Unique Alternatives to the Traditional Guest Book
Nikki Collette Photography
We’re in a wedding era that invests in intentional, immersive elements of the guest experience. What better way to add a unique interactive element to your guests’ day than the guest book? The Primrose team has compiled some of our favourite alternatives to the classic guest book. There is something for everyone here, and the goal is to reflect your tastes and interests as a couple, adding another way for your guests to celebrate your love and life together.
Vintage Telephone Messages
If your wedding has a vintage vibe, a retro feel, or you spent a period of your relationship long-distance with your partner, a recycled phone audiobook is an iconic and interactive alternative guestbook. We may be biased with this trend, but we LOVE Canadian company After The Tone, especially with their simple instructions for you and your guests. And you can feel good about the planet with a paperless guestbook that uses upcycled vintage phones. Look at you, climate heroes!
The Classic Polaroid
We’ve seen this guest book a thousand times, and it’s a hit for a reason. A blend of nostalgia and youthful fun, Polaroid guest books are a distinct way to capture photos of each guest and allow them to tuck their photo into an album and leave you a little message. Make sure your camera has batteries (give extras to your coordinator) and you’ve got extra film packs for replenishing throughout the evening. Millennials were right on the money with this one.
Puzzle Pieces
The beauty of this guest book is that you don’t even know what it’s going to look like until you and your spouse put it together! Get a puzzle (bonus points if you get a custom puzzle of an engagement photo) and a box or jar for guests to put signed pieces in. Scatter your puzzle pieces across your welcome table or hold them in another box and provide permanent markers for guests to write on a piece of their choosing. Be sure to include signage if you want your guests to sign the front or back of their puzzle piece!
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Postcards With Love
Whether you pay homage to your wedding locale, a special time, or even the trip you got engaged on, a collection of gorgeous postcards puts a personal stamp (pun intended) on your guest book. Afterwards, you can display them throughout your home, create a gallery wall, or pop them in a box or album to peruse later.
Frame Engagement Photo
This is a beautiful and simple guest book option that can be a piece of welcome table decor and displayed elegantly in your home afterwards. Print an engagement photo and get a much larger frame, with a wide mat so there is space around the photo for guests to sign or share a message with you two. Lay the framed photo (without glass) flat on your guest book table with a few pens (we recommend super-fine tip Sharpies for clean writing lines) and your guests will do the rest!
Personalized Deck of Cards
Your cribbage tournaments are about to get way cuter with this guest book idea. Get a custom deck of cards with you and your partners monograms and your wedding date printed on the back, and lay out the cards with some markers (again with the super-fine Sharpies) for guests to sign a card. Bonus tip: you can choose to use your custom deck for playing cards OR have the deck mounted and framed to make a beautiful statement art piece for your home.
Coffee Table Photo Album
A beautiful way to display your engagement photos in your home and add a sentimental touch is to create a coffee table book that doubles as your guest book! Some photographers offer coffee table book services, or use design platforms like Canva or even your local print shop to create a polished keepsake that blends the traditional guest book with a beautiful photo album.
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Anniversary Wine Bottles
Okay, fellow wine snobs, this one is for us. Everyone loves a celebratory glass of wine, right? A great way to make those milestones extra special is to have your guests sign or write on bottles of wine, so when you reach those milestone anniversaries, you are also reminded of the people who helped you celebrate the beginning of your marriage and how far you have come as a couple. Clearly numbered bottles can also double as table numbers and give guests an activity
Patchwork Quilt
Nothing says “made with love” quite like a quilt, and for the couple with a large family or eclectic guest list, a patchwork quilt with signed squares from each guest is a beautiful keepsake of your special day sewing together the pieces of your life to celebrate you and your partner. Okay, okay, enough with the puns. This is also a lovely guestbook if you have a mom, aunt, or grandma who loves quilting and can take all the squares to assemble your quilt. How sweet!
First Dance Song on Vinyl
For a retro feel or the couple that loves music, create a signed and personalized vinyl record featuring your names and wedding date, and the title and artist of your first dance song. This is a simple yet iconic guestbook that requires minimal DIY to make the faux label for your record, and then some metallic markers for guests to sign on the vinyl. It can be easily displayed in your home hanging or propped up on a small easel.
Vintage Typewriter
Want a unique, hands-on (literally), poetic alternative guestbook? Thrift or rent a vintage typewriter for guests to type short notes on, and by the end of your night you will have a page (or two) of beautiful sentiments that you can frame and hang to display at home.
