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We’re doing so many other things in a somewhat nontraditional way (dessert buffet, Swarovski crystal bouquets, secular ceremony) that it only makes sense to have a guestbook that’s a little bit offbeat as well. Not that there’s anything wrong with the usual sprial-bound, leather covered notebook — so many of them are absolutely gorgeous! But there are many other alternatives.
Probably my favorite idea is the guestbook scroll.
This one is gorgeous, but a bit pricey–it starts at $60 for a computer-generated one:
Compassionate Expressions
Their site hasn’t been updated in quite a while, though — they’re still advertising a Christmas special from 2004 — so I imagine you’d want to contact the company by phone to make sure they’re still in business. After talking it over with my grossly-underpaid wedding planner (my mom!) I may contact them.
This other style of scroll is available on numerous sites, and is much more reasonably priced at about $40. Exclusively Weddings is one of the sites that has it.
But its floral decoration doesn’t fit with our wedding’s tone. It would be great for a Victorian or shabby chic wedding, though!
Mr. Blueberry really likes the idea of a scroll so I suppose I’ll continue breaking my back trying to find the perfect one.
But here are some more fun alternatives:
There’s also the photo mat: Ask guests to sign it, and then after the wedding you place your wedding photo within and display. I’ve seen this done several times and it always looks very nice and fun, but again I’m not just sure if it’s right for our purposes.
I saw a Knottie bio (I’m so sorry I can’t remember which one) where the bride laid out a stack of fabric squares (looked like they were about 4″ square) for guests to sign with Sharpies or fabric markers, and then after the wedding she sewed them together into a quilt. I thought the idea was very sweet and I’m sure the finished product is gorgeous.
So I’m still not sure what we’ll end up doing for our guestbook. I may see about doing a scroll myself–what’s one more DIY project added to the list?
What unconventional guestbooks have you seen? What type are you planning on using?
I’ve seen someone get vintage postcards and have everyone sign them. She eventually framed them all.
I’m seriously considering using an antique typewriter. I saw it in Martha a while back and I thought it looked cute. If possible I would want to scrapbbok the messages next to pictures of the guests at the wedding..
Technically speaking, we won’t be having our own guestbook at all! But the reason is that since we’re getting married at my family’s summer house (where generations of us have gotten married), we all traditionally use the same Guest Book that we use for visitors to the house. The original guest book goes back to the 1850s! There are just pages and pages of visitors writing messages about their visit (sometimes with sketches or stories), and then you turn the page, there’s a big “WEDDING OF ~~ & ~~ on X DATE” at the top of the page and then all the guestbook comments for that. I doubt we’d look at our own guestbook all that much anyway, so I love the idea that future generations of my family will be flipping through and see how our wedding was there too and who came, etc - I know I always love seeing who came to my grandmother’s wedding or my aunt’s or whoever!
i think the scroll could be beautiful if you made it yourself. you could soak it in tea to age it, rip the sides, and personalize it with your monogram or a repeating pattern along the sides. i dont think it would be hard to do!
along the photo matte idea, my best friend plans of buying a serving platter type thing and have people sign that and then putting it in their china cabinet or something. at least it’s always on display!
when i worked at a wine company, a lot of people used the magnum sized bottles as guest books too.
we are doing wedding wishes using cards purchased from http://www.paper-source.com and a large container provided by our florist. after the wedding, i’ll probably mount the cards into a book.
We had a Polaroid guest book, so guests took Polaroid pictures of themselves, stuck them into the book and signed a message next to their picture. It’s much more interesting to look through than a regular guest book with just a bunch of signatures, and a great memento from the day.
Oh, on the serving platter note, but not really…my brother’s now-wife is half korean, so they played on a korean tradition involving cracking a squash during the ceremony, and had everyone sign a squash as their guestbook! It was really fun and they’ll have that squash forever! (It was dried 
) And it came from the bride’s mother’s garden, grown specifically for this reason, so it has special meaning there too!
That’s a great way to display your guestbook. Usually it gets put in a box with all the keepsakes.
I created a bound photo book on photoworks.com and used images and pictures, as well as quotes and poems about *love* on one side of the bound book and kept the other side blank for guests. So, as well as a guest book it is a photo album and cost $30 before they sent me a coupon to encourage it being completed– so $30 inlcuding shipping…it looks awesome 
the scroll sounds like a nice idea and you can frame it using a shadow box. to get the aged effect you can get Distressed Ink. Definitely do it yourself!
I haven’t figured out what I’m doing yet. Still looking for ideas. Although the scroll sounds nice, there wouldn’t be room for personal messages.. I really like the victorian scroll though, and would fit in very well with my wedding.
http://joann.com/catalog.jhtml?CATID=82082&PRODID=97515&source=search
guestbooks are a WASTE of money… i don’t even look at mind at all… i have seen more people use the signage frame as a guestbook… (signatures only) is better, because i have seen scribbles & it RUINS the whole mat 
also scrapbooking guestbooks are a lot better idea as well…
i’ve seen weddings whether the couples had flat stones for people to leave their names or lil wishes. and afterwards the couple used the stones in their garden or in a pretty jar for a shelf. Would be a good idea for a rustic outdoor wedding.
I thought I read something once about a bride and groom who had Jenga pieces and people signed them. Afterward, they had the tower in their livingroom and said it was fun to pull out a piece and see who’s it was…
My friend was married in the capitol building and at every place setting at her reception she had a “voting” card where people could vote on different questions like “best way to end a fight” etc. It was really cute. I don’t know if she used them in a guest book or not.
oops… I mean “whose”.
I was just at a wedding this weekend that used the antique typewriter idea (it was the bride’s grandpa’s typewriter). It was very cute & all of the guests really got into it!
i love the look of the scroll.
I’m doing a wishing tree. Willow branches sticking out of a clear cylinder. I have to make the cards with little ribbons to hang on the tree. I don’t know if I should do rectangles (classy) or little leaves (cheesy). I’m so tired of DIY!! But obsessed.
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Mrs. Blueberry, Kansas City Age and Occupation in 06: 21, Full-time Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Full-time Student Engagement Date: September 10, 2005 Wedding Date: May 25, 2007 Venue: Wynbrick Center - a historic mansion in my hometown. About Me: We're having an intimate, 125-ish person wedding with a full-blown dessert reception. When I'm not obsessing over wedding stuff or studying for my BA in English, I'm usually playing with our two kitty cats, blogging, doing crafty things, or hanging out with Mr. Blueberry!
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