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Mr. AC and I try to be different. When it comes to our wedding, we want people to think about some of the unique angles and want them to be impressed (who doesn’t right?!). Lately, guestbooks have been on my mind. I actually never really understood guestbooks. In 20 years, am I really going to forget who came to my wedding? I think guestbooks have really evolved from a record of who attended the wedding, to a way to offer the bride and groom advice or a guest’s thoughts. You don’t have to be traditional when it comes to guestbooks.
(see below for more info about how we plan to use a bench as our guestbook)
With that idea in mind, Mr. AC and I plan to embrace the guestbook idea and find a cool way to incorporate it into the wedding! I have been hunting on the web for inspiration, and I have seen some really cool guestbooks here on the ‘bee.
Check some of the inspiration out:
This idea by the amazing Mrs. Lovebug stole my heart - she decided to use a vintage typewriter and the “guest notes” were thrown in the waste basket.
This idea by the awesome Mrs. Emerald is neat - she decided to use her awesome engagement photos and turned them into a book to be signed. I also saw this idea on Snippet & Ink and was floored by the idea. This couple saved artifacts from their relationship and created $25 blurb book. How awesome is this? If only Mr. AC and I had hung on to everything!
This wedding has been talked about EVERYWHERE, but it is just too incredible not to mention. I love how this bride (from Oh My Deer) incorporated doilies as her guest book.
This wedding from Snippet & Ink used their own photobooth and Polaroids. They used the chalkboards to write messages and put these into a book.
This idea has also stolen my heart. I found it on the awesome Brooklyn Bride Blog. The idea is to use a Rolodex and to have people write message on lovely address cards. Vintage Glam Blog has a great DIY for this. Check that out here.
The idea that we love the most, and are likely planning to go with is to have our guests sign a bench that will then be part of our home. I got this idea from an incredible wedding I saw last year.
We have a few very talented woodworking friends. Mr. AC is hoping one will take on the project for us!
What are you planning for your guestbook? What are some of the coolest guestbooks that you have seen?
Thats a great idea! I love the idea of having it around all the time.
I love your idea! We are using our photobooth as our guestbook. We hired a compoany that mans the booth all night, and the booth prints doubles of every set of shots. One set goes to the people, then the attendant makes a real time scrap book of the pics and the guests sign, etc. I am pretty excited! Aside from that, I havent seen any truly unique ideas…mostly jsut the book that, in my own personal life, would sit and collect dust because Id likely never open it again =o)
That is an amazing idea!! We want to do something fun too.
We’re doing something really similar, only we aren’t using stones. I’m going to 3 looooooong strips of ribbon together at the top, and then hang it somewhere in the lobby of the church. One of our ushers is going to explain to guests that “love is what ties this couple together, and that they are asking that you share in that” (or something along those lines) and will ask them to “tie a knot in one of the ribbons” to symbolize their love and support of our marriage. It’s actually a take-off of a Pagan tradition, where the officiant of the ceremony would literally tie the couples hands together at the wrist with a length of rope or ribbon. That’s where the phase “tying the knot” comes from. 
Since I am Pagan, I’ll display it on my altar I have in my home, as a constant reminder that no matter what, my family and friends love us and support us.
Oops… sorry! I just copied my comment from the boards… but I hope you get the idea!
We’re using a poster from Indigo Night (www.indigonight.com) of the night sky over our venue on our wedding day. We have a poster for our first date and a poster for our engagement date. We’ll have it in a frame with no glass on an easel with pens in our wedding colors (and a nice dark sky color) for our guests to sign. We’ll hang it up in our bedroom with our other posters. We’re also bringing the other posters (with their star charts) to have at the wedding so people see why we chose that. FI is into astronomy so it fits in that way and it’s just freaking cool!
I LOVE the bench idea! I like ideas of something that is useful/meaningful over wish bowls and photo books that will just collect dust (in our home at least! LOL).
We’re doing a clothespinned message line strung up between the two sets of doors along one wall of the reception. I have pre-cut paper in our colours, and will hang them interspersed with photos from our relationship milestones, with a sign that says “Please leave a message on the line for West Coast Bride and Groom”. I plan to make a scrapbook out of them with non-professional wedding pics later in the summer, and I think it will add a decorative bit of interest as guests can read each other’s messages too. I’ve also seen pieces of fabric hung this way, that were then turned into a quilt for the couple after the wedding.
OMG (and I don’t say OMG very often.)
I love the blurb book idea with all of the ticket stubs. I’m an archivist by career, so I make sure to keep all of that stuff!
Our guestbook will be more like your bench. Years ago (not sure if it was a wedding thing or not) my mom started a tablecloth “guestbook.” Friends and family write a note or some words of wisdom on the cloth, and my mom goes back over it with a super simple backstitch. the result? An amazing personalized/embroidered tablecloth. I can’t wait to start my own! Be sure to get a good quality cloth–my mom still uses hers and it’s over 30 years old.
we made a wordle design with our names, and wedding date, and lots of “wedding” type words, and in our colors.
then i uploaded the image to vistaprint, got it made into a poster, and we’re framing that with a black photo mat and having our guests sign the mat with silver sharpie.
We are using postcards….
We’ll have the postcards hanging from three different trees (created by our florist) and guests will choose a postcard to write us a note or advice.
They will then drop it in a birdcage next to a sign that reads “a little birdie will deliver your message”.
My mom plans to send them in spurts.
We’ve picked some really pretty and vintage postcards so that we can frame some of them.
Love the idea of using a bench! That’s definitely one I haven’t seen yet!
I agree about the whole guest book thing. It seems outdated in a way and something that you can display later or include wishes/advice is nice. Since you’re having your wedding at a winery, why not a large wine bottle that people sign (or multiple bottles)
LOVE the Rolodex idea!! And I too have used MyPublisher, like Mrs. Emerald and I would have to agree… it get’s an A+ from me. I used it to make photo books from our engagement pics for our Mother’s Day presents.
My fiance and I are very practical people and knew we’d never do anything with a book, notes, framed picture etc. We totally fell for the log bench idea. My dad is very crafty with wood and we’re going to do something very similar and figured it’d be a great way to also have him involved with the wedding.
Love the bench idea! We’re using a poster of my FI’s fave sports team. It will be the only sports-related thing I will ever frame in our home!!
Where did this bench idea originate from (is there a tutorial)? Just curious if you need to us unfinished wood and what kind of pen is safe, etc…
Thanks!
oooooo… the bench is a great idea! =) If I were a guest, I would be like….hmm…if i sign here…they will sit on me all the time… =) hehe Love it!
The tablecloth idea….LOVE IT!
I love the bench. My future hubby and I are having our guests sign a quilt that my great grandmother made decades ago that just happens to match our wedding color!
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Mrs. Apple Cider, New York/Charlotte Age and Occupation: 27, Corporate Communications Manager Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Grad Student – Clinical Mental Health Engagement Date: September 13, 2008 Wedding Date: October 2009 Venue: Banner Elk Winery & Blueberry Villa About Me: I am a North Carolina girl with a New York City spirit. I love crafting, blogging, laughing and dreaming. I know every word to the Anne of Green Gables and Little Women movies. I own every single Martha Stewart Wedding Magazine and have been dreaming of weddings since I was little. I believe life is about doing what makes you happy. If you aren't happy re-evaluate what you are doing. You should never look back on your life and not be proud of what you are doing. If you want to travel - travel. If you want to sing - sing. If you want to start a company - start a company. If you want to blog – blog!
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