Are you having a guest book?

sarahjane222

I found this really great leather bound book that I wanted to use as a guest book but FI laughed and said it looked like it was out of Harry Potter (ok...maybe a little..). He then asked if we even need a guest book.....fair question. I like the idea of being able to look back to see who we invited to our wedding...but isn't that what photos are for? I'm not really a huge fan of any of the alternative guest book ideas (puzzle, stones, etc). We're having a more formal affair and I don't want something that looks too DIY. 

What are your guest book thoughts? Necessary? To you married folk - have to you looked at your guest book? Should I just find a nice book that FI and I both like? lol 

atlastmrsg

I used a vintage leather bound Gucci notebook.  It was simple.  Now we have it on a bookshelf.  Some people wrote notes, others just signed.  Some didn't sign at all.  Either way, I don't mind having a small leather book on my bookshelf.  No way I'd want some satin and lace bridal monstrosity sitting around my house.

It was really similar to this, I just don't have a photo of the actual one handy (I think this is a notepad):

theartistformerlyknownas

We had a version of one. I knew I'd want a keepsake, but wouldn't count on it to "know who was there" (really, not everyone signs them anyway so it wouldn't be accurate), and knew I wouldn't look at it for a while. So I made little envelopes with my Cricut and glued them to pages in a plain, black 12x12 scrapbook. Guests could write us a note and seal it into the envelopes with washi tape, and we'd open them on a future anniversary - 1, 5, 10, 25 or 50. The alternating pages had a 12x12 black and white picture where people could just sign directly on the white space if they didn't want to leave a note. All 50 envelopes ended up getting used! A handful signed the photo pages. I slid page protectors on from the side to keep everything safe until we open them all.

climbingsingle

I ordered a really pretty guest board from Etsy. I had everyone sign it in a white marker. It's came out really nice. I'm going to hang it either in our downstairs living room or our guest room. 

cupcait927

We chose not to go with a guest book. We had such a small guest list (50 people, not including H and I) that I didn't think it would be necessary. It was all family and close friends. Now, had we had a bigger guest list, I probably would've done something like @climbingbrideny. My best friend had everyone sign a photo mat board and then used it to frame one of their engagement photos. It's hanging in their living room and I still sneak a peek at it when I'm visiting.

ElcaB

H & I saw no point in having people sign a book we'd put away and never look at, so we opted to have a large 2' initial of our last name for people to sign which we plan to hang on our living room wall. 

mlg78

I ordered wooden hearts online and I had a framed sign that said something like "Leave us your wisdom and well wishes" and people wrote some of the best marriage advice, hilarious little quips and heartfelt notes from those that were with us on our wedding day.  They now sit in a large vase on top of our hutch in our dining room.

AddieCake

Our guests signed river rocks, which we keep in a vase in our home. It's one of my favorite things.

jenijoyk

ClimbingBrideNY said:

I ordered a really pretty guest board from Etsy. I had everyone sign it in a white marker. It's came out really nice. I'm going to hang it either in our downstairs living room or our guest room. 

We did this too, and might have ordered it from the same guy on Etsy! Our wedding was pretty formal, so we chose a more formal font across the middle of the board, and had him use a gold leaf paint. We also had him stain the wood pretty dark, and guests signed in gold and copper paint pens. I LOOOOVE IT. Granted, we've only been married a week, but I have literally stared at it for at least an hour total. It's one of my favorite things from our wedding. We're hanging it on the wall in our house this weekend.

ShesSoCold

I got a hockey jersey with H's last name and number 14 for the year we were married and asked everyone to "autograph" it. People loved it. We're really sports-y so we're excited to frame it and hang it up. 

Cookie Pusher

We opted for a scrapbook. We had pieces of scrapbook paper in our wedding colors out along with a dozen or so Sharpies with a note asking for well-wishes. We started the scrapbook with childhood pictures and pictures of DH and I from the last 13 years so people could see how we got to where we are.

lyndausvi

We did a scrapbook.   We had everyone sign a sheet then I went back in later and attached a picture of each guest from the wedding on the page.    I love looking at that book.  Especially when a few of them passed away a few months later.

JoanE2012

I'm in the minority.....we had no guest book of any sort. I knew I'd be fine with pictures for memories.

photokitty

This is what we did:

We got married not he 3rd of July so each person signed one of the fireworks and we put a photo we had taken of all our guests just after the ceremony.

KatWAG

We had a poster of Chicago framed. Guested signed in the borders. We had a black tie wedding so I dont think formality has anything to do with what type of guest book you have.

annakay511

I am very traditional, so I wanted to do a guestbook. However, I'm also realistic that I will never open up a book just to look at people's signatures haha. So, we ordered a photo guestbook, that has our engagement pictures with spaces for people to sign their names and give us their well-wishes. I saw this done at a friend's wedding and I loved looking through the book and seeing their engagement photos! Also, I know I will want to look back on my engagement pictures- so this way, I will be looking at our guest's signatures and messages too. We got ours from shutterfly with an AWESOME coupon. I suggest waiting until they go on sale or you can get a good coupon code!

