Guestbook?

babymama007

Do you HAVE to have a guestbook at your wedding? I know you can go all creative and whatnot, but is this a must?

mjmchugh86

The only things you HAVE to do at your wedding are exchange vows, sign a marriage certificate, and host your guests. The real question is do you want a guest book? Do you want to do something creative and need ideas? Some guest might find it odd that you don't have a guest book, but it is not a major faux pas or anything.

harper0813

I would never notice if there wasn't a guest book at a wedding. I am not having one at mine. And when I asked for advice from my married friends, they suggested cutting the guest book because so few people signed theirs and they haven't looked at them since.

I'm not saying I'm anti-guest book, but if you don't want it, there is nothing wrong with it! The money typically spent on those horribly marked-up books can go toward one guest's meal!

AddieCake

Yes. Wedding police will take you away if you don't. 

julie650

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_guestbook-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:5Discussion:a3163551-1566-4b98-966a-4a6ff5d5bbd1Post:2665bc73-71b3-4cae-81d0-a6c0470447da">Re: Guestbook?</a>:
[QUOTE]Yes. Wedding police will take you away if you don't. 
Posted by AddieL73[/QUOTE]



See...unhelpful and unnecessary. That is exactly why so many people find issue with regs that act like you.



OP - I too was considering leaving out a guest book. I feel like I would never come back to it. Maybe if you are unsure, you could find a unique idea on pinterest or something...make it a little more fun and maybe even cheaper :)

AddieCake

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_guestbook-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:a3163551-1566-4b98-966a-4a6ff5d5bbd1Post:52f45bb2-c4b5-422a-ba8a-f224bfff3296">Re: Guestbook?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Guestbook? : See...unhelpful and unnecessary. That is exactly why so many people find issue with regs that act like you. 
Posted by julie650[/QUOTE]

<div>It's not my fault you left your sense of humor at home today. Lighten up.</div>

julie650

It's not about sense of humor. She was asking a serious question then your ONLY reply was a sarcastic remark that implied that her question was silly. I'm sure you're intelligent enough to know that just because you call it a "joke" doesn't make it right. And you can say all you want, I'm just letting you know that this is the kind of stuff that makes people dislike the regs so much...period. End of story.

AddieCake

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_guestbook-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:a3163551-1566-4b98-966a-4a6ff5d5bbd1Post:ffe8b131-4e6c-48a6-8e8b-42640d2ca67c">Re: Guestbook?</a>:
[QUOTE]It's not about sense of humor. She was asking a serious question then your ONLY reply was a sarcastic remark that implied that her question was silly. I'm sure you're intelligent enough to know that just because you call it a "joke" doesn't make it right. And you can say all you want, I'm just letting you know that this is the kind of stuff that makes people dislike the regs so much...period. End of story.
Posted by julie650[/QUOTE]

<div>I'm wholly aware of what makes people dislike the regs so much, but thank you for thinking you needed to explain to me how The Knot works. </div>

julie650

http://pinterest.com/beforethebigday/wedding-guest-book-ideas/ These are cute ideas. You could even do the one with the pieces of paper and the jar. Simple, inexpensive, and not in the way. You could even do like it suggests and in an album with pictures you could sprinkle the papers with your guests' words throughout. And if you decide it's dumb and don't want them, you can toss them out and no harm done.

julie650

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_guestbook-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:5Discussion:a3163551-1566-4b98-966a-4a6ff5d5bbd1Post:5050934d-9cbf-42ad-8da0-32bcfea919b6">Re: Guestbook?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Guestbook? : I'm wholly aware of what makes people dislike the regs so much, but thank you for thinking you needed to explain to me how The Knot works. 
Posted by AddieL73[/QUOTE]


Alright...so next time a "newb" complains, and you say "we are just being helpful" or "we are just being blunt, tough love" or "it's the poster that acts like an idiot first" or any other of the favorite excuses, we know it's not true. You obviously know what is unfavorable and you do it anyway even when the poster didn't warrant it. Now THAT'S a joke.

