Creating A Wedding Guest Book Sign: A Simple Guide

A wedding guest book is a great way to collect messages of love and congratulations from your nearest and dearest. While a traditional guest book is a good option, you can also get creative with your guest book ideas. For example, you could use game pieces, Polaroid pictures, a cherished book, or even a piece of sports equipment. If you want to make your guest book stand out, a well-designed sign is a must. A wedding guest book sign can be simple and direct, or it can be playful and creative. It can be made from a variety of materials, such as acrylic, wood, or vinyl, and can be customized to match your wedding's aesthetic and colour scheme.

Choosing a design and materials

Design Ideas:

• Classic and Elegant: Opt for a traditional guest book with a lined ledger or a simple linen exterior. You can elevate this look with a velvet cover or gold detailing.
• Rustic Charm: If you're going for a rustic wedding theme, consider a wooden guest book sign with a scalloped trim or a kraft-coloured cardstock sign with brown calligraphy and sprigs of greenery.
• Modern Minimalism: For a more contemporary look, choose a design with clean lines and simple typography. Acrylic or birch plywood signs are perfect for achieving this minimalist aesthetic.
• Personalised Touch: Include your names, wedding date, and even a meaningful colour or illustration that represents you as a couple. This will make your guest book sign even more special and unique.
• Themed Designs: If you're having a destination wedding or a beach-themed celebration, incorporate design elements that reflect this, such as palm trees, maps, or nautical themes.

Materials:

• Wood: A wooden guest book sign adds a rustic and natural touch to your wedding decor. You can choose from a variety of woods, such as birch, plywood, or engraved wood with a natural, silver, or gold-sparkle finish.
• Acrylic: Acrylic signs are a modern and elegant choice. They can be paired with flowers or greenery for a stylish look.
• Paper or Cardstock: Kraft-coloured cardstock or linen paper are great options for a simple and elegant guest book sign. You can also find printable templates online that you can download and print on your chosen paper.
• Canvas: A canvas guest book sign offers a unique and artistic alternative to traditional paper signs. It can be a blank canvas for guests to sign and add their self-portraits or well-wishes.
• Other Materials: Depending on your wedding theme, you can get creative with other materials such as cork, vinyl records, or even a surfboard!

Remember, your guest book sign should reflect your personal style and the overall theme of your wedding. Choose a design and materials that you love and that will create a lasting impression on your special day.

Adding a personal touch

Creative Signage

Create a decorative sign to place at the guest book table. If you're crafty, you can make your own using beautiful hand lettering or your favourite graphic design program. Keep the message simple and direct, such as "Please sign our guest book". Alternatively, get creative with something like, "Leave your wishes for the new Mr. and Mrs." or "Love is... ", providing guests with a prompt to complete.

Unique Guest Book Ideas

Instead of a traditional guest book, consider using something that reflects your interests as a couple. For instance, if you love music, you could have guests sign a record player or a set of vinyl records. If you're avid travellers, use a map-covered book or a display of postcards. Other unique ideas include signing a framed photo, a surfboard, a puzzle piece, or even a cork from a special bottle of wine.

Personalised Stationery

Add a personal touch to the stationery itself by printing your own wedding stationery. This allows you to customise the design, colours, and text to match your wedding theme and personalities. You can find editable templates online that are easy to personalise and instantly downloadable, making it a convenient option.

Special Display

To ensure your guest book gets noticed, place it front and centre, near the entrance to the reception. Decorate the table with a draped tablecloth, flowers, elegant photo frames, or iridescent balloons to draw attention to it. You could also reuse your welcome sign by moving it to the reception space as a canvas for signatures and notes after the ceremony.

Enlist Help

Ask a friend or family member to hang out near the guest book table to encourage people to sign it. They can prompt guests to share their wisdom or offer suggestions for a happy marriage. Alternatively, have your bridal party sign the book before the wedding and leave markers nearby, so guests get the hint and know what to do.

Making it interactive

Making your wedding guest book interactive is a great way to delight your guests and ensure that you get a wide range of thoughtful, creative, and personalised messages. Here are some ideas to make your guest book interactive and engaging:

Provide Creative Prompts

Encourage your guests to share more than just their names by providing creative prompts and questions. For example, you could ask them to share their "advice for a happy marriage" or a "funny memory" they have with you. These prompts can vary from thoughtful to humorous, catering to a wide range of relationships and memories.

Suggest Fun Activities

Adding interactive elements, such as photo inserts where guests can add Polaroid pictures of themselves, stickers, stamps, or a sketch area for doodles, will make the experience more enjoyable and your guest book a vibrant collection of memories.

Incorporate Entertainment

Entertainment is a sure-fire way to get your guests engaged. You could use a Jenga guest book, where each guest writes a message on a block, or even your favourite board games such as Monopoly or Scrabble.

