Guestbook Alternatives

For awhile now, I've been considering alternatives to a traditional guest book were the guests just sign their names. I know I want a special way to remember all of the people who were at our wedding, but at first I wasn't sure just how to do so.


I considered the Polaroid Guest book option and really liked the one on the American Bridal website, and getting the Polaroid Instant Camera to go with it. I think this popular alternative is a cute way for your guests to write down their Congrats, and could be extra helpful for identifying well wishes from guests that you may not know as well, i.e. parents' friends. Although, with the cost of the book, film, and camera this alternative can end up costing upwards of $200 retail. However, you can always find these same items cheaper on ebay, especially the instant cameras. The picture guest book would work well with our theme, we just ordered Save The Dates with our pictures in the film strip style, we plan on using pictures of us holding numbers for the table numbers, and having pictures of us with friends and family up at the reception. (Geez, all these pictures of us make us sound a bit narcissistic, huh?). But I love the picture theme throughout, because it something that you can use as keepsakes for yourself or give to your family to keep long after the reception. We'd probably have the guestbook out before the ceremony and during the cocktail hour for guests to write entries.

Although I really like the Photo Guestbook idea, there's another alternative that I absolutely love as well. My fiance and I are a quite honestly a couple of winos, so we were also considering another alternative that would take advantage of this indulgence. While fans of many kinds of wine, we've discovered Firelands Winery about an hour away from us in Sandusky, that has good wine at great prices. We've tried a couple different kinds and have liked the selection thus far, and wanted to somehow incorporate it into our Wedding. So I'm thinking of setting up a table at our Reception that has 5 bottles of their Vintage Collection Wine. On each bottle, will be a small tag marked with numbers 1-5 and a pouch. We'll have a little instruction sign for our guests explaining that each number represents one of our first 5 wedding anniversaries, and would like them to write us a little note that we will wait and read on each of these anniversaries. This way we can spread the well wishes of our Wedding out over the first part of our marriage! If we decide to go this route, I'll post pictures of the tags and pouches I make, but I must admit, this will probably be the route we go.



But how will we choose which wine to use you ask? Well, it just so happens that the Winery has both a giftshop AND a tasting room. My FI has been to the Tasting Room when he was up in Sandusky for work and had a great experience, so we were planning on going up there to do a tasting of the wines, and finding one that tastes good and ages well. I'm not sure which guestbook idea we'll end up doing. I'd ideally like to do both, but I don't know how realistic that is to expect guests to write in two different kinds of guestbooks, and if we have enough extra money for those kinds of expenses.

Down the Aisle...

Its the moment it all begins. Most brides spend years anticipating it, months planning it, and hours that morning getting ready for it. For most brides, walking down the aisle is a moment of excitement and anxious butterflies. But when I first got engaged, it was the last thing I wanted to think about. Now, 6 months or so into planning, its something I've started to seriously think about.

I know for me, walking down the aisle will be one of the most wonderful moments of my life, but it could also be bittersweet. My dad died when I was younger, and now 10 years later, I'm facing a moment most girls can't imagine without their dads, and even though he's gone, I'm still one of those girls. When I first started thinking about it, I thought that I might have my mom walk me down, but we would probably cry way too much trying to walk down together. Then, like my friend Molly who also lost her dad, I thought maybe I would walk down alone, because my dad isn't replaceable. Molly is actually going to walk half way down by herself, and have her fiance meet her halfway, which I just think is adorable. Its just such a symbolic way for them to say to their friends and family how much their love together has meant, and how supportive their love is.

But I've finally decided, and asked my dad's best friend Greg. They were friends for over 35 years when my dad died, and were incredibly close. Our families have remained close over the years, and his family is my family. I know that if there were one person my dad would want to walk me down the aisle it would be Greg, he's the man my dad respected most. I've also decided that since I won't have a first dance with my dad, I'll walk down the aisle to an instrumental version of one of the songs we would have danced to, I Can't Help Falling In Love With You by Elvis Presley, or I was also considering Unforgettable, by Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole. I'm excited now to walk down the aisle, and it will be even more special to me now with Greg by my side for my dad, and one of our songs playing.

I think that if you're faced with this choice, you ultimately have to do what feels best to you. Having Greg walk me down the aisle is just one of the many options I considered, but for me, its what I'm most comfortable with, just as the decision to walk halfway down alone is perfect for my friend Molly, just as walking down the aisle alone may be the perfect tribute to how much another bride loved her father. This is one of the few wedding details that is only and all about you and what you want, no compromise.