AddieCake

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_guestbook-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:a3163551-1566-4b98-966a-4a6ff5d5bbd1Post:d25797dd-f9d5-4d14-be4b-701d6f262158">Re: Guestbook?</a>:
[QUOTE]<a href="http://pinterest.com/beforethebigday/wedding-guest-book-ideas/" rel="nofollow">http://pinterest.com/beforethebigday/wedding-guest-book-ideas/</a> These are cute ideas. You could even do the one with the pieces of paper and the jar. Simple, inexpensive, and not in the way. You could even do like it suggests and in an album with pictures you could sprinkle the papers with your guests' words throughout. And if you decide it's dumb and don't want them, you can toss them out and no harm done.
Posted by julie650[/QUOTE]

<div>See, I think THIS is just as unhelpful and unnecessary as you think my snarky joke was. She already said she knows you can get creative with them. She didn't say she was looking for IDEAS for them. She wanted to know if they were necessary. So why give her ideas that she wasn't looking for, and that's ok, but for me to make a joke was not?  That makes no sense to me. But that's fine. We can pretend you're a better person than I am.  </div>

julie650

No one said I'm a better person...but way to be dramatic. And we don't know why she doesn't like them. Maybe she thinks they are too expensive, maybe she doesn't want to be bothered by an extravagant book that is annoying to store. Until the OP tells us more about why, suggesting ideas that might be more favorable for her and could fix those issues. Why would I ask her...wait for an answer...then if it is one of those issues, post the ideas? Might as well as well save everyone time and post a possible solution. If its not the case then it can be taken from there.

harper0813

Julie, Addie told a joke. I'm a sensitive person who cries at least four times a day and even I laughed. And one could consider me new if one looks at my number of posts. Life's short - tell and laugh at jokes. 

Wheels987

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_guestbook-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:a3163551-1566-4b98-966a-4a6ff5d5bbd1Post:45c21728-1299-4826-9ebd-9ab91d28288b">Re: Guestbook?</a>:
[QUOTE]Julie, Addie told a joke. I'm a sensitive person who cries at least four times a day and even I  laughed. And one could consider me new if one looks at my number of posts. Life's short - tell and laugh at jokes. 
Posted by zoberg[/QUOTE]


Agreed! Julie--please try to read these with a grain of salt. You may roll your eyes, but lots of others chuckle at these kind of jokes. Come on, lighten up. If all the regs left this would be the most boring place ever and no one would tell jokes EVER because it would be all serious and stuff. No fun. At all.

JennaMichelle88

Jesus, Addie, you just cannot win lately.

libby2483

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_guestbook-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:a3163551-1566-4b98-966a-4a6ff5d5bbd1Post:52f45bb2-c4b5-422a-ba8a-f224bfff3296">Re: Guestbook?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Guestbook? : See...unhelpful and unnecessary. That is exactly why so many people find issue with regs that act like you. OP - I too was considering leaving out a guest book. I feel like I would never come back to it. Maybe if you are unsure, you could find a unique idea on pinterest or something...make it a little more fun and maybe even cheaper :)
Posted by julie650[/QUOTE]

<div>Addie did not say this to be mean spirited or rude. It was a joke, and apparently for you, the humor did not translate well.  Making a huge deal about it really isn't necessary.</div><div>
</div><div>OP, you do not need a guestbook.  In fact, I wish we had skipped it, because not all of our guests even signed it, and we haven't looked at it since the wedding.  We have a scrapbook of messages and photos from our photobooth that we enjoy looking at much more, but you don't need to do anything if you don't want to.</div>

Peledreamsofrain

For reals Julie, who died in your cereal this morning?

