Mrs. Sunhat, Dyer, IN Age and Occupation: 32, Tax AccountantFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Landscape ForemanEngagement Date: September 25, 2010Wedding Date: December 2011Venues: St. Andrew the Apostle, Fiesta PalaceAbout Me: I'm a Midwest girl who grew up in the country and now works in the big city! I love cooking, entertaining, reading (addicted to my Kindle) and going to the movies. I don't miss an episode of Hoarders and I start cleaning every time I watch! My profession doesn't call for much creativity so wedding planning has been a great outlet. Mr. Sunhat and I met online three years ago, cheer for rival MLB teams and share a home with our dog, Wrigley. We are planning a traditional, Polish, Catholic wedding with lots of DIY elements and some fun surprises. I'm so excited to be married on New Year's Eve and we can't wait to ring in the new year as husband and wife!
Miss Petit Four, San Antonio/Isla MujeresAge and Occupation: 25, Technology teacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Math Teacher and Football CoachEngagement Date: Feb 13, 2010Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Zama Beach Club, Isla Mujeres, MexicoAbout Me: I am a polka-dot obsessed, destination wedding diva living and loving in the great state of Texas. I am an island girl at heart and I visit the beach as often as I can. I am a wannabe DIY goddess, but that doesn’t mean I won’t give it my best shot. I love pearl earrings, the color pink, and ruffles are a part of my everyday wardrobe. My wonderful fiance and I are planning a destination wedding with our closest family and friends and we’re leaving a trail of glitter in our path!
Let’s be honest: guest books are boring. Half the time I forget to sign the darn thing, anyways. I have seen so many unique alternatives to having a guest book that totally rock my socks off.
This first option is one of my favorites. I know for sure I want to have one of these puppies at our wedding. It’s called Happily Ever Afterwords, and you can buy it here. Read more…
Mrs. High Wire, DallasAge and Occupation: 23, Legal AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Director of CommunicationsEngagement Date: October 9, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Clark GardensAbout Me: My loves include yoga, anything spicy, our eccentric cat, our rambunctious dog, and Mr. High Wire, of course! Like the steadiness act of the tightrope walker, this gal is busy balancing life while planning a wedding to the man of her dreams. We’re hosting a laid-back, vintage-inspired, bird themed wedding with heavy doses of love, good eats (did someone say tacos and margaritas?), and endless Texas charm. Mr. High Wire and I are so happy to have you along for the walk across the tight rope.
It took me a really long time to make a decision on our guest book for the wedding. You can add it to the huge list of things that wound up being a lot more important to me than I initially realized (others include invitations, bridesmaid shoes, and extreme promptness with my thank you Notes).
Before we were engaged, if someone asked me about our guestbook (although no one would actually do that), this is what I had in mind:
Mrs. Parasol, San Ramon, CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 25, Non-profit writer, editor, and bloggerFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Law school studentEngagement Date: December 19th, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Bent Creek Winery (Livermore, California); Reception: Family Residence (San Ramon, California) About Me: I am a California girl at heart. I love the outdoors, sunny days at the beach, and hiking in the woods and mountains. I also love good books and am fresh from completing my Master's degree in English and Comparative Literature in New York City. Living in NYC was an amazing experience, and while I'm glad to be back on the West Coast, I'm also thankful that my two years back East gave me an opportunity to explore new places, make new friends, and indulge my passion for Broadway shows. Oh, and I received a pretty awesome proposal from Mr. Parasol in Central Park. Above all else, Mr. Parasol is my biggest cheerleader and my best friend. But even though I'm thrilled to be marrying him, I wasn't always totally on board with this whole wedding thing and at first, I wanted to run off and elope. I've finally been convinced to throw the wedding I never thought I wanted, and so now I'm busy planning an intimate September wedding filled with DIY details. Along the way, I'm slowly learning to appreciate, perhaps even love the wedding planning process.
Since our guestbook is far from traditional, Mr. Parasol and I knew we should probably provide some instructions for our guests. We could do something really basic and to the point like, “Leave a note and hang it up.” It’s succinct and conveys pretty much exactly what our guests are supposed to do.
But we decided we wanted something a little more fun to greet our guests upon their arrival, something more like this:
Mrs. Teaspoon, Sydney, AustraliaAge and Occupation: 27, Medical ScientistFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, BankerEngagement Date: June 4, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: St Aloysius' College, Milson's PointAbout Me: I am a mad scientist who enjoys swimming at the beach in summer and skiing powder in winter. Our favourite times together are spent with the sand between our toes, cooking up a storm, re-watching and re-reading every Harry Potter ever made, and spending time with our dear friends and family! We have travelled the world together in our 6 years of dating, from Paris, to Thailand, to Las Vegas, and we are tackling the many challenges of planning our special day the best way we know how---together!
