8 MORE Creative DIY Wedding Guest Book Alternatives!

If you’re looking for some creative DIY wedding guest book alternative ideas, you’ve come to the right place! In a previous article, we described several of these alternatives. Be sure to check that out if you missed it. And in this article, we are back with MORE!

This is your wedding, and you don’t need to be stuck with a boring wedding guest book that will be shoved away and forgotten over the years. Here are 8 more creative DIY wedding guest book alternative ideas that will keep these memories alive and on display for years to come!

1. DIY wedding guest book using Polaroids
2. DIY wedding guest book calendar
3. Create a quilt
4. Wine/champagne bottles
5. Signed wine corks
6. Use a wood slab as a DIY wedding guest book
7. Signed wood pieces in a frame
8. Frame a portrait/artwork/poster/sign for a DIY wedding guest book

1. DIY wedding guest book using Polaroids

One of the DIY wedding guest book alternatives that’s trending the most is to use Polaroids! Set up a station with a Polaroid camera and plenty of film and let your guests have fun! Make sure you include a few instructions for operating the camera, as it might be many people’s first time. You can outfit the station with some props similar to a reception photo booth for your guests to play with. Or keep it simple.

 Instruct your guests to snapshot a selfie of the group and sign the photo as it comes out. You can provide a book for them to tape the photos into. Alternatively, you can supply clothespins for them to attach to strings hung between a frame. You may also provide tags or small cards for your guests to fill out a lengthier message to pair with their photo if they wish. This “Polaroid guest book” option is sure to be packed with memories and tons of fun to look through later on. 

2. DIY wedding guest book calendar

Do you want to have constant encouragement from loved ones and memories of your wedding for your first year as a married couple? You can achieve that with a DIY wedding guest book calendar! Create a personalized calendar using a website that prints calendars filled with all of your favorite pictures as a couple. Then, instead of a traditional wedding guest book, have all of your guests sign their names and leave messages of congratulations and encouragement throughout the calendar. Each month for the first year of marriage you’ll get to read the encouraging messages from your loved ones. And end up with a truly memorable keepsake after.

3. Create a quilt

One of our favorite creative wedding guest book alternative ideas is to create a quilt. There are a couple of ways to do this. If there is a pre-made quilt that you like, simply hang up the quilt and provide some fabric pens and let your guests fill in the squares. However, be sure the quilt is simple and can accommodate handwriting.

Alternatively, you can provide squares of material, perhaps in the colors of your wedding, and let your guests each sign their names in a square and add a message if they wish. Then after the wedding, sew together all the squares to create a wedding quilt! If you’re not handy with a needle, you can simply commission someone else to sew it together for you. This option is unique, special, and creates a cozy quilt that’s made even cozier by all the memories of those who love and support you. 

4. Wine/champagne bottles

Our next couple of DIY wedding guest book alternatives are extra special if you are a couple who really enjoys your wine together. Why have your guests sign a boring book of blank pages when they could sign a bottle of wine!? You can make this one extra special by selecting a few bottles of premium wines (or champagne!) and indicate that each one is for a specific anniversary (such as 1st, 5th, 10th, etc.). Supply some gold and/or silver paint pens and let your guests write messages to your future selves. They will be sweet to read and recount as you share that bottle of wine on the designated anniversary. 

5. Signed wine corks

If you’ve been saving your wine corks over the time you’ve been together as a couple, put them to good use! There are a couple of ways to create a DIY wedding guest book using wine corks. Whether you use your own or have to order some, you can simply provide the corks and a proper marker or pen and have your guests sign a cork. You can then display these how you wish – in a large bottle, in a shadowbox, framed, etc. You could also pre-arrange the corks together into a shape such as a heart and have your guests sign their names within the heart. This would make a lovely decorative addition near your wine rack or wine cellar.

6. Use a wood slab as a DIY wedding guest book

If you enjoy rustic decor additions in your home or if you are outdoorsy as a couple, the next couple of DIY wedding guest book alternative ideas might be for you! This first option is very true to rustic decor in being simple and earthy. Provide an appropriately sized and finished wood slab for your guests to sign. You can display this easily on a mantle, shelf, or tabletop anywhere in your home for a touch of rustic character and a boost of memories. 

7. Signed wood pieces in a frame

Another Earthy and eco-friendly wedding guest book alternative involves more wood. Provide your guest with little round (or whatever your preferred shape) wood pieces and pens or makers appropriate for that material. Instruct your guests to sign their names and maybe a small message on the wood piece. Either let them drop them into a shadowbox type of display, or later arrange them into a wooden frame for a perfect rustic wedding keepsake and decor piece.

8. Frame a portrait/artwork/poster/sign for a DIY wedding guest book

Lastly, instead of a boring traditional guest book or getting too elaborate and complicated with some other options, you can keep things simple yet artful with a frame. Choosing something to frame as your DIY wedding guest book supplies you with numerous options. You could select a favorite portrait of you together as a couple. Or you could have that portrait drawn, painted, or caricatured. 

You could also select a piece of artwork that’s meaningful to you as a couple – perhaps it’s a painting of your wedding location or venue. Or maybe there’s a poster that defines your personality, or a simple sign with a quote you love. Whatever the case, your guests can put their signatures either within the work being framed or in the matting around the work. This will create a wonderful keepsake and decoration full of memories to proudly display in your new home.

Love this content and want more? Read more about wedding planning on our blog. Are you helping to plan a wedding and still need to nail down a venue? Give us a call to schedule a tour and see why Jennings Trace might be your perfect place.