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Personalized Wooden Sign
So your rustic wedding already features plenty of wooden signage - great! Bring a piece of your decor into your home with a wooden sign guestbook. Hire a stationer (we highly recommend Calligraphy by Kelly) to create beautiful calligraphy of your names and wedding date on a sign or piece of reclaimed wood, and have guests sign around this design with wood markers. A beautiful statement piece that will always remind you of your wedding day design.
Custom Movie Poster
For the cinephiles, create a movie poster using one of your engagement photos and add your wedding date as the “special screening” date. Guests can sign on the poster and feel like the celebrities who walked the red carpet to your star-studded wedding day at the cinema.
Charcuterie Board
If you and your partner love hosting (or cheese) a personalized charcuterie board is a great way to have your guests put their mark on a statement piece that you can display in your kitchen and pull out on wine night. Guests will feel extra special when they visit you and see their signature or message awaiting them underneath a tasty bite of prosciutto.
Gamie Pieces
Whether you’re a playful couple or you have a lot of kids in your life (and future), let your guests personalize pieces of a new game to add to your collection! Jenga is a simple yet effective choice for this because guests can sign individual blocks, and then you’ll get to read your guestbook over and over every time you pull Jenga out for games night!
River Rocks or Garden Stones
The outdoorsy couple can bring a bit of nature to your guestbook experience by collecting rocks (it’s not just a hobby for kids) and providing sharpies or paint markers for guests to sign and decorate with. Signed rocks will sit beautifully on your welcome table all night to admire, and then you can display them in your home or garden.
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Upcycled Antique or Heirloom
Thrifty nearlyweds, this one is for you: find a vintage piece or track down an heirloom that holds symbolic meaning of you and your partners’ interests and have guests sign along it. For example, if you head out to the lake every summer, an antique oar would be beautifully displayed at your cabin. Other great items could include a guitar, surfboard, snowboard, skis, or an adirondack chair.
Shared Video Drive
These days, guests can (and will) capture your wedding day from their point of view with their own phones. You can make sharing these memories even easier in the form of a QR code printed on signage that links guests to a Google Drive folder where guests can upload their photos or videos. You can even use a specialized app or provide a specific prompt for guests, like sharing marriage advice or creating a photo scavenger hunt for guests. It will be so fun for you and your new spouse to look back and see your special day through the eyes of your guests.
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Fingerprint Musical Score
Maybe one or both of you are musicians, maybe you are both season ticketholders to the Symphony, this guestbook option is a beautiful keepsake that can be framed and displayed in your home. There are many independent artisans, Etsy merchants, or even graphic designers who can create and personalize a piece of sheet music with you and your spouse’s names and wedding date, and hollow music notes for guests to tap a finger on an ink pad laid out on your welcome table and “sign”.
“Disposable” Camera App
Want the disposable camera effect without the hassle of having to run around town to see where you can still get prints developed? Provide guests a link on your website or a QR code to download a disposable camera app such as Disposable or POV, and let your guests use their own devices to click away and capture your day with a touch of nostalgia.
Date Night Jar
Are you and your partner the adventurous type? Give your guests the prompt of sharing their favourite date night ideas and provide slips of paper and a vessel (a mason jar will do, millennials!) for you and your spouse to draw suggestions out of the next time you can’t decide what to do on date night.
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Marriage Advice Cards or Book
This is a great option for the youngest sibling or grandchild, the perennial bridesmaid finally getting her comeuppance, or even if you’re the couple looking to find out what secrets the married folks in your life have to benefit from this new chapter in your romance. Beautiful note cards, or even a traditional guestbook with a sign to encourage the prompt are a simple way to curate your guests’ notes.
Custom Guest Illustrations
Want an interactive guest book alternative that lets your guests’ creativity thrive? Create a template or outline for guests to fill in and illustrate! You could commission an illustrator or graphic designer to create a cartoon scene of your guests to colour themselves in, or display a large piece of textured watercolour paper with the prompt for guests to draw their own self-portrait. How fun!
Notes in a Cookbook
Foodies or cocktail lovers, we highly recommend selecting a cookbook (this could even be a fun task to delegate to your wedding party to surprise you) and letting guests peruse and sign on their favourite recipes they want you to try. You can even provide unique Post-It tabs, or if you’re the chef and bartender at home, surprise your partner with a custom cookbook printed with your favourite date night recipes and have guests read through and add love notes in the margins. Yes, chef!
Amanda Marie Photography
These are just a few suggestions to get creative with an alternative to the traditional wedding guestbook. Whatever you and your partner choose, we hope it reflects your tastes and you are able to look fondly on your guests’ love notes for years to come.
If you’re looking for more support with customizing your unique wedding day, we’re happy to help! Get in touch and let’s chat about whether a consultation, design services, or the full planning experience are right for you.
xoxo,
