Our Favorite Guest Books

Photo by Out of the Ordinary Photography

Guests books are a staple at every wedding, as the bride and groom like to have a keepsake record of all of the guests who attended their wedding. Guests books always used to be, well, "guest books", but many couples are choosing to put their own spin on the concept and create a unique memento that is personal and more useful to them in the years after their big day. Check out some of the guest books we've been seeing lately.

Photo by Niki Rossi Photography

At this wedding our bride and groom chose to have guests write well wishes on small pieces of paper and they had clear glass jars on the table next to the papers to collect all of the tiny messages. The paper was in shades of greens and pinks which matched the colors of the wedding. We've seen this at a few of our weddings, with a few variations on the same basic idea. Some couples take the jars home as-is and display them on their mantle or around their home. Other couples take the papers out and fill the pages of a scrapbook album that showcases other wedding keepsakes, as well. Either way it is a nice way to get personal messages from your guests that you can look back on for years to come.

Photo by Out of the Ordinary Photography

There is nothing wrong with tradition! A classic guest book is still an acceptable way to collect all of the names of the guests at your wedding. There are lots of beautiful books out there, like this one that had a beautiful silver cover and matching pen. Other couples of ours have decorated the cover of their guest book in the same color fabric and ribbon that they used in other areas in order to tie all of the accessories together. Whichever way you do it, just make sure you have a nice pen available and a back up, just in case.

Photo by Tracey Buyce Photography

This is a very popular idea and I'm sure you've all seen this at weddings! The signature frame is wonderful because you can truly display your guests' names and messages in your home after your wedding. There is no way of missing this when it's up on your wall! You can put any picture of the two of you in the frame, but if you've had the pleasure of doing an engagement photo shoot with your photographer then definitely use an image from then. Remember to take the glass out of the frame and have a permanent marker or pen that won't bleed through or fade. Also, keep the mat in the frame so you don't accidentally get guests to write outside of the border.

Photo by Michael Grace-Martin Photography

Here is another signature frame, with a picture from the couple's engagement session inside. If you have an easel it is a nice way to display the frame on your place card or gift table.

Photo by Tracey Buyce Photography

This is another great idea and one of our favorites - a Polaroid guest book! Yes, we know that Polaroids are phasing out and it's difficult to find cameras and film, but if you can get your hands on some then this is a super and your guests will love it! Put out a camera, a photo album, and a few pens and let them go. Guests can take pictures of themselves and sign the book near their image. What you get is a photo album full of the names and faces of all of the guests who attended your reception.

Photo by Jill Kaiser Photography

For this wedding the couple had purchased two books made specifically for Polaroid pictures. The Polaroids slid into the pages and guests had the whole page to themselves to write whatever message they wanted. During the reception my assistant went around and took pictures of every guest to make sure that they all made it into the book. After that we put the camera out for guests to do what they wanted with it. They definitely got some fun pictures!

Photo by Heather Bohm-Tallman Photography

Another really fun spin is to have a photo album of you with pictures that document the stages of your relationship. This couple had first starting dating in high school, so their pages showed pictures starting way back then. They had photos of their life out in Colorado (where they now live) and lots of fun family pics of the two of them with their dog. If you decide to go this route just make sure your pages have plenty of empty space for guests to write their messages. There are lot of websites that you can create your own photo books so go online and play around.

Photo by Shannon DeCelle Photography

And lastly, who says you even need to do a book at all? Why not have a guest plate?? This couple chose to use one of the signature plates from one of the local craft stores. The colors for their wedding was purple and silver, so they used purple markers for guests to write all around the ceramic plate. Then when they got home they were able to display the plate as artwork and a precious memory from their special day.

As you can see there are lots of options for guest books, and you can go wild and choose whichever option best fits your style, personalities, and needs. There are no rules - have fun with your wedding.