Wedding Guest Book Activities
The wedding guest book tradition comes from the old days when everyone present witnessed the marriage and signed the book as a witness. Today’s legality does not require everyone to sign off, however, it is still a custom in many weddings and the guest book is usually signed at the reception. This activity can be made fun in many ways by incorporating it into the reception.
The most popular book signing is to place a photograph of the bride and groom on a table and the guests signing off below. Since the official wedding photograph will not be in yet, it could be a Polaroid shot or the engagement photograph, which can be replaced with the official wedding photograph later.
A change from signing a photograph of the bride and groom could be, the guests signing a photograph of themselves. Have someone with a Polaroid take pictures of the guests and the guests can sign their own picture, after it dries, for the couple’s album or a great wedding memento scrapbook. The guests can also write something nice or funny etc. Have several sharpies available.
When guest books are left at the entrance to a reception, hungry guests often run for the cocktails forgetting the guest book. Sending a photograph of the bride or groom or both, to the guest to sign before the wedding could make a nice option for the wedding guest album. If the guests are asked to write some message to the couple, these messages could be compiled in a way to make it interesting and demonstrated on the wedding day.
For creative tight knit wedding guests, the couple could send off photo album size paper, 12 x12, 8 x 8 or 6 x 6, for the guests to create and decorate into a memory page. This page can have photographs of themselves or the bride or groom as children, anecdotal stories, quotes etc. The page could be decorated with art or stickers. This is a really great way to include guests unable to make it to the wedding and make them a part of the wedding. These pages can be shown at the wedding before binding them into a keepsake album.
Another is to make a photograph of each table with the bride and groom with the official photographer or a friend. Give each table an 8 x 8 or larger or smaller photograph size paper and have them sign or write something on it. Later the photograph and the signed paper from each table can be matched and bound into a souvenir album. This will really be a great keepsake, showing the guests in their wedding regalia and the table with those wonderful flowers.
Each couple can think up numerous ways to make the wedding book signing a part of their wedding, to cherish long after the festivities are over. A close bridesmaid, sister or friend could take charge of this activity. All it takes is creative imagination and the will to do it.