7 Nontraditional Guest Book Ideas

When you’re planning your wedding, one of the last parts is deciding on your guest book. Yes, you could have a traditional book that everyone signs, but will you actually look at this again? Probably not. Instead, create a memorable guestbook that you’ll hang on your walls for all to see. Here are 7 nontraditional guest book ideas to help out your planning!

1. YOUR NAME

One of the most common types of guestbooks I’ve seen in the last few years is getting a canvas or wooden piece made with either your new last name or both your first names with wedding dates. This is actually what I did for my guest book. I have it on my wall surrounded by wedding photos. It’s fun to look on occasion and reminisce on the day whenever I pass by that wall. Etsy is filled with amazing shops who will create something beautiful for you!

Hear from past brides:

“My mom made ours with her circuit and a cut of wood from home depot. We used white and gold sharpies to sign. And after the wedding we sprayed it with a clear coat and hung it!” – Sidney C.

“We made ours ourself. Cut and stained the wood and then painted our names, our wedding date, and the lyrics of our first dance song onto it as well.” – Katie M.

2. A PHOTO BOOK OR CANVAS

You took your engagement photos for a reason! They can be used for more than just your save the dates, so get the images printed along with plenty of white space for signing room.

Hear from past brides:

“I was a lil nervous to order from the Ukraine—but it’s beautiful and arrived in record time considering the distance. I’m going to use it for our major milestones in life—starting with our wedding.” – Jennifer C. (Check out her book here!)

“We just did simple and got this frame and mat on amazon then put our favorite engagement photo in there. This size worked perfectly for the 150ish people we had.” – Kiley A. (Check out her frame here!)

3. A MAP

Are you and your future spouse from different states? Or do you really love your home state? Either get a map printed with your city skyline or a full map where your guests can sign on their home state/country. You can even get a map of the U.S. printed and put a heart on your wedding location. The couple with the last guest book shown got married on a lake, so they printed out a map of the lake to use!

Hear from past brides:

“We did a 24” x 36” canvas of a map, customized with our names & wedding date. Guests signed the canvas & it now hangs in our hallway so we see it every day. I loooove decorating with maps & globes, so it fits right in with our home decor.” – Britta T. (Check out the one she purchased here!)

“We loved ours!! We bought this black globe at Hobby Lobby and had guests use silver metallic sharpies to sign. Afterwards we used a sealant spray to protect it and it is now displayed in our living room.” – Chelsea N.

4. JENGA BLOCKS

This is a fun idea if you are into games! Get some blank Jenga blocks and have your guests sign them with a sweet note. You can put this on your mantel to display or invite your friends over and actually play with them.

5. HEART FRAME

I’m not sure exactly what to call this, but get an acrylic frame and have your guests sign heart-shaped wood chips to insert. This is a great way to display everyone who attended while creating art for your home.

Hear from past brides:

“Ours goes on the wall. I believe we got it at Hobby Lobby.” – Susan B. 

6. A PAINTING OF YOU

Instead of just printing out a photo, go a step further and commission an artist to create a beautiful painting/drawing for you! This can be framed and displayed for all to see. You can either use your engagement photos as a base for the image or have the artist create a mock wedding photo.

Hear from past brides:

“I had a friend, who’s a graphic designer, paint this for us, and our guests all signed around it.” – Samantha C.

7. SOMETHING YOU LOVE

This can be anything that is special to you! Are you really into music? Have your guests sign a record! Is there one game you love? Have your guests sign the game. Are you into puzzles? Create one with room for signatures. The possibilities are endless.

Hear from past brides:

“We both are runners, so our guest book is a custom “Race bib” guest book with custom race bibs as the pages for advice and signatures!” – Chelsea N.

BONUS TIP: Be sure to buy the right type of pens for whatever you are having signed. If your name is printed on wood, be sure to get paint markers specifically for wood. If you are having a canvas signed, traditional sharpies will work just as well!

I can’t wait to see what you create from these 7 nontraditional guest book ideas!