JennyColada

We did a guest cutting board. My dad is a graphic artist, so as his gift to me I requested (yea yea, I voluntold him...but I knew that he'd be excited to do it!) that he paint one side (it was a surprise to me until I saw his work the day of!) and guests signed he back. I don't have a picture of the signed side but here is my dad's side:

mrscomposer

We did a poster, like below.  Guests signed the leaves in sharpie.  It's hanging in our living room.

It turned out that we had a few celebrities show up, courtesy of my siblings (I'm guessing).  Bono, Jerry Seinfeld, The Who, Bad Wolf... apparently it was the place to be!

tara.c

You could always have guests sign a nice coffee table book (or make your own coffee table book on Shutterfly).
My FI was on his high school rowing team, and our whole house is nautical, so we're having guests sign a rowing oar.

snakeylady

We're having a photobooth at the reception, and the package comes with a picture guestbook. As the pictures are printed out, the attendant will put them in an album and then our guests can sign. Even if we don't get a ton of people signing, at least we'll have the nice album!

thisismynickname2

It's not necessary. I skipped it. My logic was that we would have professional photos of everyone there. 

melbenso

Do you need a guestbook?  No.  But if you want one, go for it.  Personally, I loved reading all of the messages of love, support, and advice from our family and friends after the wedding.  Some made me laugh.  Some made me tear up. 

We made our guest book on Shutterfly, and included a bunch of pictures of us throughout our relationship.  I figured if people wanted to look through the pictures (which I enjoy doing at weddings) they could and if not they could skip it or just write a message.  The Shutterfly design we used also had things like "well wishes" written at the top of the pages, which encouraged people to do more than just sign their names if they wanted to.  Those personal messages were my favorites.

minavondhoom

The thing about weddings is...you don't really *NEED* any of the traditional stuff.

It comes down to what you want, and what is practical for you as a couple.  

If you know you'll never look at just signatures after the day, but want something to remember your guests by, have them sign a frame, a bench, little hearts, etc.  There are some great alternatives out there.

I personally LOVE the scrapbook idea, and am planning to do one anyway for the wedding, so I'm going to set up a scrapbook station to have people write notes, advice, etc.  

redheadbride15

We're doing a Quaker wedding certificate (CLICK for example), which I think of as a sort of guest book alternative.

We aren't Quaker but I did go to a Quaker school and I love many of the traditions so we'll be incorporating some of them into the wedding. The certificate won't actually be a legal document as it was historically intended, but instead will be a framed keepsake containing the signature of all the people who witnessed the wedding. My sister did one at her wedding and it's framed in her diningroom. Her stepdaughter, who was 5 at the time, printed her name at the bottom and it's so wonderful to see (she's 19 now!). My sister has been really sweet and has hired a calligrapher to make us one as a wedding gift.

lembaslover

We are using a photo-book from Shutterfly with our engagement pictures in it. I figured it would be nice to have our engagement photos in book form along with signatures/notes from guests. I had an awesome coupon which got me the book free, I just paid for shipping which was awesome! 

I'm also probably going to leave something at the tables for guests to fill out while we're doing photos between the ceremony and reception. I'm not sure if I'm going to do like Mad Libs, or just blank note cards, or I've seen like cute little sheets which ask name, how far you traveled, favorite part of the night, etc... Figured it'd be something to keep them occupied for 20 mins or so and be fun to read after. 

Jen4948

Well, I might do a kind of combination guest book, photo album, and scrapbook. The guest signatures could appear on individual pages with photos and other items added later. Or the signatures might be on a few dedicated pages.

Acdelgado18

My wedding is coming up in April and I'm not doing a guest book.  I actually hired a photo booth for the wedding and part of the package is I get a scrapbook with all the photos taken at the booth and the guests are told to sign or write a message next to their photos, so I said, hey there's my guest book and it'll have pictures!!!

abbyandjade

We are planning on doing an "Up" themed canvas and people will either sign the balloons. 

Then it's a piece of art that you can keep forever and you won't forget about it! It's fun to look at. 

goblue111315

We had an 8x10 of our favorite engagement photo framed with a 6-inch matte border that people can sign. We figure once we get our wedding photos, we can switch it to a wedding photo and hang it in our house!

SpringBride216

We're having a 55-60 person destination wedding, and we're opting to skip the guestbook. I can't find a guestbook "concept" that really resonates with me, and FI and I are not really a "things" couple (I can't imagine displaying the guestbook anywhere in our home or pulling it off a shelf to go through).

Since we are getting married at a winery, the one option I considered was purchasing a magnum (one of those massive bottles of wine) of wine from the winery where we're getting married for guests to sign. But since it's a destination wedding, I have NO idea how we'd get that home with us, nor where we'd put it in our apartment, so I've since scratched that idea. 

FutureMsNguyen

My Fiance and I are in an intercultural relationship and are using a globe. We both love maps and traveling and a lot of our guests are from different countries. I feel like the globe represents international love. It's not necessary to have a guest book. Have a little chat with your fiance and see how he feels about it.