Guest Book

stategirl85

How do people feel about not having a guest book or any sort of guest book replacement? I just feel like it's kind of a waste, I know will most likely never read my guest book and I reallywant to do one of those 'write a message/date night idea/fingerprint/etc' things either. My thought is if they care to write a message they will most likely bring a card and can write their well wishes in their card. Do you think people will miss having something to sign or is it fine to go without? 

OBX2011

You don't have to have a guest book if you don't want one. However, after being married now for 3 years, it's nice to go back and read everyone's well wishes. Instead of a guest book, we had a large 11x14 frame matte laid out and everyone signed it. We put one of our favorite wedding pics in it and it hangs over our fireplace. I love looking at it and still get a good laugh out of some of the notes that were written for us.

ElcaB

If you & FI don't want it, I see no reason to have it. Skip it. 

pinkcow13

Yep, it's totally up to you. I would not feel like anything is missing if I don't see a guestbook at a wedding as a guest. In fact, I don't think I remember signing a guestbook at any of the weddings I have been to lol.

csuave

We didn't have one.  Instead I have every card from the shower and wedding in a shoe box.  We also have a lot of great reception pictures with guests in them that will go into our wedding photo book.

FWIW I hate writing in guestbooks/signing things.   

grumbledore

If we do one at all, it will be something simple like the picture frame of one of those silly shadow boxes with the little wooden hearts people can write on.

vmj23

I think it's fine.  I never know what to write in books anyway, as a guest.   I didn't want a book either, since i don't see myself going through reading it more than once.  Instead my mom painted a canvas for me, of a tree and people can just sign the leaves. 

delujm0

i hate signing guest books.  but my planner was all "people expect them!" and FI bought into it, and then i got a "free photo book!" Shutterfly coupon and one thing led to another and i now have a $15 guest book (paid for shipping).

 

It was fun pulling out all of the pictures of FI and i over the years (we didn't have an engagement shoot, so it's just random pictures of us).  It's not so bad...i figure for $15 even if i never look at it again, if it makes the older guests happy to sign it, they can have at it.

pinkshorts27

delujm0 said:

i hate signing guest books.  but my planner was all "people expect them!" and FI bought into it, and then i got a "free photo book!" Shutterfly coupon and one thing led to another and i now have a $15 guest book (paid for shipping).

 

It was fun pulling out all of the pictures of FI and i over the years (we didn't have an engagement shoot, so it's just random pictures of us).  It's not so bad...i figure for $15 even if i never look at it again, if it makes the older guests happy to sign it, they can have at it.

FTR, I love looking at my mom's guest book. There are some very near and dear family members that have passes away and I love seeing what they wrote! I also the love the list of presents my mom had, as well as the list of when they sent Thank-you's right next to it.  

AddieCake

The field of the fucks people grow on whether or not they have a guest book to sign is barren.

vulpiepop

I think it's fine to not have one. It's hard for some people to think of what to write and lots of people forget to sign the guestbook anyway, but it's a nice thing to have when you want to look back on your wedding day. It's up to you really. If you don't want a book collecting dust in your closet, there are cool alternatives too (like posters and puzzles and whatever else).

[Deleted User]

Granted, it's a pinterest idea, but I kind of love it... I want to have a suitcase filled with blank postcards for people to write on.  Traveling is big in our relationship and so is the photography of the places we go.  I personally have dozens of postcards from various places that I bought and never wrote or mailed, and I'd love to collect a few dozen more from my city and the cities of my family and friends.  Cousin from Rhode Island can sign the back of a card from Columbus, Ohio if they want and friend from Florida can sign the postcard of a moose in Minnesota.  I kinda think a shoebox of random postcards seems fun.

MrsAitch

I felt like I should have a guest book, but I didn't want to spend much money on one. I ended up finding a hardcover journal with a lacy heart pattern on the front and added some letters (like these) to spell out "guests," our monogram, and the date. The journal was on clearance for $0.50 and the stickers were only $4.

