Alternative Guest Book Ideas: Offbeat and Fun

Apart from your wedding photos, it’s your wedding guest book that’s meant to bring back fond memories of the day you tied the knot. But does it? Or does that traditional book of guest names, addresses, and wishes get stuffed away into some closet after the wedding, never to be opened again?

Well, couples nowadays are coming up with more and more innovative, out-of-the-book alternatives to that old concept. The 8 “guest book” ideas we share here are perfect examples. Not only are guests sure to enjoy recording their wishes for the newlyweds, but the bride and groom, too, will have a blast reliving their special day through these messages!

Take a Look at These Unconventional Ideas for Your Guest Book

1. Nautical weddings are great opportunities to get really creative! A case in point is this use of vintage boat oars in place of a guest book, found at a fabulous New England wedding on Style Me Pretty. With all the guests’ signatures marked on these forever, what a quaint way to bring back memories of these summertime nuptials by the water!
2. A sweet twist to the whole guest book idea is having the couple keep the guests’ greetings, then read them on their first anniversary—or succeeding ones! This message in a bottle option that we found on The D Spot had precisely that in mind. The newlyweds set out an ornate carved frame and a lovely blue glass bottle to hold all the warm wishes.
3. If you’re into something more classic or “old school,” a manual typewriter has become a popular option for having guests leave some love. The behind-the-scenes story of this on The Haystack Needle reveals how the couple had to make their own roll of continuous paper out of white butcher paper that they cut to size with a power saw! Talk about DIY! Oh, and don’t you just love the family wedding photos alongside?
4. How fun is this?! As featured on Jennifer Roper Photography, guests at a cool real wedding had Jenga blocks to write their messages on! The couple even had the blocks stacked up into a tower plus the actual orange cylinders of this game for guests to toss in their finished blocks. Can just imagine them rebuilding the Jenga stacks after the wedding, and enjoying all the warm and witty words!
5. A photo booth as a guest book alternative? Yes, that’s exactly what the bride over at Lodge Time shared! She painted plain chalkboard frames for guests to write their fun greetings, then provided props for them to pose with. The resulting photos had enough for guests to take home as souvenirs and, for the couple, they “have tons of hilarious pictures to scrapbook”!
6. So cool and unconventional! Perfect for a pair of music lovers, this is one truly personal take on a guest book we discovered via Jarod Knoten Photography. It need not be a guitar, of course. But this concept can embrace any item that has loads of meaning for the two of you and that you wouldn’t mind having guests write on! Then, you can display it in your home as a unique reminder of your special day.
7. Now, here’s an innovative guest book idea that couples would definitely get to see—at least once a year at Christmastime! Make and Do Girl shows how you can take plain ceramic ornaments and a ceramic paint pen and have guests create one-of-a-kind holiday baubles with their wishes and greetings. Wonderful idea for a December or New Year wedding!
8. Having a wine-themed wedding reception? Or actually even if you’re not, this idea of a magnum bottle of wine serving as a guest book is great, don’t you think? Taken from a real wedding coordinated by A Day to Remember, it offers the option of popping the cork right there at the reception for everyone to enjoy the wine or saving it for a future special occasion in your marriage.