Seven Favourite Wedding Guest Book Ideas

Wedding days are all about making memories, and you're going to want to get as much down on film and paper as possible! Top of my 'what I'd rescue if the house was on fire list' is our wedding guest book. Nearly everyone who came to our wedding took a silly polaroid picture of themselves, and stuck it in the book with a lovely message. When I'm having one of 'those' days, there's nothing more uplifting than a quick flick through it. Now, there's all sorts of creative ideas for recording your guests, from jigsaws to collages, but my favourite is still a beautifully bound book. Take a look at my top picks this month.

{I want this!} Wedding Guest Book or Photo Album, £35 by ONR.

{I want this!} Handmade Wedding Guest Book, £48 by Dani Fox Books

{I want this!} Personalised Vintage Wedding Guest Book, from £40 by Clouds and Currents

{I want this!} Wooden Initials Wedding Guest Book, £100 by The Cross Eyed Fox

{I want this!} Large White Leather Wedding Guest Book, £119 by Susan Green Books

{I want this!} Tree Wedding Guest Book Puzzle, £60 by One to One

{I want this!} Jigsaw Wooden Wedding Guest Book, from £60 by The Cross Eyed Fox

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Brilliant Bride & Bridesmaid Presents

Every year, I allow myself the luxury of a smart Smythson diary. As a stationery lover, the gilt-edged, pale blue, featherweight paper, teamed with soft lambskin makes my heart melt. But this year, my husband's grumbling at the cost {£180!} encouraged me to look further afield. Surely there must be something suitably decadent available, but without the hefty price tag? Well I'm thrilled to say I found the answer! Sloane Stationery offers beautiful handcrafted notebooks in a variety of sizes and colours, and I am over the moon with my 2015 diary in aqua blue. All their products can be personalised, and they're the perfect birthday present or hostess gift. Take a look a this stunning I Do Notebook for Brides, which you can personalise with your name, or why not order a few for your bridesmaids' presents. They also make matching photo albums for your wedding pictures. Sloane Stationery - elegant yet fun, and crazily reasonable. Check them out, you won't disappointed… I’ve certainly been converted!

Written by guest contributor Lou Marmabachi

{I want this!}  I Do Personalised Notebook for Brides from Sloane Stationery, £49

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Rustic Watercolour Wedding Stationery

What is it that's so romantic about watercolours? There's something about the sweep of subtle colour, that gets me thinking about sunsets and sorbets and Monet's water lily paintings. It's the perfect theme for a summer wedding, and this gorgeous, rustic, watercolour invitation suite from La Pomme et La Pipe would be the perfect introduction of your big day to your guests. I'm a huge fan of this little boutique - do take a look at their whole collection!

{I want this!} Watercolour wedding invitation suite, approx. £5 per invitation set {one invitation, one rsvp postcard, one accommodation card, one envelope} from La Pomme et La Pipe.

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The Perfect Unnecessary Wedding Detail

Aren't these gorgeous?! Sometimes it's the simplest of wedding details that really gets me going. And anything to do with stationery really rocks my world. These rustic stickers by Ohhh So Darling make me want to start writing letters, just so I can use them to seal the envelopes. They'd be the perfect way to brand your wedding. Stick them to your napkins and invitations, wrap them around paper straws, or use them on your confetti sachets as pictured. So many fabulous DIY ideas, and at only £7 for 100, you can afford to go sticker-crazy!

{I want this!} Rustic Personlised Stickers, £7 for 100 by Ohhh So Darling
Buy glassine bags like these from eBay seller Tilly Mint

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Original Vintage-style Wedding Stationery

Yippee! Boutique British graphic designers are finally getting in on the wedding stationery scene. I'm all about using independent wedding suppliers, and Vintage Designs are a humdinger! The lovely Andrew works from his home in Oxfordshire with trusty partner in crime, Alfie the Labrador. I think Alfie probably does most of the work, but Andrew insists that he studied design and photography at university, and that's one of the reasons why his work is so beautiful. I'm obsessed with the old-skool style typography and illustrations in his invitations, with my favourite design of all the one with the peas. Which is yours?

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Bunting & Bathing Huts Wedding Stationery

If you love the traditional British world of bunting, bathing huts and camper vans, you're going to love the wedding stationery shop I've just discovered on Etsy. Something New Stationery is the brainchild of Jenni Bryan, and she's clearly taken inspiration from the British seaside. Just take a look at her lovely designs below! Her shop also stocks a huge range of colourful baking twine, at a reasonable price of £5 per spool. What's not to love?

