My Guestbook Blog

Are you a nearly-wed?

Firstly, let us congratulate you on this exciting news. 

Secondly, you’ll want to read this….

Breaking News

We’re booked into the largest wedding show of its kind in Rotorua…yes, we will be at Hitched Wedding Show on Sunday 9th April.

We love meeting our clients face to face so what better chance than this exciting and unique event to say hello! This is a fantastic opportunity for us at My Guestbook to showcase our ever- expanding range of guestbooks. And for you to turn your wedding planning into an adventure. Here’s what they're saying on the Hitched website:

Come for the show, or make a weekend of it and experience the plethora of activities Rotorua has to offer. Whether it’s adrenaline-pumping adventures, cultural excursions, or soothing day spa facilities – Rotorua has it all!

We do hope you’ll come and see us and say hi to the driving force behind My Guestbook - namely me, Tracey! 

We like to keep our finger on the pulse, love feedback and are always on the look-out for new and innovative ideas. This is how we find out what you want for your wedding. Don’t be afraid to tell us your ideas for themes. We love a challenge, so it doesn’t matter how ‘out-there’ your idea is! We want to hear it as we have a team of artisans at our fingertips, waiting to create one off guestbooks as well as our existing gorgeous designs. One such design we think you’ll love is the Redwoods Guestbook.

Why this guestbook in particular? Well, if you’re thinking of getting married in and around the area this gorgeous tree has been designed with Rotorua in mind. Go here to find out why this is such a unique and memorable addition to any Bay of Plenty inspired wedding. Oh, and if you are thinking of having a vintage theme too….then this will also be of interest to you.

Back to the fabulous Hitched Wedding Show, why do we think it’s fabulous? To begin with, it’s in its 7th year, yes - 7th year - now that’s a sign of a great wedding show! We think the team at Hitched are pretty fabulous too; innovative, forward thinking and focussed on making sure the nearly-weds get all the information they need in a fun and informative way.

Let's talk about the venue

The show takes place at the Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Centre (trying saying that with a mouthful of sample wedding cake!). All joking aside, the centre ticks all the boxes for a show. This is what the team at Hitched say about this charming venue: 

This fabulous venue embodies in a single facility the charm and history of Rotorua, while also being conveniently located in the heart of the city.

We couldn’t sum it up better. So whether you’re a local coming to the show for the day, or an out of towner planning to spend the weekend in Rotorua (go on, you know you want to….) we can’t wait to showcase our fantabulous range of guestbooks. 

What else we think you’ll like

There will be a runway show - come and see a stunning showcase of wedding dresses by a range of excellent bridal houses.

Keep an eye out on our facebook page for news and updates but if you want to book your tickets and save some money you can book them online here  so you can fully experience all the delights of the show and meet the experts such as myself (couldn’t resist that but it is true ha ha!).

Live music

LOTS of great prizes and more

We are super excited and can’t wait to meet you in Rotorua, Let us help you have fun making the transition from a nearly wed to a newly wed.

Lock in the date now!

HOT TIP: Take a photo of the details so you won’t forget them…..

Hitched Wedding Show

Sir Howard Morrison Centre

1170Fenton Street

Rotorua 3010

Sunday 9^th April

10 am – 3 pm

My Guestbook

Stand 13

SO looking forward to meeting you all x

A Retirement Guestbook for Eliot Sinclair ......

If you look at a duck swimming on a lake, doesn’t it just look so relaxed and yet we all know it’s little legs are going 10 to the dozen underneath the water. This is how I felt recently when a rush order came in one Monday morning.

In fact, the order came in as an inquiry first and went something like this:

We need a custom-made guestbook for an event to farewell one of our directors.

By Thursday. For Friday's ceremony.

We are in Christchurch.

Just one of those requirements is usually enough to get us rushing around at the My Guestbook HQ, never mind custom made/rush order and time challenged!

In case you didn’t know, or you’re reading about My Guestbook for the first time please bear with us as we ask you to do something:

Look at your hands.

