By Guy Antonelli
A guest book is a nice idea at a wedding because it will give you a lasting record of the special people who were there for your celebration. While the typical guest book can be lovely, it is also a bit boring. These are some great ideas for fun and unique guest book alternatives.
If you like the book format, it is nice to personalize it a bit. Rather than a generic guest book, create your own. You can make it special by including photographs of the bride and groom, or decorating it to go with the theme of your wedding. Brides who are skilled at scrapbooking can have a ball making their own custom books for guests to sign. If you are not the crafty type, use one of the sites which will allow you to upload your photos online and create a custom printed book. Or better yet, have your guests personalize the book for you; set out a pretty scrapbook with a Polaroid camera and some markers. Your guests will have a great time snapping a fun picture and putting it in the memory book with a congratulatory message.
Another idea is to have your guests sign an object other than a closed book. The nice thing about this is that you will have a special piece to display in your new home and enjoy all the time. You will get much more enjoyment out of it than you would a closed book gathering dust on a shelf. One popular idea is to have your guests sign a picture frame that will be used to mat one of your wedding photos. If you plan to have an engagement portrait done, it would be nice to display it in the mat while it is out for guests to sign. With the popularity of pre-wedding photo sessions these days, you could even include an image of the bride somewhere beautiful like a beach, all decked out in her wedding gown and jewelry.
Other things to have your guests autograph include platters, large bowls, and tall vases. One really incredible idea would be to have the guests sign in a special pen that would create a resist on a clear glass bowl or platter. After the wedding, take a glass etching solution to etch the uncovered part of the glass. When the resist ink is washed away, you will be left with a frosted glass bowls showing all of the names still written in clear glass. This would be an incredibly elegant and understated wedding momento that you will treasure for years.
For an outdoor wedding, a really sweet idea is to set out little pieces of paper in a special shape for guests to write a brief message upon. When they are done, they can hang them on a tree with a little ribbon. If your wedding is indoors, you can create the same set up with a small table sized tree. Choose a shape of paper that means something to your wedding or ties in with your motif. It could be doves, flowers, cowboy boots, seashells, you name it. The signatures and cheerful wishes will be delightful fluttering from a tree branch.
As couples look for more ways to personalize their weddings, they are getting even more creative in their approach to the guest book. The thing that your guests sign does not even need to be paper. For instance, if you were having a destination wedding, complete with a tropical bridal gown, beach wedding jewelry, and the works, you could use this theme as inspiration for your guest "book". Set out sand dollars and Sharpies for your guests to inscribe their best wishes. The collection of messages can be kept in a pretty clear glass hurricane lantern in your new home. Or if you are having a Zen style wedding, set out smooth river rocks for your guests to sign.
As long as you design a guest signing station that fits in with the style of your wedding, you can feel free to be as inventive as you like in creating a cool alternative to the traditional guest book.
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