props & "Stage"

What a fun way to recall your special day!  (And what a great place for those reception photos that just don't quite make the wedding album but definitely need its place!)

 

 

Wedding Guest Book Idea #7:  Sign my photo album

Fill a paper page album with photos from your engagement, courtship or from both of your childhoods – and have your guests sign the pages around the photos.  Photo books can work well with this as well – just select the right pen (gel pens are great on glossy paper) and make sure the photo layouts include lots of open space.

 

Photo Book as Guestbook

 

 

Wedding Guest Book Idea #8: “You’re just my TYPE”.  Typewriter guest book. 

Using an old typewriter, have your guests type their messages on a scroll or fun, colorful paper.

 

Design on Paper	Old Type Writer	Type Writer Guest Book Table

 

 

Wedding Guest Book Idea #9:  I’m mad about you.  Mad-lib style Messages / Printed Cards / Book of Quotes

Rather than have your guests leave an unscripted message, prompt your guests with something specific such as "Love is…" and have them finish the thought.  Create your own version of mad-libs - printed on cards or on pages from a book -  and ask your guests to have fun with words.

Prompted	Fill in the blank...

 

 

Wedding Guest Book Idea #10:  Envelope Guest Book

Colorful Envelopes  & Cards	Ivory Envelope Guest Book

 

 

Wedding Guest Book Idea #11:  Sending my Love – Postcard Guest Books

Post Cards

 

 

Wedding Guest Book Idea #12:  Time Capsule

Have your guests bring something that reminds them of you, photos, memories, wishes, etc to put in a time capsule to be reopened celebrating a special anniversary

 

 

Concept B:  Signatures

Just because you may not be interested in a message keepsake, it doesn’t mean you have to have a “boring” guest book.  Many brides have found interesting ways to capture their guests signatures – inside a traditional guest book, or out. 

Wedding Guest Book Idea #13:  Personalized Guest Book

Wedding Guest Book Idea #14:  Get inked.  Finger print art & guest book.

Finger Print Trees	"Leaf your Thumbprint"

 

 

Wedding Guest Book Idea #15:  Sign a frame or other object

…like a rock, cork, wine bottle, etc - tying in your theme.  We've seen large letters, platters, guitars, surf boards, adarondack chairs, bnenches, puzzles, drift wood... the list could go on and on!

Wishing Stones	Photo Frame Matte

 

 

Wedding Guest Book Idea #16:  Flag the map

Have your guests sign their name on a flag and place it on their favorite place on a framed world map.  They could even write the coordinates of that location in a guest book.

 

 

Wedding Guest Book Idea #17:  Collective Art

Book of Poems

Have your guests collectively create a poem commemorating your love and relationship. Start your poem out with a close friend or family member and then have each guest create a line.

Art as Signature

Encourage your guests to express their artistic side in your wedding guest book. You can leave markers, coloring pencils and other fun writing instruments along with your wedding guest book and/or mini-canvases (cards, blank pages in a book, etc). They can draw a picture of how they feel about the wedding day or what they see in your future.

 

 

Guest Book Tips for your Wedding Day

Now that you have selected your personally unique guest book experience, HOW do you go about making it happen?

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Wedding Guest Book Tip #1: Enlist a Friend

Any of these wedding guest book ideas can be easy, fun and meaningful. Enlist a reliable friend or family member to oversee the creation of your wedding guest book. You will be too busy having too much fun CREATING the memories to think about preserving them!

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Wedding Guest Book Tip #2: Set an Example

People have a tendency to follow the lead when it comes to wedding guest books. Ask a few close friends or family members to “sign the guest book” according to your wishes before your wedding so your guests have some examples to go by. If you have something particular in mind, be specific with your instructions. Your guests will feel more comfortable if there are already a few entries before theirs and they will have an idea of how to proceed with your traditional or creative wedding guest book.

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Wedding Guest Book Tip #3: Create a Guest Book Station & Draw your Guests in 

Create a station for your guest book.  Style an exclusive guest book table according to your theme.  Draw people near with photos of you and your fiancé as kids, photos of your parent’s wedding day, your dog, etc.  Another cute idea is to incorporate a banner called “GUEST BOOK” on a banner above the table, introducing the guest book station to your guests. 

