How to get wedding guests to sign your guestbook.

There have never been more choices for wedding guestbooks. But one thing has remained the same throughout, planning where you display your guestbook so guests sign it is important.

In order to capture the thoughts, feelings and stories of your special day, it pays to follow these six simple guidelines:

1. Place someone you trust in charge of ensuring guests have their attention brought to the guestbook, and gently encourage reluctant signers to think about what they might like to write.
2. Put your guestbook where your guests can see it. If they can see it they will sign it. On a table in clear view.
3. As nice as it might be to have your young nieces and nephews ‘draw a picture’ once again, do not leave them unattended to assume a blank book has been provided purely for their pleasure, as fill it they will. The same goes for fingerprint trees and wooden hearts!
4. Have the MC announce to the guests where the guestbook is and encourage the guests to sign it. Later on, pick up any slack with the DJ suggesting the guardian of the book circulate and find any late signers before the book gets put safely away!
5. If someone can’t make it to the wedding, you can always ask them to sign it afterwards (if that’s possible), or ask them to send a message and have someone write it in for them. In the case of the wooden heart guestbooks, you can always send out the hearts in advance and include them at the wedding.
6. Finally, don’t assume everyone hears the first, second or even third announcement to sign the book. Older people might not have heard, parents could be distracted with children and so on. Which is why it pays to have a trusted person in charge of the guestbook signing.

 photo credit: Stories Without Words