{DIY} Guest Book Idea

DIY Guest Book Idea I created in my backyard. Granted, I am not a professional photographer, but you get the gist of it. The flowers I arranged are craspedias (billy buttons), white freesia, and yellow daisies from Carlstedt's wholesale distributor in Savannah. The lace used is an heirloom from my great grandmother.

Instead of having a traditional guest book, have guests sign postcards from where your wedding is located. Put postcard stamps and address them prior to the wedding, then guests can write well wishes or advice during the reception. The cards are to be mailed the next day by a friend of the couple or your wedding planner, so that the newlyweds will return from their honeymoon to a brimming mailbox.

I used my dad's old cigar boxes for the postcards to be presented in. One box for the postcards that are ready to be written on and the other for guests to put when they are finished. My mom is an avid Scrabble player so I had some original Scrabble pieces handy to create the "WRITE US" rack. I'm thinking about doing a post next about a Scrabble theme wedding since it is definitely a popular trend right now!

Once you come home from your honeymoon, sort through all your wedding gifts, enjoy looking at your images from the wedding and honeymoon, and pick up your mail from the post office, you can begin this simple project of creating a binder ring book of all your postcards.

Simple Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Materials you'll need:

• a variety of postcards from where your wedding will be (if it is a destination wedding you should be able to find a good selection at their visitor center).
• whole puncher
• binder ring (depending on how many guests attend your wedding you may have to buy a bigger size ring)
• Archival, fade proof, non bleeding, waterproof marker ( I prefer the American Crafts Memory Marker with the two tips that can be purchased at most scrapbooking stores)
• ribbon of your choice
• scissors

2. Punch holes in the exact same corner of each postcard (I used the first one as my guide for all the others and chose the bottom right since it wouldn't interfere with the postcard image description or the guests notes)

3. Open up the binder clip, put all the post cards on, then close the clip

4. Cut short pieces of your ribbon and double knot them around the binder clip. (I like to alternate with two different ribbons to make it a little more interesting)
 
Viola! You now have a simple book filled with all the love of your friends and family, that will remind you of your wonderful wedding day!

(As a side note and for fun - just as I was finishing up, my cat Ty decided he wanted to be a model, more like beat the heat and find some shade under my table. I don't know why he likes to go out in the Georgia summer heat!)

*inspired by MarthaStewartWeddings.com http://bit.ly/lh3rtA