If you’ve asked yourself “Do I need a wedding guestbook”, this post is for you.
The answer to that question might be more complicated than it seems. To really answer that question, we have to think about why we use guestbooks for our weddings, anniversary parties, vow renewals, baby showers, and other social events.
The real value a guestbook provides is the memories it brings back.
Years from now, you’ll run across your guestbook. Maybe you’ll be going through a drawer looking for something else. Or you’ll be digging through the boxes you have in storage, trying to figure out why you have so much stuff in boxes. Or maybe you’ll even intentionally find it.
Once in hand, you’ll open it up and start looking through it. You’ll look at the names there. You’ll start thinking about your special day, and the people who were part of it. You’ll start thinking about that funny, but probably inappropriate, joke your uncle told. Or you’ll wonder how that one friend who is always late (we all have at least one, right?) ended up in the middle of the first page - and not at the bottom of the last page. Or you’ll remember discovering that Bob from accounting was a shockingly great dancer. Or you’ll think about a family member who has since passed away.
That’s the power of a guestbook.
It captures the guests who were part of your special day. It preserves the memories you made that day. It helps you look back and remember.
So, do you need a wedding guestbook? No…but you do need (and, frankly, deserve) a great guest capture experience.
