How to Choose a Wedding Guest Book

The wedding guest book provides the bride and groom with a document of their special day to accompany photographs and other memorabilia. Traditionally, guests sign the book and scribe a personal message to the newlyweds at the wedding or reception site. Here's how to choose a wedding guest book that you will enjoy reading for years to come.

Instructions

1. Decide on a wedding theme. The guest book you choose should complement the style of your wedding. If you choose specific wedding colors, for example, purchase a guest book that coordinates with your color scheme.

2. Choose a wedding guest book of the appropriate size. If you're planning a small event, buy a small book with only a few pages. If you are having a lot of guests, consider a guest book with three rings for inserting additional pages.

3. Purchase your guest book before your bridal showers. Most guest books include special pages for recording shower gifts. To avoid unsightly mistakes in your cherished guest book, have a friend record gifts on loose paper and transfer them yourself.

4. Decide whether you need a guest book set that includes a pen and stand. Pens that come with guests books are often expensive but not very high quality. Consider purchasing an inexpensive yet attractive and reliable pen to accompany the wedding guest book.

5. Appoint a guest book attendant to stand with the book at the reception. Your guest book attendant should be somebody who will feel comfortable encouraging guests to sign and enter well wishes to the couple. The attendant will also be responsible for transporting the guest book according to your instructions after the reception, so she should be trustworthy.

6. Talk with your wedding coordinator or event planner to ensure there will be a guest book table at your wedding reception. Ask your florist to create a simple display to decorate the table.

7. Enjoy reading your wedding guest book together. No matter which wedding guest book you choose, you will treasure your families' and friends' messages for a lifetime.

Tips & Warnings

• Many online wedding retailers sell wedding guest books at discount prices. If you see a guest book at a bridal salon, note the brand and style and check Internet prices before purchasing.

• Display the guest book at the entrance of your ceremony site and at your reception. Guests generally sign books upon entering the reception, which can cause lines to backup.

• Many wedding retailers offer alternatives to the traditional wedding guest book such as photo mats to be signed by guests before placed in a frame with a wedding photograph.

• Make your own guest book if you have the time. Some couples fill scrapbooks with photos from childhood through engagement with blank pages at the end for guests to sign.