Ditch the Traditional Guest Book | Fun Ideas for Your Wedding | Cleveland TN Wedding Photographer

Every time I think about a guest book at wedding, it reminds me of that one episode of Sex and the City where Miranda sets up a couple, they get engaged, and they ask her to “watch” the guest book at their wedding.

Don’t ever ask anyone at your wedding to watch your guest book! Besides, no one uses a traditional guest book anymore when there are so many other options from which to choose. You can get anything you want these days and all based on your personality as a couple! The internet is your oyster!

For me personally, I love handwritten messages of some kind from guests. You wouldn’t have invited those people to your wedding unless they were important to you in some way, so make it count. Ask them to write a sweet and kind message for you both.

So let’s take that a step further and show some fresh takes on the traditional guest book for a wedding!

The World Traveler

Do you and your groom to be love to visit other countries and travel the world together? Then this idea might be for you! Set up a mailbox, maybe with your names on it and the wedding date. Have lots of different kinds of postcards from different places and have your guests write a heartfelt message on the back. After your wedding, find a board with a drawing of a map and pin up the postcards! Or seal them in a scrapbook to look at later.

Cheers to You!

I always believe it’s 5 o’clock somewhere! My husband and I love visiting places where we can try new wine! I feel like you can bond over a great bottle of your favorite vino. So this idea is super cool!

There are companies that make custom wine bottle labels. You can get them to say anything! So here’s what you do: depending on how many tables you have at your wedding reception, order a label for the wine bottle that has a table number and place on the table for your guests to share. Leave a sharpie pen or two at the table and have your guests write a special message to you both! Or if you would rather, have your guests write their name on a cork and place it in a shadow box container for you to frame in your kitchen!

Let’s Cook!

I love to cook! I’m always searching the internet for a new dinner recipe, especially ones where I can grab some herbs from my back porch. For this idea, you can have a print out card that lists yours and your groom’s “recipe for love”. Have this at a special table and ask your guests to write out their own “recipe for love” for you both. This could include a date night idea or just a special message to you. You can place a special wooden recipe box for your guests to put them in. When you need some inspiration, pull one out to read together!

paint me a picture!

One idea I saw was having someone make a watercolor painting of your venue. This one may be a little more expensive, but it’s such a pretty idea. Find someone who paints (the best place to look is on Etsy or Instagram) and have them make a rendering of your wedding venue. Make sure there is plenty of space around the painting. Have your names printed below along with the date of your wedding. Your guests can write their names and special message to you and it can be framed later. It will look gorgeous hanging in your living room or bedroom! And you can always remember where you got married when you look at it.

They’re Playing Our Song

This last idea is the least expensive but also super cute, especially if you love music and vinyl! Once you figure out what song you and your groom will dance to first at the reception, go to your local used record store and find a cheap 45 or 33, depending on how big you want the record size to be. (A 45 is the smaller size and the 33 is the larger size, based on the rotations per minute the records plays.) Find a template for a record label and order a sticker that has your names, the wedding date, and the name of the song you will be dancing to at the reception. This sticker will replace the one in the middle of the record (don’t worry about it not having a hole in the middle since you won’t see the other side.) Mount the record on a piece of heavy acid free paper, any size you want it to be to fit your record, and that’s it! Just let your guests sign their name around the record and you can frame it after the wedding!

I hope these ideas have helped get creative on how you can have a fun guest book at your wedding! I love pulling mine out and reading the special messages every so often. It reminds me of that special day and how much fun we had getting married! What did you use for your wedding day? What’s your idea for an alternative guest book? Tell me in the comments!