If you like this idea, I saw some cute journals on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Red-Embossed-Heart-Writing-Journal/dp/B000N3ZUKY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1398447159&sr=8-2&keywords=journal
http://www.amazon.com/Antique-Monogram-Journal-Diary-Notebook/dp/1593596839/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1398447159&sr=8-3&keywords=journal

2leadsingers

adk19 said:

Granted, it's a pinterest idea, but I kind of love it... I want to have a suitcase filled with blank postcards for people to write on.  Traveling is big in our relationship and so is the photography of the places we go.  I personally have dozens of postcards from various places that I bought and never wrote or mailed, and I'd love to collect a few dozen more from my city and the cities of my family and friends.  Cousin from Rhode Island can sign the back of a card from Columbus, Ohio if they want and friend from Florida can sign the postcard of a moose in Minnesota.  I kinda think a shoebox of random postcards seems fun.

Kinda glad someone else admitted to using a Pinterest idea. We are using a guitar. But FI plays the guitar ( we have three on stands in our bedroom and my son has one as well), and we both sing in a local rock cover band, so it kinda makes sense to us and we probably would have used something related to music anyway, since it is a huge part of our lives. 

Inkdancer

2leadsingers said:

adk19 said:

Granted, it's a pinterest idea, but I kind of love it... I want to have a suitcase filled with blank postcards for people to write on.  Traveling is big in our relationship and so is the photography of the places we go.  I personally have dozens of postcards from various places that I bought and never wrote or mailed, and I'd love to collect a few dozen more from my city and the cities of my family and friends.  Cousin from Rhode Island can sign the back of a card from Columbus, Ohio if they want and friend from Florida can sign the postcard of a moose in Minnesota.  I kinda think a shoebox of random postcards seems fun.

Kinda glad someone else admitted to using a Pinterest idea. We are using a guitar. But FI plays the guitar ( we have three on stands in our bedroom and my son has one as well), and we both sing in a local rock cover band, so it kinda makes sense to us and we probably would have used something related to music anyway, since it is a huge part of our lives. 

If anybody wrote on one of FI's guitars, he would probably cry. Even the crappy old Johnson he gave me to practice on... he can't bear to let any of them go!

KeptInStitches

I'm probably just going to get a plain white guest book and wrap a teal (our color) ribbon around the cover, then glue that to the inside cover.

ETF: Guest book. Not textbook. Oops.

CheleLyn

I made a guest book on Shutterfly using our favorite engagement pictures. This way, we have a book of the photos but also everyone's well wishes. A traditional book of just signatures would eventually end up in a box in the basement. I will be putting our guestbook out with the other albums.

wilcogirl

I got a wedding guest book tree poster. Guests sign the leaves. Guest book posters are great!  It is a neat alternative to the original guest book and we framed ours to hang on our wall after the wedding. The guests loved it to. I got ours on etsy... here is a link to her shop... Wedding Guestbook Tree  

StitelME

My guestbook is also not a book and was also purchased on Etsy. We are doing a "Message in a Bottle" guestbook. We have a large jug (not quite a bottle in my opinion but still pretty) and several small slips of paper with ribbons. Guests will jot down their well-wishes on the slip of paper, wrap the paper in a ribbon, and drop it in the bottle. Whether or not we ever read the well-wishes again, it will make a pretty display in our home and just a glance at the *hopefully full * jug will help to remind us how much we are loved.

melbenso

We printed a guest book with photos of us throughout our relationship from Shutterfly.  We also put captions on various pages asking for advice, memories, words of wisdom, etc.  Very few people just signed it.  Most wrote lovely, thoughtful messages to us. I really loved reading through it after the wedding.  Some of the messages were so touching, they made me cry.

ETA - we did get a gift card to shutterfly with something that I purchased for the wedding (I can't remember what).  So the cost of the personalized guest book ended up being about $3 - which was less than any basic guest book I saw anywhere else.