YES.

We’re serious.

Look at your hands.

When something says handmade it means the item has been made with a pair of hands.

In our case either ours or a pair of hands belonging to our team of artisans who supply us with a range of delightful guestbooks.

Custom made is another step in the handmade process

• You tell us your requirements
• We follow your instructions
• We design and handmake your guestbook

Remember, this order came in on a Monday and needed to be in Christchurch by Thursday, so when we had yet another little challenge given to us, because clearly, we didn’t have enough, our legs started paddling like they’d never paddled before!

The next hurdle?

We were informed it needed to be signed off by a senior manager before we could start creating. We just crossed our fingers and hoped the team at Eliot Sinclair didn’t fit the stereotype associated with upper management (you know what we’re talking about: notorious for taking their time with decisions!).

THANKFULLY, they were brilliant and just as keen as we were to have the guestbook delivered on time.

And delivered on time it was. It was teamwork all the way. By crikey. my nails suffered badly waiting for news of its safe arrival. BUT, WE DID IT! PHEW! Well, we’re guessing you know this, as who writes a blog about a failed order!!

We were already excited about meeting this challenge so it was utterly gorgeous to get this email in our inbox shortly after the guestbooks arrival in Christchurch:

TRACEY!!!!!!!!
I have received it!!!!!! It looks beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you again for your prompt and AWESOME service!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are so, so, so proud of this stunning guestbook whose cover matches the brand colours of our client, Eliot Sinclair. The event was in honour of one of their directors, Marton Sinclair. He was clearly very well thought of as 120 people attended the farewell gathering.

The guestbook was made extra special, and personal, by the team at Eliot Sinclair designing a custom insert for the window on the cover. Once this had been emailed to us we printed it onto fine art paper (we don’t have to tell you just how much we love prints on fine art paper) it looked simply divine.

They also sent through a photograph of Marton and the following words:

‘’We are celebrating the successful career of our founding director Marton Sinclair,

who retired after 46 years with Eliot Sinclair & Partners Ltd”

Both of which were used to design the custom front page. The see-through page we added at the front to protect the photograph gave it an extra classy look.

Finished off with gold Chicago screws it really showcased the gorgeous red book-cloth and the result is a beautiful, personal keepsake.

We wish Marton all the very best on his next adventures

So, you could say, in the end, it all went swimmingly well!

If you would like to order one of our custom retirement guestbooks you can see more information in our shop

Waipuna Estate in Christchurch is set in luxurious surroundings with spectacular views of the Southern Alps. It is the perfect venue to host your wedding or private functions such as birthdays, anniversaries or family get-togethers.

What’s that got to do with us?

As we create guestbooks and the Waipuna Estate provides an exquisite boutique wedding venue -  we were thrilled to be asked to make a unique visitors guestbook for this charming Estate.

As you will see from the photographs of the guestbook, the cover has the Estates logo on the front. This is how we roll at My Guestbook, creating one off books to suit any occasion and working in with your brand. Want to know how we did it? We’ll let you into a secret, by using a heat transfer method. Because we can! As our products are made by hand we are always up for a challenge. In this case, Waipuna Estate required an A4 landscape book with custom cover.

As we have been providing guestbooks for some time now, we have learnt that guests regardless of the occasion, i.e weddings, funerals, leaving parties, prefer to be presented with a blank page when it comes to leaving a message. It allows the guests to be creative and leave personal messages rather than work around the restrictions of lined paper. We have found those who love to draw or stick photographs in books, enjoy the creative freedom this brings with it. 

And now, there is another use - promotional! If you opt for a book with this style of page design, you could use photos of the messages as feedback in your promotional material (with guests permission of course). The unique style of testimonial can not only be used online but the old fashioned way too (remember this!) - in print. This makes it a fantastic and unique promotional tool as well as a great visitors book for guests to peruse and write in.

For those of you who love attention to detail, allow us to share the specifications of this guestbook:

It has been made with the hands of an award winning artisan bookbinder.