Guest Book Envelopes

Stick guest book envelopes onto a board and let your guests write secret messages to be opened the next day.

Globe Guest Book

If you love to travel, a globe guest book will be a unique and interactive feature at your wedding and in your home afterward.

Message in a Bottle

Your guests can write secret messages and stash them in a bottle to be opened on your anniversary.

Typewriter Guest Book

A typewriter guest book is a fun and retro way for guests to leave messages. Simply add paper and a sign with instructions.

Pebble Guest Book

Buy some pebbles and ask your guests to write their well wishes on them. You can then keep them in a jar or scatter them on a beach—a perfect idea for beach lovers!

Luggage Tag Guest Book

Luggage tags can be used as sweet note cards that guests can peg on a line or make into collages.

Record Player Guest Book

If you're a music lover, this idea is for you! Ask your guests to sign their names on a vinyl record, which you can then frame and display in your home.

Wishing Tree Guest Book

Leaving wishes on a wishing tree is a lovely way to relive memories and makes for a gorgeous display.

Surfboard Guest Book

If you love surfing, ask your guests to sign a surfboard—a fun and unique idea for a beach or destination wedding.

Etsy templates and downloads

Etsy offers a wide range of wedding guest book sign templates and downloads to choose from. Here are some options:

Printable Templates

Printable templates are a great option if you want to handle the printing yourself. These templates come in various file formats, such as PDF or ZIP, and can be downloaded instantly after purchase. You can easily edit these templates using programs like Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. Some templates even allow you to edit directly from your web browser using Corjl, a web-based graphics editor. Here are some specific options:

• The Little Bride's DIY Wedding Guest Book Template allows you to add a personal touch to your wedding while saving money. It offers an array of matching items to complement the sign, and you can instantly download and start editing.
• Wedding Guest Book Sign Template is a monogram guestbook sign printable that you can edit and download instantly.
• Sign Our Photo Frame Sign is a modern and minimalist template for a photo guest book sign.
• Modern Sign Our Guestbook Template is a baby shower-themed template with a minimalist design.
• Photo Guestbook Sign, Camera Guestbook Sign Printable is a modern and minimalist template for a photo guest book sign.
• Please Sign Our Guestbook Template is a classic and elegant guest book sign that can be printed and used instantly.

Pre-Made Signs

If you don't want to worry about printing, Etsy also offers pre-made wedding guest book signs. These signs are often made from materials like wood, acrylic, or canvas and can be personalised with your names, wedding date, or other custom details. Here are some options:

• SpringMeadowCo's Rustic Wedding Guestbook Sign is a large, round sign made from wood.
• WildWoodWedding's Wedding Guest Book Alternative is an acrylic sign that serves as both a guest book and a welcome sign.
• PersonalizationLab's Wedding Guest Book Alternative is a unique, layered wood sign that can be personalised with your names and wedding date.
• AlphabetCanvas's Custom Photo Wedding Guest Book Sign is a rustic canvas sign that can be customised with your photo.
• HeritageSignCo's Bestselling Wedding Decor is a wooden guest book sign that can be personalised and used as unique wedding signage.
• EngravedCraftsCo's Custom Wedding Guest Book Decor is a layered wood sign that doubles as a guest book and a new home gift.

These options provide a good balance between customisation and convenience, allowing you to find the perfect wedding guest book sign for your special day.

Displaying the sign

Placement

Place your wedding guest book sign in a visible location near the guest book table. You could also use an easel to display the sign, or affix it to a welcome table or the guest book table using Command strips. If you're having an outdoor wedding, consider displaying the sign on a small table or stand surrounded by flowers or greenery.

Framing

If your sign doesn't come with a stand, you can frame it and place it on an easel or tabletop. A vintage farmhouse frame or a mini wooden easel can add a charming touch to your display. You could also hang floating florals or fairy lights around the frame to create a romantic and elegant look.

Signage

In addition to your main guest book sign, you can include smaller signs with fun and friendly reminders for your guests. These could be placed on the guest book table or displayed alongside the main sign. For example, you could have a sign that says, "Share some wisdom, a funny thought, or simply leave your name. The happy couple will remember today whenever they play this game."

Other Display Ideas

If you want to get creative, there are many unique ways to display your wedding guest book sign. Here are some ideas:

• Reuse a welcome sign: If you have a welcome sign at the ceremony, you can repurpose it as your guest book sign at the reception.
• Use vinyl decals: If you have a smooth surface like a mirror or acrylic board, you can adhere a custom vinyl decal to it and use that as your sign.
• Hang it up: If your sign is lightweight, you could hang it up with string or ribbon.
• Light it up: Place your sign on a table with string lights or fairy lights to make it stand out.

Remember, the key is to make sure your guest book sign is visible and inviting to your guests!

Frequently asked questions