Non-Traditional Guest Book Ideas???

tina'ntom

Not to offend anyone who has had your typical sign/date/message gues book at their wedding, but the idea kind of turns me off.  I just don't see the point in spending a ton of money on something I will maybe look at once and will probably throw out down the road.  Again, if that's your thing, great, it's just not mine.  Does anyone have any non-traditional guest "book" ideas? (It doesn't actually have to be a book.)  Something that would be relatively inexpensive and I could actually get some value or use out of.  I've seen the photo guest book thing (I actually was in charge of it at a wedding last year) and just being in charge of trying to convince guests to have their picture taken was a enough to make me never want to do it again.  It is a cute idea though, just a lot of work and it really depends on the crowd whether they are cooperative or not.  Any thoughts???!!!

collins.christine

Our photog takes our engagement pics and makes a guest book out of them so our guests can see our pics and then we can use it for a coffee table book. Not sure how long we'll leave it out on the coffee table but it will be like a scrapbook/guest book. You can also make your own on shutterfly with your own digital pics.

mdillman

We are getting married on a farm, so we wanted something nontraditional too. We are having our guests sign fabric squares so that we can turn it into a quilt. Not sure if that would fit in with your theme, but I've seen similar things done and the guests really love the idea and the quilt is a great keepsake.

lu27

We are using post cards that we have been collecting (vacations we have taken, movies, music  and art we love etc.) They will be on a table for our guests to write messages on. After the wedding we are going to make a collage of them, frame it and hang it on our wall.    

smoo&brown

I have a tray set up with a bunch of cardstock squares in our wedding colors and fun pens for people to sign. There's a note to leave us a message or thought (hopefully spurring something better than the typical "congrats! and "best wishes" only with a name) and upload photos to our photoshare site. After I'm planning on using them to create a little guest book scrapbook with the photos.I've also seen people have a large photo mat, platter, or wine bottle that they will drink on their 1st or 5th anniversary. The diy board is a great place for a q like this, btw.

armst76

I am planning on having everyone sign wine bottles that we will open on our anniversaries. We are doing a wine theme wedding.  

Backpackers

When we were touring our venue, they were setting up for a wedding and the people were using a drawing of a tree with just the branches and trunk, no leaves. The guests would then sign their names/write notes where the leaves would be. Then I guess it could be hung on the wall.

kmatola18

I was recently at a Wedding where the Bride and Groom LOVED to eat and cook Mexican Food and were heading to Mexico for their Honeymoon. For their guestbook, they bought a nicer Mexican Recipe book and placed a small sign next to it indicating that this was serving as their "guest book". The card also told guests to sign a page and put in a short message about "the recipe" for a long and happy marriage. I thought it was a cute and unique way to do the guestbook. By the way -- I'm with you on your opinion of the traditional guest book!!

lexiedog

I had a box filled with cards that match the wedding colors-the guests filled in name an address along with a message at the bottom. I now have a rolodex with all the names and addresses. I have extra cards so I can use it as an address keeper moving forward. There are also lots of great non traditional guest book ideas on Etsy.com Good Luck!

bucky22

We're going more traditional... I ran out of energy near the end But, my sister and her hubby ordered a TON of wine corks from Etsy, and had guests sign corks that they later mounted in a huge frame around one of their wedding pictures. Just had people throw the signed corks in a pretty glass bowl when they were finished.

mnordwig

Im with you on the "non traditional" guest book. I saw this really cool idea in a wedding magazine that I will be doing. I'm getting a blank canvas from an art store (you can get whatever size you would like) i am going to buy 6 different paint colors that all coordinate well. You place the different paints in little containers with individual brushes for each paint and place them on a tray. There will be a sign in a frame next to the paint that says something like this... "One Stroke, One Love" "We are asking each guest to pick a color of their choice and paint one stroke on this blank canvas. Your combined energies will be the foundation of a piece of art we will cherish for the rest of our lives." My maid of honor is a great artist, so after the wedding she is going to take the "foundation" that our guests created and use that as a background and inspiration to create a piece of art that will go nicely in our new home!

Chenny555

I have heard of using a calendar and having each guest sign their name on their birthday.  You could have a calendar made with your pictures or use something else.  A friend bought a cool, coffee table book that she and her husband loved; they had the guests sign in the margins.  Much like the traditional guest book, but this way they have a book they both wanted anyway.

BrewersFan

Our guest book was actually a photo guest book. We had a photo booth done by Beyond The Booth at our wedding. The guests would visit the booth. Once they were done taking their poses they would get a copy of the pictures to take home and another copy to put it our photo guest book, then they would write a message to us. It is fun for the guest (people are still talking about it) and a great keepsake for us!

sam_tom.wed21

Not sure what we're doing yet, but I am all about fun, non-traditional guest book stuff. A wedding I went to recently just had colorful pieces of paper cut out and a note to write basically anything; a poem, a story/memory about the couple or yourself w/the couple, tips to a happy marriage, draw a picture, or just sign your name. They had a pretty basket that the cards went into then, and they can be used for picture frames or put into a scrapbook of the wedding too. ~SJ314 days to go!

runnrgurl

We are also planning to have a photo booth. We were just at a wedding last weekend and it was a hit with guests.

lauren930

The photo guest book is an awesome idea.  I've also seen guests write a note on a piece of cardstock and then the bride incorporated them into a wedding scrapbook.  We're going to make a book from shutterfly with our engagement pics and use that for our guest book.

ddthomey

We made hard cover photobook  on Shutterfly of of our favorite photos through out our relationship. It's kind of like a "yearbook" of us from when we first started dating to our engagement. There was enough room on each page for our guests to sign a message. It sits out on our coffee table now and I LOVE it!

ddthomey

P.S.: armst76 & chenny555----great ideas!