What About the Guest Book?

A traditional guest book with pen in holder in front of a sign reading, "Please sign."

The most traditional of traditional guest books.

Are you planning to have a guest book at your upcoming wedding? There is no right answer to this question! It is one to consider, though, if you are coming up on the wedding soon.

I’ve seen some things online saying that the guest book used to be a legal document for all the witnesses to the wedding. But I have not seen any references for that statement, so I don’t know whether or not it is true. I would imagine that one traditional use of the wedding guest book would be if your entire church congregation is invited to the wedding, then a guest book would tell you who actually showed up. (It used to be more commonly the case that the reception following a church wedding would have a separate invitation, and not everyone was invited to both.)

The way most people do weddings these days, that would not be necessary, as the couple generally has a very good idea of who is coming and who actually shows up. So, then, what is the point of the guest book?

The way it has evolved, the guest book is now often a wonderful way for guests to write a note to the couple. The traditional, lined guest book (like the one at the head of this article) is not conducive to creativity, but a blank book (or other place for people to express themselves) often brings out heart-felt sentiments from the guests. There are plenty of other options, as well.

A creative couple I worked with a few years ago had this for their guest book:

In case you can’t see what it is, it’s a drawing of a tree, with ink pads on it. The sign reads, “All guests are subject to fingerprinting.” The guests’ finger- and thumb-prints were added as the leaves on the drawing of the tree. There is also a pen there for guests to write their well-wishes.