Wedding Guest Book Alternatives That Rock

Unique Wedding Ideas to Welcome Guests and Create Memories

Oct 8, 2009

The wedding guest book is traditional, but nowhere is it written that a book of signatures that gets tucked away soon after the wedding is the only option.

Today’s wedding couples can choose a traditional guest book with a plumed pen if that’s exactly what they wish to have. But for those who embrace the unique, there are other methods of creating a guest registry that can be fun and memorable.

The Online Guest Book

Creating an online guest book involves a laptop computer and a computer savvy guest-book attendant. Most of today’s guests have enough typing skills to enter their own communication, but those who don’t can write their name, address and personal message on paper, and the guest book attendant can enter it into the computer.

The result is a digital guest book that can be saved to a disk or to a hard drive. Later the data can be integrated with photos in any manner the bride and groom so choose to create everything from a computer wallpaper to a screensaver to evoke joyful wedding day memories every time the computer is booted up. Doing so will keep guest messages alive forever.

The Honeymoon Romance Novel Guest Book

Engaging the wedding guests in a reception project can add a whole new level of fun to the occasion. Instead of a traditional signature book, partially pre-printed pages would be stacked on the guest book table. Unfinished sentences on the page would be followed by plenty of white space for guest completion.

The page could begin with a teaser such as: “Ted and Sally can’t wait for the honeymoon!” Following would be sentence beginnings such as:

Sentence beginnings can be based on any storyline and any combination of unfinished sentences. An “Author” signature line for the guest’s name and address would be at the bottom of the page.

A clever mock romance book cover can be displayed, and a guest book attendant or a tabletop sign can instruct guests to complete their story at their convenience any time during the reception then deposit the page into a designated receptacle.

Guests will have light-hearted fun creating the stories, and the bride and groom will have lots of laughs reading them. Many are sure to be wacky and wild and create guest book memories like no others.

Framed Polaroid Guest Books and Video Captures

Many wedding couples and guests alike have enjoyed creating scrapbooks or photo albums with instant pictures, or video footage, in lieu of a standard guest book.

For photos, an instant camera is used and the photo is immediately placed in an album or on a scrapbook page. The guest then adds a message and signs beneath it. Inexpensive Polaroid instant printers pair easily with Polaroid digital cameras and even spit out photos with adhesive backs, making it a breeze to affix them to album pages.

For videos, a designated videographer mans the reception entrance with a video camera and captures each guest’s impromptu message to the bride and groom, making sure that every guest identifies him or herself on tape.

To add flavor to the photos or videos, a real picture frame can be used. Guests will hold a blank frame before them to uniquely create the “picture” inside. Alternately, the frame can be mounted so that guests can stand behind it. This simple addition fosters a special wedding day uniformity and uniqueness. Posing with the frame also gives guests something to do with their hands and makes the process of being videotaped or photographed more fun and less awkward for camera-shy attendees.

The Guest Book Quilt

Permanent markers and fabric squares can create an ultimate “guest book” heirloom that couples will hand down through generations.

Having plenty of squares is the key to a successful wedding guest book quilt. Some guests may make a mistake and want to start over, and plentiful fabric squares will insure that every guest will get to convey the special message he or she is eager to share. Knowing their words will be woven into something as lovely as a wedding quilt gives guests a true sense of inclusion in the big day, and the end product will be a one-of-a-kind treasure for the bride and groom.

The Guest Book Platter and Other Unique Ideas

The key to utilizing a guest book alternative is to choose something that will last forever. Guests can sign just about anything from vases to Christmas ornaments, but choosing items that are breakable or those that will fade quickly can result in the loss of the very memories the wedding couple is hoping to create.

Durable items like pewter platters that can be permanently and instantly engraved with special diamond-tipped pens, garden rocks, and picture frame mattes are all viable options.

The Personalized Guest Book

Making the guest book unique to any bride and groom is simply a matter of imagination, and choosing something that makes everyone smile is by far the best wedding guest book ever. An elegant book and a nice pen is one choice. A world of clever possibilities is another.

The copyright of the article Wedding Guest Book Alternatives That Rock in Wedding Services/Receptions is owned by Tricia Spencer. Permission to republish Wedding Guest Book Alternatives That Rock in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.