Want to know how?

Go here for a peek at this amazing process. 

The pages inside are beautiful to the touch and white in colour.

The pages are 135 GSM paper providing the book with a luxurious feeling

Covered with white book cloth this classy guestbook is right at home in its new spectacular home.

And finally it has been perfect bound which means the pages have been hand glued to the spine of the book. Bound is this way your book will last for many years to come.

How perfectly perfect is that!

You can purchase your own visitors book here  

The rule of thumb, is when it feels right for you and your wedding arrangements!

The most important thing is though, is that it does get signed as it will be a very special record of your precious day (along with your memories and photographs of course!).

Here are five helpful hints to think about to help you decide:Firstly, what have you chosen as your guestbook? For example, If you are using an instax photo guestbook, ideally guests sign the book at the same time they stick their photographs into the book. If you are doing this during the reception, cocktail hour or when the dancing begins then that would be the best time to do it all in one go.

1. If you use the anytime’ option, be sure to announce it and make someone responsible for it. You can read more on this here 
2. If you are having a very formal occasion where you have announcements made throughout the day to inform your guests as to what is taking place next. You could always incorporate a formal book signing. Those who are unsure of what to write could always wait last in line. Nothing like a little pressure to get those thoughts flowing!
3. Having your wedding guestbook by the entrance of the reception not only looks classy and welcoming but is a great time to capture your guests best wishes as they arrive.
4. You could always have your guests sign the book at the ceremony if there is going to be any significant gap (signing the register, photographs that don’t involve the guests). Then have someone move the guestbook to the reception area and guests can continue to sign it through the evening. So we come back to the beginning where you decide what will suit your timeframe and based on what kind of book you decide to use.

 Have fun and enjoy looking back on your special day with your wedding guestbook.

TAGS: instax photo guestbook best time to sign a wedding guestbook wedding guestbook wedding guest book welcoming wedding reception classy formal wedding casual wedding arrangements

There have never been more choices for wedding guestbooks. But one thing has remained the same throughout, without interaction from your guests, it goes home the way it arrived: blank!

(photo: Stories Without Words)

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. Don’t leave it unattended in a free for all situation once the drinks have started flowing
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.

You know that feeling where you want to see the photo the instant you take it?

Too impatient to wait until after an event to see the photos displayed in a guestbook or album?

Well, well, well do we have a solution for your little impatient selves!

Let us introduce our fabulous instax photo guestbooks, which, are not just guestbooks but albums too.

They are just perfect for any type of event where you have friends, family, workmates gathered to celebrate a special occasion.

18^th Birthday party coming up? 21^st? Or have you sailed past those years and moved graciously into other decades??

It doesn’t matter what birthday youre celebrating, grab an Instax photo guestbook, grab your instax camera, some film and get snapping. As soon as those gorgeous photos pop out, you simply pop them in the book and have your guests write a message next to their photo.

Theses beautiful books are hand crafted by our artisan book binder. We LOVE NZ made, and love to support artisans who produce such wonderful works of art. Made with hands, enjoy watching these guestbooks fill up with photos and messages during your special event, whatever that might be.

Great for:

Children’s Birthday Parties: Imagine their scrumptious faces and their childlike writing. Precious!

This guestbook is so classic and classy, with its black book cloth cover and gold chicago screws. It fits right in with any special event you would like to create, whether it be an Anniversary, Baby shower, graduation or an office leaving party.

I’m sure we don’t need to tell you what fun you could have taking your guestbook album on an adventure with a group of Hens out on the town! Maybe we ought to suggest a sober looker-after-er. Or maybe not, you could wake up the next day to discover some fabulous photo keepsakes of your hilarious night, combined with some interesting messages. And no need to worry about fiddling around with tricky little dots or glue sticks to secure the photos. There are little slits pre cut in the pages so you can safely tuck the photos in. Just like the old fashioned albums.

