Guest Book

  • Alternative Wedding Guest Book Ideas

    There are some wedding traditions that are just never going to go out of style. Everyone wants to remember who shared in their special day with them. Guest books are a great place for people to sign in and leave kind words for you as you embark on a new chapter of your life together.

    If "traditional" just isn't your style, here are eight very untraditional ways of spicing up the age old tradition!

    The best part is, these are easy DIY (Do It Yourself) ideas!

    Rather than signing a traditional guest book, guests are given postcards with the bride and groom's address printed on the back to fill with good wishes during the reception and drop mailbox displayed in the lobby. The cards are to be mailed the next day by a friend of the couple so that the newlyweds will return from their honeymoon to a brimming mailbox.

    In lieu of a guest book, guests are asked to write on squares of linen, which will be sewn into a keepsake quilt to adorn the newlyweds abode.

    This guest book is made from large sheets of paper that were cut, folded, and then stitched together. Miniature envelopes in light blue, muted gray, and ivory were adhered to the pages with double-sided tape, so that friends and family could slip personal notes inside of them and then seal the envelopes with stickers in contrasting colors.

    At this wedding, the guest-book table was decorated and  family and friends could express their hopes for the newlyweds as well as receive a written wish from the couple. Guests wrote their notes on coral cards and placed them in apothecary jars. In return they could draw a wish from another jar!

    This couple followed a Japanese custom by asking guests to tie their sentiments to tree branches with ribbons. Here, branches are adorned with crepe-paper buds and blossoms and placed in a porcelain vase. Expressions like "Prosperity" and "Good Marriage" were written in Korean and Japanese and hung ahead of time to decorate the branches.

    File this under A for adorable. Instead of a traditional guest book, use cards from an address file. Our set, by Lovely Design, contains handmade ones from vintage papers, so each is unique. Set cards on a table with a sign asking friends and family to jot down messages; once they've penned their notes, they can file their card alphabetically, leaving you to merely flip through all the warm wishes that range from A to Z.

    Set out an old-fashioned typewriter with long sheets of paper for guests to write good wishes to the bride and groom as the feeling strikes. Look for inexpensive vintage machines online or at thrift stores or flea markets; they come in colors to go with any palette. After the wedding, tie into a scroll with ribbon.

     

    Thought-provoking guest books that pose single, specific questions serve as dinner table icebreakers at your wedding -- and turn into keepsakes you'll want to display in your home and reread on every anniversary. Notebooks, Start Here; "Adventure" paper, by Nat Geo, from Eastern Mountain Sports; "LePen" pen, by Marvy, from Lytha Studios.

    Thank you to Martha Stewart for the great inspiration and the best of fun when creating the perfect touches to your wonderful day!

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