You’ve probably put real thought into your wedding guest book. A cover that matches your invites, pages that can stand up to a good Sharpie, and you’re already looking forward to reading the whole thing over cold cake the next day. The question almost nobody thinks about until the week of the wedding? What goes on the rest of that table.
I bring it up because the guest book table is one of those details couples think about way down the road, and they should think about it sooner. You put the book by the door, leave a pen next to it, and move on to bigger decisions. Then you come back from the honeymoon and find maybe a dozen names in a room of 130. (Your parents will be among them.)
It doesn’t take much to put a stop to that. With a few tweaks, you’ll have twice as many people putting down a note you’ll want to come back to on your first anniversary. We pulled the best ideas from real brides on Reddit, and a few of them are SO good we wish we’d thought of them for our own weddings.
Start With the Guest Book (or an Alternative)
It’s the anchor of the table, even if it isn’t a book in the traditional sense. We made a whole list of our favorite guest book alternatives a while back, and this cookbook idea still has my vote:
“We ended up choosing a cookbook we owned, and asked people to sign by their favorite recipe or a recipe they wanted to try. It’s fun to see everyone’s well wishes when I’m making dinner.”
— via Reddit.com
Brides in these threads had their guests sign shatterproof Christmas ornaments for the tree, an old globe from a thrift store, or even a set of Jenga. There was a couple with a deck of cards for poker night. If it can be written on and you plan to see it again, it works. (We have a few more fun guestbook ideas where that came from in case you’re on the fence.)
And then there’s the audio guest book, which is EVERYWHERE right now:
“We are doing an audio guestbook! Bought a vintage looking phone from Etsy, and it has the capabilities to record a welcome message and then have audio recordings from all the guests. We get to keep the phone for use at any future event so this could become a family tradition!” — via Reddit.com
If you go the phone route, record the greeting in your own voices so guests hear the two of you before the beep.
The Best Pens for a Wedding Guest Book
A single pen is asking for trouble. It will be gone by the time the cocktails are poured and the next person will just walk by. Have at least half a dozen on hand in a dish or tray so they don’t end up on the floor.
What kind of pen you use is just as important. A ballpoint won’t do well on a shiny page, and a paint pen (fine for a dark surface) has to be coaxed into working. Test it on the real thing before the wedding. Put a line on the back of the book, shut it, and see if it smudges. You’d rather know now than when you open it for the first time.
A Guest Book Sign That Tells Guests What to Do
Don’t expect your guests to put two and two together, especially a few drinks in. For a standard book, a “Please sign here” in a frame is fine. If you’re being a bit offbeat with a cookbook or a camera, make it clear in a sentence or two. One bride with a Polaroid setup said it best:
“When it comes to engagement with the camera, people need to know that it’s there and what you want. I’d have a sign and also put a note on your wedding website so people know about it before they even arrive.” — via Reddit.com
Also, ask your DJ to give the table a shoutout during dinner. One sentence from the mic beats every sign in the room. If you’re getting some signage, we have some wedding welcome sign ideas and neon options that would fit in nicely.
Have Someone Sign the Guest Book First
An empty book is intimidating. No one wants to be the first to write, and you don’t want to be left with a blank page after the first hour. Get ahead of it. This is how one bride put it after she had a canvas for her guests to sign:
“We also had a parent sign it before we put it out so guests could get the idea.” — via Reddit.com
The week of the wedding, have both sets of parents make their mark. It’s an easy way to put four good ones in the book and let everyone else see how it’s done.
Do You Need a Card Box at Your Wedding?
And then there are the cards. Even if you asked for no gifts, cards are coming. A bride in that very position put the question to Reddit and the answer was clear.
“Echoing everyone else, but yes to the card box! If I didn’t bring a gift, I would still bring a card. A lot of couples keep the cards as mementos so they can go back and read the nice messages.”
— via Reddit.com
For a smaller wedding, a nice tray or bowl is enough. But once you top 100, a box with a slot is better; otherwise, you’ll end up with cards mixed in with napkins and tuxedo jackets. Put a label on it so it doesn’t look like just another piece of decor, and make sure you have someone in mind to pack up the cards (and the book) when the night is over. Have that conversation in advance, not at midnight.
If you’re the one holding the pen and can’t think of what to put down, we have a post with some good wedding card messages to take a page from.
A Framed Photo of the Two of You
A simple framed engagement shot tells people this is YOUR table, not the venue’s, and it answers the “wait, is this where gifts go?” question before anyone has to ask. One frame is all you need.
But you can be a bit more creative. We saw a small wedding on Reddit where a friend with ties to a frame shop made a mat with a wide white border. Guests put their names on the edge during the reception and a group shot from the evening was put in the center later on. It’s the kind of thing people still like to point out.
A Polaroid or Instant Camera Guest Book
We love a Polaroid-style guest book because it puts faces with all those names. And my favorite find in all those Reddit threads wasn’t from a bride at all. It was from a wedding guest:
“I take one for the book, where I write as nice a note as I can manage, and I take one for me. I really like keeping a Polaroid as a favour that I actually want, rather than some couple-branded tat that I’ll hold on to for a while before finally chucking away.”
— via Reddit.com
An instant camera does come with two catches. Film adds up fast, and the photos get grainy once the lights go down. One couple solved both with a Bluetooth printer:
“We found that getting good pictures with a Polaroid camera isn’t always a given (especially when it gets darker and if people are taking selfies). With the Bluetooth printer guests could take pics with their phone and then print multiple copies to have one to keep and another to add in the guest book with a message” — via Reddit.com
Stick to the rule of two: one for the book, one for the guest to have as a memento. For a more involved version of this, our guide to a no-fuss wedding photo booth is worth a read.
One caveat before you buy anything, though. When I interviewed wedding planner Brooke Avishay of Orange Blossom Special Events for my Smart Wedding Planner, she had a rule for extras exactly like this one:
“I say, wait until you know how many people are coming to your wedding until you have that final number, and then if you end up with extra funds, then get that photo booth or whatever. It’s something easy you can add on later.”
How to Decorate a Guest Book Table
A bud vase, a candle or two, and you’re set. We see too many tables that are so dressed up there’s no place to put the book. Let your guests have some room to open it and sign without toppling anything.
For flowers, ask your florist to move one of the ceremony arrangements over during cocktail hour instead of ordering something new. And check your venue’s rules on open flame; a lot of places are battery-operated only these days, and the good ones have gotten SO close it’s hard to tell.
Where to Put the Guest Book Table
No matter how well you’ve put it together, a table in a hard-to-reach corner will be ignored. Put it in the path of least resistance: by the bar, on the way from the ceremony, or near the seating chart. People stop when the table is on their way to something.
Make sure to look at the spot in the evening. If the light goes out in that corner at 8, so does the signing. A lamp or uplight is a good idea.
The whole table comes together with one run to the store and a little help from your parents. And a few weeks after the wedding, the two of you can sit down with your coffee and read every single page.
Some links in this post may be affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through them. Thank you for your support!