Our Instant Photo Guestbook has been designed to house the prints taken with a instax mini 8 camera which are all the rage at the moment.

SO!

The waiting is over!

No longer will you have to wait ages for your guestbook/album to arrive with your photos intact. These are fabulous gifts to yourself or someone about to celebrate an occasion worthy of recording in photos and words.

A beautiful, playful and thoughtful keepsake in an instant. 

Before we get into that, let’s start with a question:

What has my friend Liz, one of our guestbooks and Julia May got in common? 

Answer: They’ve all been to Wanaka, that’s what. Don’t worry, this was not the competition! It was just my way of introducing my favourite subject of the moment into the conversation! Wanaka. More importantly, a particular place in this town only 50 minutes drive from Queenstown, Peak Functions.

I recently shipped one of our guestbooks off to this drop dead gorgeous venue, I know this to be true thanks to the stunning photography on Peak Functions website (more about them in a moment). I wished so much to be making a gloved hand delivery myself to this town nestled on the southern shores of Lake Wanaka so hugely different to my hometown of Manchester! One day I will! I was relaxed just looking at the photographs, imagine actually living and working there!  Debbie and Mandy from Peak functions do and are very excited to be part of such a young but outstanding venue which is Wanaka’s premier, brand new conference and function centre.

Put a pause on looking through those bridal magazines for one moment….

No doubt you have considered many venues to feast your eyes on as a backdrop for your wedding. Now consider this, Peak Functions is centrally located, and unrivalled in both style and functionality – so their website shows me and can easily show you too. And now they can offer something extra to couples who are thinking about using their magnificent venue – *insert drum roll* …..A free voucher for one of our guestbooks when they sign on the dotted line (the contract to hire their facilities not the marriage certificate!).

At a recent expo based at Peak Functions, in which local wedding suppliers were invited to showcase their range of wedding products and services, we were so fortunate to have one of our guestbooks on display.  Between you and me and everyone reading this blog post, I was somewhat anxious, crossing everything that could be crossed hoping NZ post would get it there in time due to a short working week. I needn’t have worried, Auckland to Wanaka overnight - NZ post you rock! The beautifully framed Pohutukawa fingerprint guestbook was widely admired and set up so couples could easily envisage what it might look like at their own wedding. Julia May was the lucky winner at this event. And lucky to be living in such a stunning part of the world too.

We can solve your problem if you can’t make it to Wanaka anytime soon to visit Peak Functions…

As they will be coming to Auckland this weekend. Once again My Guestbook will be teaming up with them to give away a free guestbook when you visit them at The Lake Wanaka stand at the Bride and Groom show, at Ellerslie Racecourse.

As winter has suddenly hit Auckland with a fierceness none of us were prepared for, I wonder perhaps if I open all the windows, put on my gloves, scarf and beanie, I can imagine what it would be like to visit Wanaka. I’m sure my 5 year old would love to make a game of it! Or maybe I’ll just light the fire and get back onto Peak Functions website!

Win Your Wedding Guestbook

My Guestbook and Peak Functions are joining forces to give you a chance to win a personalised wedding guestbook print. 

Peak Functions is Wanaka’s brand new, premier conference and function venue. Perfectly located with amazing views this venue is stunning have a look at their website and see for yourself. If you are yet to secure a venue for your wedding this would be one place to add to your list.

Entering Our Competition

It's COMPETITION TIME! To be in with a chance to win one of our gorgeous Fingerprint Tree Wedding Guestbooks, simply nominate your favourite bride(s)-to-be in a comment under the facebook post (don't forget to tag yourself if you want to be in the draw to win too!).

The winner will be drawn at random after 5pm on Thursday 29th January 2015. For more terms and conditions : http://www.peakfunctions.co.nz/…/guestbook-promotion-terms…/.

GOOD LUCK!

‪#‎peakfunctions‬ ‪#‎lakewanaka‬ ‪#‎firstcompetition‬ ‪#‎everyonelovesafreebie‬