Guestbooks are such a staple at weddings. They serve the purpose of seeing who attended your wedding as a guide to sending your thank you's for attending. For years brides have used the standard spiral bound "bridal screaming" guestbook with the lined pages for guests to sign. I personally, along with a lot of other brides today, find that way so boring and non-personalized. I love to encourage my brides to come up with another option to serve as a guestbook, something that will serve a purpose in their decor at home. Something that represents them in their own way. It doesn't have to be elaborate, but could be anything from a scrapbook with photos of your childhood and then dating lives together, which is what I did :), to a more traditional signing mat that can be placed on your wall with a photo from your engagement or wedding. Here are some other fun ideas to creating that record to represent who was at your biggest day ever!
If you were having your wedding take place at a vineyard or if you and your husband to be are wine or champagne lovers, choose a bottle of wine or champagne that will be served at your wedding. Have that serve as your guestbook with a special pen available for guests to sign their names and well wishes to you and display that in your home.
Have your guests pen a note of well wishes to you and the new Mister and put these notes into a scrapbook for others to look through. These are fun to read through when you arrive home from your honeymoon and are unwrapping gifts as well. You would be surprised the funny, and inspiring, notes you'll receive. Great stationary for this can be found on many websites, including Paper Source for stationary with motifs or colors to match your theme.
Document your guests with a photo. Whether it's from a poloroid being carried around by several designated friends or a photobooth set up, it's a great momento to represent who was at your wedding and attach this to a guestbook for them to sign a message into. Photobooth Nashville is a resource we use very often. They bring in a photobooth to set up and an attendant is there all night as your guests are going in and out of the old fashioned photobooth, to take their pictures and compile them into a scrapbook with well wishes. Guests love it!!! It also can double as a favor because the guests get a copy of the pictures they took as well.
Another fun thing to do, that many photographers are doing now, is creating a mini album of photos from your engagement session, and even bridal session, and having your guests sign on opposite pages. This serves as a great display for your photos, as well as something more appealing to look through than just pages of signatures only. One of A Delightful Day's favorite photographers, Dove Wedding Photography, offer this as part of most of their packages.
Another great tip I've seen is forgo the traditional written guestbook all together and have your videographer take messages from your guests. It allows for more personalization, tears, and laughs!
Whatever your style is for a guestbook, make it personalized! Guests love those little details that make your wedding your own!