Holiday Beach Huts Wedding Seating Plan, £45

Beach Hut Wedding Stationery, £2.50

Beach Huts Wedding Garland, £5

Camper Van Wedding Seating Plan, £45

Camper Van Wedding Invitation, £2

Camper Van Banner Garland, £5

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Hand-drawn Whimsical Wedding Invitations

It only took one look for me to fall in love with these gorgeous hand-drawn and hand-painted wedding invitations. Designed by illustrator Victoria Whincup, their whimsical charm perfectly suits a British summer wedding. Each picture is unique, although you can choose to personalise the designs in her Etsy online shop. For me they perfectly capture the homespun wedding trend that's so huge this year.

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A Lucky Wedding Sixpence

'Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue' ...and you'll be needing one of these too! I'm a huge fan of the wedding traditions, and the lucky silver sixpence has been a traditional wedding symbol since the Victorian Era. Glue it to the sole of your shoe, and think of it as an anti-rain talisman! Love this card too - wouldn't it make a fantastic present from the groom to the bride - or equally, you could turn tradition on its head, and give one to your future husband. The silver sixpence is genuine!

{I want this!} Silver Sixpence Wedding Card, £8.00 by Clouds and Currents, who also stock a particularly gorgeous range of chevron straws!

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Amazing Paper Cut Wedding Invitations

I can't tell you how hard I've fallen for these gorgeous paper cuts. Before I discovered London-based Julene Harrison's site Made By Julene, I'd never even heard of the art, but it's been a quick conversion from ignorance to passion!  Just imagine how heavenly these personalised pictures would look as table labels - you could then hang them in your home as a permanent reminder of your big day. Amazing! Take a look at Julene's shop, or request a special commission.

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Wedding Details - The Best-Dressed Cutlery / Flatwear

I'm ready to admit that I'm getting pretty niche with this wedding detail, but if you can obsess with the nitty-gritty on a wedding blog, then where else?! So let's talk cutlery wrapping. Yes I know the norm is to put the knife and fork on either side of the plate, but why do what's normal when you can be original and creative? Cutlery wrapping is a great way to add pizzazz and colour to your wedding reception tables, particularly if you can't afford to splash out on tonnes of flowers. Wraps are super-easy to DIY, whether you're going for a rustic theme, {use hessian like our real bride did her}, light-hearted {love the chevron pattern}, or pretty. Here are a few of my favourites, check out my Pinterest board for more!

{Photo Credit} Picture by Katrina Louise, see the rest of this wedding on The Wedding Chicks

{Photo Credit} 1. Unknown 2. Picture by Nancy Neil Photography, see the rest of this wedding on Style Me Pretty

{Photo Credit} Catch My Party

{Photo Credit} 1. Picture by Philip van Nostrand see the rest of this wedding shoot on The Wedding Chicks, | 2. Picture by Lisa Dawn Photography, see the rest of this shoot on Lisa's blog

{Photo Credit} 1. Unknown | 2. Unknown

{Photo Credit} 1. Buffet Bags by Cherished Blessings | 2. Picture by Shell de Mar, see more from this wedding on Rock n Roll Bride

{Photo Credit} 1. Burlap Napkin Silverware Holders 2. Unknown

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Intricate Hand-Painted Watercolour Wedding Stationery

A few months back, I was lucky enough to attend The French Wedding Show, as their in-house wedding blogger & real life bride. I've been meaning to post the pictures {by Caught the Light} for months, so stay tuned for that feature, coming soon! While I was there, I was lucky enough to meet some truly fabulous vendors, including the brilliant wedding stationery designer, Gemma Milly. Gemma's stand was hugely popular throughout the show, as it was cleverly created with lots of pretty, vintage details. Looking at her work, you can see she has a fantastic eye for conceiving a wedding as a whole, and designing the prefect wedding stationery to suit the theme and colours chosen by the bride and groom. Receiving one of her bespoke invitations couldn't fail to get your guests excited about your big day, and building anticipation is key to creating a wedding that stands out from the crowd. I'm gushing, but just take a look at her work, and you'll love it too!

{I want this!} Gemma Milly's Watercolour Collection

{I want this!} Gemma Milly's Garden Vintage Collection

{I want this!} A bespoke design

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Starting Your Wedding Planning

Happy New Year to you all! If you're one of the huge numbers of future brides who's got engaged over the festive season - congratulations! There's something about the magic of Christmas and the promise of a fresh new year that gets guys going, and many a girl has woken up to an engagement ring in her stocking. If you're one of those lucky new brides-to-be, or even if you've been engaged for a while, it's never too late to get organised. In these digital days, it's easy to save all your wedding details online {I recommend Pinterest}, but with a romantic glance back to the old days of pen and paper, I've fallen for these gorgeous wedding journals by Starboard Press. They'd make the perfect momento after your big day, and are a great present for any newly engaged couple.

