This Post Contains A Menagerie of Guest Book Ideas

Back in October, I was furiously collecting inspiration for all of the little wedding details that would turn "My Day" into "My Special Day." One of those details was the guest book. I always assumed I'd have a nontraditional guest book because I read so much Weddingbee/Martha Stewart and go on Pinterest so much, and I had seen so many cute ideas for interactive guest books. I love the idea of getting guests to write us little messages, which is why I'll definitely be doing Mad Libs style RSVP cards (sound good, Mr. Unicycle?).

 

Image via The Knot / Photo by Jenna Walker Photography

And I'm hoping to make speech bubble props for our photobooth, a la Ms. Ferris Wheel so guests can leave us a message there too.

 

Image via Ms. Ferris Wheel on Weddingbee

And of course, there's the guest book. I definitely don't want to miss the opportunity to have guests leave us yet another message, so instead of a huge, white book that people just sign their names in, we wanted something even cooler, like these:

 

Image via Martha Stewart Weddings

 

Image via myaugustpress on Etsy

 

Image via Casa Sugar / Photo by Fuzzy Gerdes on Flickr

 

Image via The Knot / Photo by Jodi Miller Photography

 

Image via camispaperie on Etsy

 

Image via Martha Stewart Weddings

 

Image via Martha Stewart Weddings

 

Image via krystal.keel on Weddingbee DIY

 

Image via The Knot / photo by Rachel Olsen Photography

 

Image via Ms. Cola on Weddingbee

 

Image via NostalgicImprints on Etsy

And this one was my favorite:

 

Image via Miss. Doily on WeddingBee

After doing research on guest book alternatives for several days, Miss Doily posted about her adorable, DIY guest book, and I was smitten. I also saw this one in Weddingbee DIY:

 

Image via michellybelly124 on Weddingbee DIY

So, I stopped pinning inspiration pics and started creating my own. Here's what I did:

1. I searched for cool fonts on free font websites like Dafont.com and fonts101.com.
2. Then I downloaded fonts from both websites.
3. I later realized I also procured some adware and scareware along with my font. Bonus. Have you even heard of scareware before? I hadn't. It's creepy as hell. And this happened around Halloween too. Creepy. As. Hell.
4. So I cried to Mr. Unicycle about how I had to get a new computer. And verbally abused him.
5. Mr. Unicycle fixed my computer and removed the offending programs. For the record, make sure you're not downloading an executable file when you look for free fonts (the ones that end in .exe). I already knew this rule but I clicked OK without reading the box because I was so excited about free fonts.
6. I designed the damn guest book in Powerpoint, using the damn free fonts, some Powerpoint shapes, and some free images from The Graphics Fairy. 
7. I resized, moved, shifted, deleted, and redid everything about 100 times until it looked acceptable, and then had 200 copies printed at Fed Ex.

 

Click to enlarge

I basically just copied all the questions from michellybelly124's guest book, so thanks, fellow bee! The fonts I used were Pistilli Roman and Bubbleboddy Light. We chose to have the guest book printed on Resume quality paper to make it a little nicer than regular paper without having to pay a ton for the upgrade. The guest book in total cost about $40 to make, and it was done quickly too. I chose to have it delivered to a location near my house and I picked it up after work one night. Done and done!

 

Personal pic

 

Personal pic

 

Personal pic

So here's where I need your help:

• When should I have guests fill these out? It would be nice to have them do it at the church while they're waiting for the ceremony to start, since I know how boring that can be. But, is this even allowed in church? Would guests be distracted by them even once the ceremony started? 
• Another option would be during the cocktail hour, but there will be limited table space for people to write on, and then I'd have to move everything outside, which means there will be wind.
• I could just set them out at the reception, like guest books usually are, but how will I make sure everyone knows about them and has time to fill them out before they're too hosed to see straight they go home?
• Do I set out a cup of pens for people to use with them? Or should I just trust that each guest will have something to write with? If I do provide pens, do I have to provide a pen for each guest, or just a handful? I kind of wanted guests to be able to take them back to their seats so they'd have more time to contemplate answers. Maybe I could include a pen at each place setting??
• If I provide writing utensils, what kind should I use? Is there anything fancy yet cheap to buy in bulk?
• Why am I making this so complicated?

And one more question for you guys: What's your favorite alternative guest book idea of all time?