I’m interested to know if any of those who are married have ever sat down and read their guestbook? I’m guessing the answer is probably about 90% no…OK, maybe you read it once the day or two after the wedding, but after that? Shoved in a cupboard somewhere taking up space with all the other things you dont want to throw away, right?
That is why I think we need to rethink our guestbook. This is our current guestbook, all traditional and whatnot, which we received as a gift at our engagement party:
Mrs. Cannon, Toledo, OHAge and Occupation: 27, Financial AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, AssemblerEngagement Date: February 28, 2011Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Epworth UMC & Ward PavilionAbout Me: I'm the curious combination of being a go-with-the-flow, laid back, obsessive planner. I try desperately to stay as busy as possible at all times (and am succeeding big time right now!) My biggest loves in life are Law & Order: SVU, Community (the show, not the concept, although I like that, too), ice cream, white cheddar popcorn, beer, hiking, knitting, decorating, writing, being outside, spending time with friends and family and musical theater. Mr. Cannon is pretty sweet, too. We've had a lot of fun traveling and having adventures all over the country, but have finally moved back near our hometown to settle down. We're planning a low-key, colorful, fun wedding and an awesome-to-the-max reception.
So, I promised myself I would post every day this week because I didn’t post at all last week. However, I have a TON of homework to do (it’s my last week of class!) so I don’t have a lot of time. I have lots of things I want to write about, but I want to REALLY write. You know, articulate my thoughts clearly and re-read my post before I hit the publish button. Luckily, my photographer sent us our engagement picture book which we’ll be using as our guestbook and it arrived today. So, I present blogging without writing—aka pictures of our guestbook:
Ooooh, what’s in this fancy box? Oh, and Cannon, I love your lime green gingham table cloth! *blushing* Thanks! (Ok, I’m done complimenting myself.) Read more…
Mrs. Bacon, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 26, Digital Advertising ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, IT Client ServicesEngagement Date: June 17, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Ravenswood Billboard FactoryAbout Me: I'm a Midwestern girl that can't seem to commit to staying in one place for too long and is constantly daydreaming about my next adventure. I am an aspiring foodie with a weak spot for the unusual and I love semi-reality food television. My other loves easily include laughing as a form of exercise, a book that I can't put down, summer baseball games, espresso with whipped cream, couch potato days and nights with the ridiculous Mr. Bacon, and our two kitties, Lincoln and Sawyer. We're planning a faux-destination wedding for 150 of our closest friends and family in the city we've both adopted as home that has a modern, yet whimsical twist and as many personal touches as we can manage.
Haha. Gotcha. This is not an invitation post. Those babies have left the building and we’re waiting on those last few RSVPs before I can share the results. In the meantime, let’s talk about mailboxes.
Way back before I started heartily searching the wedding blogsphere, I had no idea that one needed a box specifically for cards at the wedding. I kinda assumed that cards would go in a pile on the gift table, then be stuck in a bag somewhere during the reception. Nope, apparently that’s not actually what’s done. So once I realized that the cards at our wedding would need a vessel, I became immediately obsessed with the idea of using a real mailbox to hold those babies. Of course my vision wasn’t just any mailbox, this one needed to be red and I’d LOVE to have our new last name written on the side.
Finding a plain red mailbox is much more difficult than you might think. Read more…
Mrs. Ladyfingers, Saint Petersburg, FLAge and Occupation: 30, Marketing ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Sports WriterEngagement Date: December 24, 2010Wedding Date: November 2011Venue: Palma Sola Botanical ParkAbout Me: I hail from Oklahoma, he was born and raised in Long Island. Fate brought us together, and now we live in a cute little rental house with our nutty dog, and our aloof cat. We both love to read, watch movies, explore our town, and laugh like hyenas. When I’m not obsessively wedding crafting, I enjoy stalking style and decorating blogs, making collages and painting, napping, thrifting, rearranging our bookshelves, and being a total weirdo with my friends. Hi!
Probably the number one best thing about planning a wedding (besides, you know, getting married, but whatever) is getting stuff in the mail. It’s seriously a million times better than shopping in person. I don’t get nearly enough mail, so this whole online ordering thing is really buttering my bread.
Well, we got a very awesome piece of mail just the other day—and that would be our guestbook!