{I want this} 1. Bunting Wedding Journal, £24.47, | 2. Rustic Wedding Journal, £24.47

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Cheap & Cheerful Wedding Favours

Sweetie bars and biscuit bars have become a hugely popular at weddings. Guests are usually encouraged to fill a bag with their goodies and take them home as wedding favours. It's a brilliant idea, because it doesn't cost much {you can even bake your own biscuits}, and people always appreciate favours they can eat! Add a splash of colour with these fun striped paper bags. They're a great way to package sweeties, and en masse, they look really effective. Just add twine. Pick up paper bags from eBay super-cheap.

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Loving Wedding Invitation Wax Seals

There's something uniquely romantic about sealing an envelope with a wax seal. It adds a level of solemnity to a wedding invitation, plus a good dollop of luxury. It's also a great way to add a personal DIY touch to your wedding stationery. You can choose the wax to match with your wedding theme colour, and either use your initial as the stamp, or your signature wedding motif {mine was a vintage key}. Buy your wax seal supplies from Paper Source {US stationery shop} or Confetti, and if you can't afford wax seals, or can't be bothered with dripping wax, then try embossing your wedding stationery with one of these.

{Product Credit} Amarides via Oh So Beautiful Paper

{Product Credit} Black­bird Letterpress via Oh So Beautiful Paper

{Product Credit} Boutwell Studio via Inspired by This

{Product Credit} Unknown via Elizabeth Annes Designs via Inspired by This

{Product Credit} Betsy Dunlap via Oh So Beautiful Paper

{Product Credit} Follow Studio

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Easy Wedding Branding with Monogram Stamps

You can safely assume that most of the guests at your wedding won't notice all the perfect wedding details, you've so carefully curated. The male guests won't even be able to describe the colours of the flowers, let alone the lace you stayed up all night glueing onto jam-jars for the perfect boho vases. But one thing that the guys did notice at my wedding was our vintage key branding. I think it was because it was everywhere! It was all part of my Secret Garden wedding theme, and it tied all the our wedding details together. For a similar effect, brand your wedding with a monogram. Nothing says together more than a design including your initials, and if you order a personalised stamp, you can easily DIY all your details....I'm thinking favours, place-cards, wedding invitations, envelopes, menus, the lot! I love this heart stamp, £10 by Stamp Couture, check out my Pinterest board for tonnes more ideas.

{I want this} Heart Monogram Stamp, £10 by Stamp Couture

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Five Fantastic Wedding Guest Book Ideas

Last week I was sorting out the chaos of books on our coffee table, and I re-discovered our wedding guest book. It's chock-full of hilarious polaroid pictures, and ever-more surreal messages, as the evening went on, and our guests got more tipsy. It's a wonderful trip down memory lane, and we've only been married for two years! The difficulty with guest books is persuading your friends and family to take time out from all the fun they're having, to actually write a message. We've had friends who've bought round their book after their big day, because we failed to write in it on the actual event. One failsafe method is to add a polaroid camera {like we did}. At least then you'll have some sort of photographic record! Or you could try one of these gorgeous creative ideas from my favourite Etsy sellers. They're so pretty, your guests can't fail to want to write in them! P.S. I considered a big wooden sign for our own wedding, but we'd already hired a van to get all our wedding stuff out to France, and I had to stop somewhere!

{I want this!} 3D Heart Wedding Guest Book by Mio Gallery

{I want this!} Custom Wedding Guest Books by In Or Out Media

{I want this!} Personalised Wood Sign Wedding Guest Book by Boa and Boo

{I want this!} 3D Wedding Tree Wood Guest Book by Totally Salinda

{I want this!} 3D Balloon Heart Wedding Guest Book by Suzy Shoppe

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British Etsy Wedding Seller of the Week #1

Big news! We're starting a new series of features here on Before the Big Day. We're all about original wedding ideas, and we're all about supporting British boutique businesses and individual creativity, and where better to find that than Etsy? If you haven't stumbled upon this amazing website, be warned, once you start clicking, you may never stop. It's addictive - there are so many incredible wedding ideas and products, your brain may well implode from wedding inspiration. To keep things under control, I'm going to drip-feed you the best of British Etsy wedding suppliers, one a week, every Wednesday. First up is La Pomme et La Pipe. Contrary to its French name, it's run by Amanda who lives in Oxford, and it's a fabulous hodgepodge of rustic handmade wedding supplies, paper goods, textiles and unique french-inspired supplies. Here are just a few of my favourites, but be sure to check it out yourself.

{I want this!} 50 Gold Glitter Mini Pegs, £9.81

{I want this!} 50 Burlap Heart Wedding place setting/name tags, £65.41

{I want this!} 50 Rustic Wedding Seed Packet Envelopes, £65.41

{I want this!} Lace Sampler Set, £6.54

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