AddieCake

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_guestbook-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:a3163551-1566-4b98-966a-4a6ff5d5bbd1Post:dea64448-7f2c-48d2-8cf1-221b01271a80">Re: Guestbook?</a>:
[QUOTE]Jesus, Addie, you just cannot win lately.
Posted by JennaMichelle88[/QUOTE]

<div>You're tellin' me!  For every 1 snarky thing I post, I make 10 nice posts, and get called out on the ONE.  And now I'm the poster child for why the newbs hate the regs? Sheesh.  </div><div>
</div><div>Kristan, I'm glad you were not arrested, but that would have been a fun mugshot!</div><div>
</div><div>OP, a guest book is not mandatory. Is it traditional?  Sure. Will it be expected?  Maybe. But mandatory, it is not. And thanks to the rest of you ladies. I appreciate it. </div>

Peledreamsofrain

Hey, look on the bright side, at least your waterfall wasn't insulted this time :P

beardownbchs

To me, guestbook = funeral. I've been to more funerals than weddings and most of the weddings I have been to did not have guestbooks. Every funeral has a guestbook. 

And if Addie's post offended you, I recommend Wedding Bee. 

babymama007

Ladies,

Really? Lay off the drama and just answer the question...the simple question in fact. Obviously I know that I don't HAVE to do anything. It's my life, it's my wedding. I just wanted to know if it was really necessary and important to have a guestbook. Do guests look for it? Does it help the couple in the end? I guess for me personally, guestbooks are silly and I don't want a book of signatures, or whatever the heck I would do for a creative way. And I am not saying this to offend anyone...I know many people have different opinions and that is fine. For me, I'm just simple and don't want a guestbook. It's just another thing to do,  to make sure guests sign it, and something that I guess doesn't interest me to keep. Thank you to the ladies who actually provided me with helpful advice.

[Deleted User]

Not required & you can do it however you like if you want. I got an idea from a board here. We got wine we love from a local winery, but a bottle on each table w/silver sharpie & on each bottle we put a tag on it asking people to sign the bottle as our guest book. We're going to put out a bottle on each anniversary & look over the names while enjoying the wine. We decided for us, we wouldn't put out a guestbook & look at it again but the wine we will.

jennyd412

I'm using a photo booth as a guest book. It will be in the foyer as guests walk in. There will be an attendant and a pretty self explanatory scrap book/guest book. Guests will take their photo and 2 strips will print. They can keep one strip and can paste the other in the book for us and sign there. Or, they can just take lots of funny photos all night. I also get a cd of all the photos taken. Much more fun than a traditional guestbook

Ella and Pedro

We're planning to get one of those engravable picture frame style guest books.  Then we will put an enlarged wedding photo in the center.  This is something we'd put over our fireplace mantel (in this home) or over a sofa or bed in a future home.  We're also planning to give out stamped and addressed Baltimore postcards for our hotel staying guests, with a request that they please fill them in and post them back to us during or right after the wedding weekend.  I figure those could be fun, and will be something we can add to a photo album or keepsake box.  We're not doing the typical guest book (at the reception) just this frame idea.  If you get one, I have read the very good advice to buy at least one additional engraving pen. 

Good luck!

Ella

babymama007

Thank you for the suggestions, ladies. Has anyone done a Mad-lib kinda thing? My fiance wants to do at least SOMETHING so we know who came to the wedding, and so I thought to compromise (I don't want signatures or anything like that), keeping a general mad-libs for everyone to fill out at their table could be kinda fun? Either that, or an informal photo shoot like you see at prom's or something. Ha.

ashleyep

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_guestbook-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:a3163551-1566-4b98-966a-4a6ff5d5bbd1Post:7f3b90b8-839a-461e-b1e4-4e5b28048725">Re: Guestbook?</a>:
[QUOTE]Y'all.  Addie is just trying to help.  I wish I had talked to her more when I was planning my wedding.  There were undercover wedding police at my wedding.  They tried to give me a ticket for not having a traditional guest book.  DH & I managed to get away with just a verbal warning.  Had I talked to Addie before my wedding, I would have been spared the embarrassment of the wedding police stopping the cha-cha slide at the reception.  Just sayin'. We used out engagement pics for a Shutterfly book and people signed that.  
Posted by TXKristan[/QUOTE]

<div>I like the photo book idea. I've seen it done at a friend's wedding and loved it. Plus you can usually find great deals on Groupon/Living Social for Shutterfly or other companies.</div>