I went near and far with our guestbook ideas. For the longest time, I planned on doing well-wishes cards that guests would fill out and drop in a box/bucket/hat/birdcage. Then, of course, there are the incredible clothesline guest books that Miss Parasol is drooling over. Not to mention Mrs. Elephant’s postcard guestbook…
Mrs. Parasol, San Ramon, CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 25, Non-profit writer, editor, and bloggerFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Law school studentEngagement Date: December 19th, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Bent Creek Winery (Livermore, California); Reception: Family Residence (San Ramon, California) About Me: I am a California girl at heart. I love the outdoors, sunny days at the beach, and hiking in the woods and mountains. I also love good books and am fresh from completing my Master's degree in English and Comparative Literature in New York City. Living in NYC was an amazing experience, and while I'm glad to be back on the West Coast, I'm also thankful that my two years back East gave me an opportunity to explore new places, make new friends, and indulge my passion for Broadway shows. Oh, and I received a pretty awesome proposal from Mr. Parasol in Central Park. Above all else, Mr. Parasol is my biggest cheerleader and my best friend. But even though I'm thrilled to be marrying him, I wasn't always totally on board with this whole wedding thing and at first, I wanted to run off and elope. I've finally been convinced to throw the wedding I never thought I wanted, and so now I'm busy planning an intimate September wedding filled with DIY details. Along the way, I'm slowly learning to appreciate, perhaps even love the wedding planning process.
Hive, today is a very exciting day for me. After collecting a lot of ideas over the past several weeks, I finally attempted my first wedding DIY project, and I am thrilled to share it with you. I make no promises about how good this particular project turned out, or whether or not this tutorial will actually be useful. But I will say that I had a ton of fun doing this, and I am looking forward to many more DIY wedding projects in the near future.
If the title didn’t give it away, today I’ll be showing you how to make your very own clothesline guestbook. Get excited!
Mrs. Ladyfingers, Saint Petersburg, FLAge and Occupation: 30, Marketing ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Sports WriterEngagement Date: December 24, 2010Wedding Date: November 2011Venue: Palma Sola Botanical ParkAbout Me: I hail from Oklahoma, he was born and raised in Long Island. Fate brought us together, and now we live in a cute little rental house with our nutty dog, and our aloof cat. We both love to read, watch movies, explore our town, and laugh like hyenas. When I’m not obsessively wedding crafting, I enjoy stalking style and decorating blogs, making collages and painting, napping, thrifting, rearranging our bookshelves, and being a total weirdo with my friends. Hi!
Ms. Gazelle, Calgary/VancouverAge and Occupation: 32, EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Technology AnalystEngagement Date: September 3, 2010Wedding Date: July 2011Venue: Brock House Restaurant, VancouverAbout Me: I am a marathon runner, cyclist, Ironman triathlete and beautiful shoe fiend who also loves kicking back and watching Glee. I grew up a bit of a nomad as I traveled around the world with my family, living everywhere from Australia to England to South America and Indonesia. I finally settled in Calgary a few years ago and met Mr. Gazelle who loves me even though we cheer for different hockey teams. We are planning a bit of a destination wedding in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia and we can’t wait to share the day with our close family and friends.
We decided to create a guestbook with engagement photos. We thought is would be a great combination of our favourite photos coupled with well wishes and advice for a long and happy marriage from our loved ones. I picked up a Groupon for Photobook Canada ages ago and I’ve been holding on to it for just this purpose. There were so many styles to choose from, but we went with the Guest Book.
The guest book has an image wrapped hard cover and the pages are a lovely textured and heavy 170 gsm paper.
We went with a 12 x 12 guest book, so it is definitely a great size!
Mrs. Sand Dollar, HoustonAge and Occupation: 24, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 22, Electrical TechnicianEngagement Date: January 8, 2010Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: MacLean ParkAbout Me: I'm a domestic diva down to the core. I heart cooking, sewing, baking, decorating and making sure we have a hand-crafted home. The best part about the wedding is I get to incorporate it all! I make sure I put my art degree to good use by screen printing, craft knife cutting, and a whole lotta graphic design. We're having a big-time party on a small-time budget, and I promise to show you a boot-scootin', barbecue-eatin', finger-lickin' good time! Mr. Sand Dollar and I spend most of our time on DIY projects or traipsing around the outdoors with our two pooches Rory and Juno. I'm looking forward to sharing our journey with all of you!
Whew! Even though our wedding was nine months ago, I’ve just now finished sewing our guestbook quilt! Why did it take so long? Well, like a crazy person, I decided to hand embroider each and every message on our 40 signed blocks. I was afraid that over time the fabric pen might fade, and I wanted each name and wish to last a lifetime. After all, quilts are often heirlooms, so why not go all out?