Guest Book Table/Station

Guest book pens – You can have creative writing instruments that will be conversation pieces as well.  Feather quill pens, graphite writing objects, antique key pens, coloring pencils… the list can go on and on.  Couple your wedding guest book with a cool pen. 

 

Wedding Guest Book Tip #4: Ask & Provide

Create signs to tell your guests what you’d like them to do.  You can be creative with the signs - tying in your theme, graphics and color.  Chalkboard signs are fun (and reusable!). An easy DIY project is to find some fresh fonts (that may be used in your invitations) and create a large document, print it on regular/upgraded paper and stick it in a fashionable frame. 

Creative Signs	Chalkboard Sign	Guest Book Sign

Suggested verbage:

Please sign our guest book. 

Please share a wish, memory or piece of advice with Jack and Jill. 

Please leaf your thumbprint and sign your name. 

 

If you have a DJ or a band, have them announce the guest book and ask your guests to participate.

Make sure you provide the necessary tools for your guests to use to make your guest book according to your wishes – photo accessories for Polaroid or photo booth guest books, colored pencils for art, washable ink pads, etc.  Have fun with the wedding guest book pens too!

             

Wedding Guest Book Tip #5: The Importance of Choosing the Right Archival Quality Album

When choosing a guest book, album or “house” for your messages/signatures, make they are secure and archival quality. If you want to keep your memories from fading (quite literally), you will need to choose wedding guest books, photo guest books/albums and scrapbooks that are archival quality.

If you choose to house your messages in an album, it is important to choose the right kind of album.  If you are adding photos and message cards of some kind, is important that the wedding album can support dimensional items.  Adding photos to a book not intended for photos/cards will cause the book to bulge.  Paper page albums and paper page scrapbooks are best for these kinds of guest books because the album is built with spacers.  Plus, you can secure the photos/cards on the pages with album accessories, having full creative control. 

Another thing to consider when selecting an album for your guest book is whether or not you need the book to lay perfectly flat.  If you are adding message cards and photos after your wedding, it is not as important for your book to lay flat.  If you are having your guests write directly in your book, this album should lay flat when opened. Sewn bound albums typically lay flat.  Most specialty books and post bound books lay flat-ish… but they may have trouble keeping the pages flat in place – paper weights, magnifying globes, or another heavy keepsake would help keep the left side from fanning back over to the right. 

We get asked all the time – how many pages/cards do I need? 

Cards:   Keep in mind that couples and families typically leave messages together.  If you are doing a photo guest book and expect 100 guests, we would recommend space for 60-70 photos/messages.  65% of your total headcount is a good measure of how many cards you will need; however, if you have more younger or older people (more singles), then you may want to up this percentage to make sure you have enough. 1:1 ration is not necessary and you will find that you will end up with a lot extra.  (PS - our cards already have an adhesive liner on back)

Pages:  Most books can hold more than one card/photo on a page.  Determine the yield of cards/photos per page (based upon card/photo size and page size).  Post bound and ring bound albums allow you to add and remove pages so the book will be just the right size for you.  Sewn bound books typically come with a set number of pages, so select wisely.  Don’t be afraid of some extra pages, however, in a paper page album.  You can use these pages to fill up with those fun photos from your reception.  As for sign-in books, you can keep your wedding guest book in a common room of your home and use it as a home guest book, chronicling visitors, parties, holidays and your “guests”.

 

The MOST important Wedding Guest Book Tip: Have a Lovely Wedding!

We hope to have inspired you to have a personally unique wedding guest book to honor and capture your guests' experiences. Whichever wedding guest book ideas you choose, make your wedding guest book one that you can come back to you on your anniversary to reminisce or to give to your children as part of your legacy in a family heirloom! Have a lovely wedding! And have lots of great memories kept!

 

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About Blue Sky Papers

Blue Sky Papers is a custom shop & online boutique, offering sophisticated and elegant guest books and heirlooms, handmade by skilled artists.  We provide the widest variety of fine guest books and accessories to delight all styles and tastes.