A guest book is a great way to showcase who was at your wedding that day. Many times, people will sign the guestbook or even write words of encouragement along with the day but many people toss them in a closet after the fact and forget about them.

Well today, Carole and I want to share with you 5 alternatives that we’ve seen at some regional weddings that might be a much better alternative.

Why do weddings have a guestbook to begin with?

Wedding guestbooks we’re not really a thing until the early 1920’s when weddings became more of a staple with regards to the formal weddings we see today.

The truth is they are not necessary although they were a way to allow guests to give there warm wishes to the couple, offer advice to them and also a record to remember who came to the wedding.

The wedding guest was actually a precursor to wedding photography as that was a luxury available to rich and the affluent back in the day.

Today, the guestbook is mostly a symbolic records of your guests and most people simply sign them, they don’t usually drop in advice or well wishes as people once did.

What are some alternative’s to traditional wedding books?

If you visit places like Etsy for example, you’ll find several different guestbook alternatives, but one of the most popular today is the canvas or wood sign that you can hang in the home.

We see these a lot in rustic style weddings here in Southwestern Virginia.

From monogram shapes to traditional picture frame shaped ones, these are great ways to show off who attended the wedding in your home.

If you choose ones made of wood, we’ve seen couples seal them after the wedding with a clear shellac which seals in the signatures so they don’t fade over time.

They don’t always come in wood, you can get them in a canvas style too or pickup a blank canvas at Michael’s and use that too.

One of the next most popular alternatives is a heart board.

They come in many different styles and shapes but the idea if for each of your guests to simply sign their name on a small wooden heart. Many times this comes in a ‘plinko’ style board where you can drop it into the picture frame, other times they are already fixed to the board and you simply write your name.

Heart boards are very popular in our region because like the wood or canvas boards you can place them onto your wall at home and they mostly tend to look very country rustic.

The next three alternatives are a bit out-of-the-box from the two mentioned above and it starts with a cornhole board. Over the last 6 years give or take, I’ve seen a lot of these boards at wedding receptions.

The idea is simple, to sign the board to again it can be shellacked and the couple can play it. It’s a great way to remember all those that came to the wedding plus its something you can break out from time to time and play in your backyard or at a tailgating party too.

Perhaps one of the more unique and enjoyable wedding guestbook alternatives I’ve seen in many years is a growler style. Back 2016 I saw a growler where couples would write their best wishes to the couple, roll them up with ribbon and drop it into the growler.

It truly reminds me of a message in a bottle and its something fun you can out in the home or tuck away to read years later if you wish. Oh all the alternatives, this one is by far my personal favorite.

The last guestbook alternative is something I’ve only seen once in my career but it’s worth mentioning because it’s pretty unique, it’s a puzzle.

More specifically a wooden wedding puzzle of sorts. Guest would sign their name and hopefully with a little luck, be able to put the puzzle piece into the frame.

While this is a great idea, it was also a fail.

Guests had a hard time trying to figure out where to place their signed pieces and many were frustrated, simply left the signed pieces on the table.

Wedding Guestbooks don’t have to be Traditional

From looking at the alternatives above, the wedding guestbook doesn’t have to be a traditional book, it can be fun, something to show off in the home or something to literally play with too.

Many couples that are getting married love the idea of having something other than a book for people to sign.

In fact, most couples in 2020 would prefer to have something other than a book, we conducted a poll asking couples if they’re rather have the book or something other alternative form when it came to the guestbook.

Where is the best places to get a wedding guestbook?

If you’re looking for any sort of alternative to a book, the best place that we’ve found is Etsy. They have a lot of different vendors that can help you find the right style that you need for your wedding and most are pretty affordable too.

If you’re looking for something more basic, we suggest buying a Instamax camera and having people take images and post them on some chicken wire or rope with a frame. It’s something you can do-it-yourself and hang the images in the home after the wedding.