Mrs. Snow Cone, Pittsburgh/Johnstown, PAAge and Occupation: 23, Public Health Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, EngineerEngagement Date: April 9, 2010Wedding Date: August 2011Venue: OMOS Church ceremony/Sunnehanna Country Club receptionAbout Me: I’m one of the lucky ones---I met my future husband at the ripe old age of 13, started dating him as a mature woman of 15, and have been enjoying the ride ever since. Here we are, 8 years later, living in Pittsburgh, planning a "homestination" wedding in the place our school romance began---Johnstown, PA. I thrive on talking a mile a minute, eating my weight in chocolate, and internet shopping. I love a lengthy to-do list almost as much as I love a healthy amount of chaos in my life. Mr. Snow Cone and I watch countless episodes of Friends and The West Wing on repeat, root for rival college sports teams, and make each other laugh each and every day. We’re putting together a small-town wedding with a big personality and a classically modern (or modernly classic?) look for 250 of our closest family and friends. It’s been 8+ years in the making, and sometimes I still can’t believe I’m finally getting to marry my high school sweetheart!
After evaluating our guestbook options, we were at an impasse. We liked the idea of having something that we could display in our home after the wedding, but we also liked the idea of having a guestbook that would allow our friends and family to leave us more personalized messages than just a signature. Instead of picking one over the other, we just decided to do both options!
For our decor item, as per Mr. Snow Cone’s suggestion, we’re incorporating our college sports teams. We’re planning to have a Notre Dame football and a Pitt basketball available for our guests to sign.
Mrs. Cinnamon Bun, Calgary, AlbertaAge and Occupation: 26, Stage ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Theatre TechnicianEngagement Date: June 22, 2010Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Calgary Opera CentreAbout Me: I'm a life-long crafter and bookworm living in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Some of my loves include Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes, knitting, opera, musicals, Etsy, baking, and of course, Mr. Cinnamon Buns. We're keeping our wedding close to home---the venue isn't very far from our house, and we live within walking distance of 6 bridal salons. I'm using the wedding as an excuse to try out every craft project I possibly can, with the endless help and support of my fiance.
Miss Snow Cone posted recently about searching for a guestbook idea, and she might as well have been reading my mind! (Well, apart from the sports jersey one. We are just not sports fans.) Yes, it is almost a month to the wedding, and I don’t have this sorted yet. I mentioned this worry to Mr Cinnamon Buns recently, and he said that we could stop by Michaels and pick one up! He knows how much I love that store, so it was probably a surprise when I said um… no. I said no to a trip to Michaels! This is especially worth noting as since someone totaled my car when it was innocently parked on the street, I have no way of getting to Michaels unless Cinnamon Buns drives me. I’ve booked myself in for a driving lesson to learn standard, but that’s not for a few more weeks.
Mrs. Snow Cone, Pittsburgh/Johnstown, PAAge and Occupation: 23, Public Health Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, EngineerEngagement Date: April 9, 2010Wedding Date: August 2011Venue: OMOS Church ceremony/Sunnehanna Country Club receptionAbout Me: I’m one of the lucky ones---I met my future husband at the ripe old age of 13, started dating him as a mature woman of 15, and have been enjoying the ride ever since. Here we are, 8 years later, living in Pittsburgh, planning a "homestination" wedding in the place our school romance began---Johnstown, PA. I thrive on talking a mile a minute, eating my weight in chocolate, and internet shopping. I love a lengthy to-do list almost as much as I love a healthy amount of chaos in my life. Mr. Snow Cone and I watch countless episodes of Friends and The West Wing on repeat, root for rival college sports teams, and make each other laugh each and every day. We’re putting together a small-town wedding with a big personality and a classically modern (or modernly classic?) look for 250 of our closest family and friends. It’s been 8+ years in the making, and sometimes I still can’t believe I’m finally getting to marry my high school sweetheart!
Recently, Mr. Snow Cone turned to me and made this official proclamation: “We should figure out what we’re going to have people sign at the wedding.” I met this comment with a combination of surprise and bemusement; he rarely contemplates wedding-planning details, let alone taking the initiative to bring them up in conversation. But when he does, it’s quite endearing, to say the least.
Anyhow, his comment got me thinking about the different guestbook options we have. There’s always the traditional route of having people simply sign their names in a lined book so the couple has a record of who attended their special day. However, in today’s wedding world, there are so many more options with a bit more personality. After a bit of thought and a bit of online research, here’s a completely un-exhaustive list of ideas, broken into categories based on what you want out of your guestbook selection.
For those interested in showing off a passion:
You can have all your guests sign a cherished (or personalized) jersey or piece of sporting equipment, showing off your favorite team!
