Weddingbee Blog

When I decided to do a guestbook bench for our wedding, I never expected how happy I’d be with the end result. It’s so personal, so sentimental, that I fall more in love with it every time I lay eyes on it. Let’s bring it back to the beginning, when I enlisted my bridesmaids to join me in a group girl-power project.

After having all the gals lend a hand, I sanded, painted, and then drew on our design to make it wedding official. Here it is in action on the big day.

(photo by Scott V.)

(photo by Scott V.)

It still served it’s seating purposes too, when it was time to toss the garter.

(photo by Scott V.)

I sealed the top with Mod Podge, my go-to preservative. You can’t ever go wrong with the ’podge, guys! It’s glossy smooth, and safely preserves all of our sweet messages. My favorite is from Bridesmaid Stacie, “We hope this bench sees the butts of many friends and is witness to tons of amazing memories!” I built it intending to place our Rustic Bench at the foot of our Farmhouse Bed, and it’s the perfect addition to our bedroom.

So, for the cost of roughly $20 (including the pens to sign it in), a lot of elbow grease from my favorite ladies, and a little spit and polish with my design work, we have a family heirloom. I want to give a HUGE shout out to Ana White of Ana-White.com who provides all these plans for free (seriously, go check it out!) and empowers women and families everywhere to build for yourselves. I love our bench, and am so SO glad you all encouraged us to choose it for our guestbook!