Alternative guest books

Your guest book doesn’t have to just be a boring book that you don’t know what to do with later. We have all kinds of ideas for you for alternative guest books.

Guest books came to us, as so many wedding traditions have, from the Victorians. They were pretty obsessed with status symbols, and we don’t just mean the aristocracy (though especially them). So whenever Victorians had a gathering, they’d have people sign in with their title. This way they could look back or show others how many “important” people came to their event.

Of course, this was extra useful at a time of limited photography. Now you could easily not have any kind of guest book, and you’d have all of your photos and videos to remember everyone by.

This explains why guest books are getting such a big makeover. They need to perform other duties now or be more creative.

Keep in mind that not all of these ideas will feel doable to everyone reading this. Some of these depend on how much work you want to put into it and your particular skills and interests. That’s why we’re sharing so many!

Alternative guest books

The main thing (and it’s always the main thing) is to think about you as a couple. What would speak to your sense of yourselves? What are your shared hobbies? Can you somehow create an alternative guest book around a hobby? Like legos or gaming of some kind or gardening or… the list goes on and on.

Making meaning is unique to each of us. So think about what would be most meaningful over time.

Story rocks as alternative guest books

Is this still happening? It seemed to be big a few years back: People would paint rocks and plant them all over the city for others to find, like little treasures.

Take that idea to your wedding and have a selection of small rocks and good paint pens and a big glass jar set up on a table where everyone will notice it. You could have the DJ announce it while everyone is eating.

Have instructions at the table: On one side of the rock, name/s. On the other side of the rock, a tiny note or wish or inspiring word.

Envelopes for notes

We love this one. Have a stack of small envelopes and note paper. This is one that you could set up at each table. And again, make sure to supply good pens. Like these. (You want to make writing easy and pens matter.)

Ask people to write a personal note to you both. This could be a story they want you to remember or marriage advice or something inspirational or maybe ideas for future dates. Provide a list of ideas/prompts for what they could write. (People can panic when faced with a task like this so guidance makes it a bit simpler.)

Have them put them in the envelopes and seal them. (If you want to get crafty playful, have stickers available for the outside of the envelopes.)

Here’s the best part: Don’t open these all at once. Take your time. Maybe daily, maybe weekly (depending on the size of your wedding and the number of cards). Delight in these together.

Message quilt

No, your guests won’t be quilting. But you or someone you know might be ((ha)). This is one of those super specialized ideas. If you love to sew, this one’s for you.

Cut quilt squares and have them stacked with fabric pens. Again, ask people to write a short note and sign a square. Build your quilt and spend years snuggling up under all of that love and support.

Photo frame

This one is pretty simple and seems pretty popular. Get a big frame with a good insert … beautiful paper of some kind. Place a rectangle of paper in the center to hold space for an eventual wedding photo, and ask people to write messages everywhere but that space. You can then hang this on your wall and see those kind notes every day.

Alternative guest books as a bucket list

You could get a cute bucket for this bucket list. Pens and small pieces of paper. Maybe ribbon so they can roll the paper and tie it and then place it in the bucket. What’s on the papers?

Ideas for adventures! Ask people to keep it somewhat real because you plan to pull one now and then and actually do it.

Small bench

This might sound like more work than it is. A small wooden bench, plain… it doesn’t have to even have a back. And really, the simpler the better. Ask people to write a note on that bench and then get it varnished and place it in your garden or even in your home.

This would be extra cute if you were having something along the lines of a barn wedding.

You could also do this with a table top that is meant for picnics. The ideas really are endless.

Mini poloroid collection

You can get those little polaroid cameras that spit out mini photos. You’d only need one per table. Have your guests take photos of themselves and write small notes on the bottom of the photos.

You could just put these into a small photo album, of course, or you could create a collage to hang. Again, this really depends on how many guests you have. A collage for a wedding of a couple hundred people would be a little… big.

Video messages

There are apps for this. (Aren’t there apps for everything?) And you can simply let your guests know which app to use and have them upload video messages.

If you are opting for this video idea, make sure to have two ways they can leave you messages. Not everyone will feel comfortable on camera.

So what about you? Have you seen any fun/weird/awesome alternative guest books out there?