A guestbook is one of the greatest mementos of your wedding day, containing heartfelt messages from all your most loved people. It can throw up surprises too, with words of wisdom and special messages coming from the most unexpected sources! Unfortunately, it all too often ends up on a shelf, gathering dust, and not getting looked through for years at a time. Many couples now want a more visible way to collect and store those important messages. A way to collect good wishes which fits in neatly with the wider vibe of the day. Luckily, intrepid brides and grooms everywhere have been coming up with unique ways to replace the traditional guest book. Read on for some of the most imaginative guestbook alternatives out there.
Postcard to the future
What would your guests tell their future self about the joys and challenges of marriage? Or what do they hope for you in your future? Creating a bespoke postcard design for your guest to fill in and ‘post’ is a sweet way of collecting advice, congratulations and special messages from your guest. Hire a vintage post box to create visual as well as emotional impact.
Table cloth ink
Let your guests run loose and scrawl their messages on a dedicated tablecloth. Use colourful pens to add artistic appeal and watch the blank space fill up with happy graffiti. This method will leave you with a really personal piece of art, frame a portion of it to make sure these memories part of your everyday world.
Bespoke artwork
Ensure those messages of goodwill never get lost or put away be asking your guests to add to a personalised piece of art. It might be a drawing or painting of you as a couple or a framed picture. Provide markers and let your guests enhance your carefully chosen piece with their loving notes.
Vintage notes
Planning a vintage wedding? A typewriter is an amazing way to add to your design scheme and allow your guests to type out a truly vintage looking message. As the champagne flows, so will the spelling mistakes but it is a fun way to involve your guests in your theme.
Puzzle pieces
When you met your groom or wife to be you may have felt like you found your missing part, so what better way to celebrate your day than by asking your guests to leave mini messages on puzzle pieces. This might be a specially designed jigsaw in your image or pieces from a game you both love. It will make people smile and create something utterly personal to you.
Message on a bottle
Using a wine or champagne bottle to gather notes from friends and family is easy and has immediate impact. Choose a vintage that has meaning to you both and invest in specialist glass markers to allow your guests to get busy on the bottles.
Polaroid wishes
Provide a Polaroid camera and ask your guests to leave messages on the back of snaps from themselves. Not only will you have no doubt where each message has come from, you’ll be left with an individual portrait of each and every guest from your day. This is a lot of fun for your guests so expect some interesting poses!
Notice board of love
Sometimes the most everyday objects can be transformed into something truly special. Grab a handful of post-it notes and drawing pins and let your guests fill up a notice board with their words of wisdom. You’ll be left with an ordinary old noticeboard that has been transformed into a statement piece of art. Use heart shaped note paper or distinctive pins to personalise this idea further. This is an easy and fun idea for a budget wedding.
Wishing jar
Collect or buy a variety of pebbles and ask your guests to decorate them with a wish for your future. When each pebble is completed it goes into the wishing jar and as they stack up you will be left with a beautiful and personal piece of art. Read a single stone every week to keep the romance of your wedding day flowing long after the lights go down.
Guest books are a great way of collecting a tangible piece of advice or love from the special people in your life but there are no rules on how you should go about it. Think creatively and pick an idea based on the things that mean something to you. It might be you ask guests to decorate an item that represents a favourite hobby, or a poster from the movie that you both love. Keep it personal and you will treasure it forever.
