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Home » DIY Wedding Ideas » 27 Guest Book Ideas

27 Guest Book Ideas

May 12, 2022 By Jamie Dorobek 51 Comments

If you’re in market for a guest book, this list includes 27 unique guest book ideas covers everything from wooden oars to a guitar. Guest sign in books are a fun addition to any event and a great way to personalize a graduation, wedding, or baby shower. I also love that a guest book can often double as an activity at the event.

27 Clever guest book ideas for every occasion

*This post contains affiliate links.

What is a guest book?

Generally, a guest book is a place for attendees to write well wishes to the guest of honor. A typical guest book would be white and have lined pages inside. This is a list of non traditional guest book ideas. When considering the guest book, ask the question:

What does the guest(s) of honor love to do?

Does she love playing scrabble or going to the lake? Have guests sign an oar, anchor, or buoys! If you have a game lover on your hands, have guests sign the back of a game board or a Jenga set. My goal when coming up with new guest book ideas is to create a useful memory.

Wedding Guest Book Ideas

I divided this post up into 3 sections, but you can adapt most of these guest book ideas for any event. For instance, a quilt guest book is under the wedding guest book ideas list, but it would also be adorable for a baby shower. Just make the quilt baby sized. A t-shirt quilt guest book would be super fun for a highschool graduation party. The graduate could take her sign in book/quilt to college!

1. Jenga

I love the idea of making a giant backyard Jenga set that way you have more room for guests to sign and what a fun backyard game!

wedding guest book ideas

2. Sign our quilt

Jennifer and Clayton had the quilt already pieced together and ready for guests to autograph with fabric markers. Talk about a wedding guest book you will cherish and use forever? This is the winner! See more wedding and quilt details at The Plunge Project.
Wedding guest book ideas

3. Rocks

I write on rocks as souvenirs from vacation, but it works just the same as a guest book! All you need is a bowl full of smooth river rocks, a white paint pen and a glass vase to toss the signed rocks into.

4. Calendar Guest Book

I love the birthday calendar as a wedding or graduation guest book! When the event is over, the guest of honor has a calendar filled with all of his or her friends birthdays! Here is a gorgeous personalized wedding calendar guest book from Etsy.
Wedding Guest Book Ideas

5. Champagne Bottle

Consider buying a magnum bottle of champagne or wine, and then have guests sign their names. A magnum is double the size of a standard 750 mL bottle of champagne. Have a few gold paint pens available for guest to sign the bottle.

6. Game board

Scrabble, Clue, Monopoly, or Life would all be great game boards to serve as a unique guest book. Have a few permanent markers handy and let guests sign any where on the game board.

7. Turn photo strips into a scrapbook

This idea works great if you have a photo booth or even a Polaroid camera on hand for guests to use. Have a basket full of a props and a hand full of markers and this interactive guest book will make itself! Another great option is downloading the Simple Booth app and have an iPad set up on a tripod!

8. Fingerprints

All you need for this guest book is ink pads and a pre made drawing. Check out this Etsy seller for fingerprint guest books. There is everything from a simple family tree design to a lion complete with a finger print mane for a zoo themed wedding.

wedding guest book idea

9. Metal Letter & Paint Pens

I have folks email and ask me where to find metal letters all the time! You can find most metal letters on Amazon. Here is a very similar letter “S” on Amazon. See more details from this beautiful wedding at Style Me Pretty.

sign in book

10. Guest Log

This print screened guest log was oringially created by Baumbirdy, but no longer sold on Etsy.

Unique Guest Book Ideas- a guest log

11. Plates

Grab a few plain white plates in varying sizes to have guests autograph with metallic paint pins at the party. After the wedding, hang a plate collage in your dining room. These plate hangers from Amazon are the best.

12. Wooden Oars

Just add permanent markers and you’ve got yourself a unique guest book that’s perfect for the water lover. You can find inexpensive solid wood oars on Amazon. For more details from this gorgeous wedding, check out Style Me Pretty.
guest book

13. A wooden bench

The wooden bench wins most functional wedding guest book award! But, it a bench isn’t practical for your life, consider a small end table or even a chair? You can get the solid pine bench seen below on Etsy.
Wooden bench guest book

Baby Shower Guest Book Ideas

14. Wooden blocks

This was the guest book used at my baby shower for Maxwell. We had each person decorate one block for each letter of the alphabet. The best part? My son still plays with these blocks today! We used 2 in. wooden blocks and paint markers. You can find similar blocks on Amazon.
Baby shower guest book idea

15. Personalized note cards

If you’re hosting a baby shower, the mom to be note card is perfect for giving the new mama baby advice like favorite children’s book, but can also doubles as a guest book. After the shower, punch a hole in the corner of each card and use a ribbon to string them all together. Print the free printable personalized mom to be note cards here.

Unique Guest Book Ideas for a baby shower

16. Thumbprint guest books

I used this at my best friend’s baby shower. The little note read: Please “leaf” a Thumbprint and sign your name! After the event, you could frame the print and mom to be can use it as nursery decor.
Leaf a thumbprint guest book

17. Mad Libs

Get the free printable baby shower Mad Lib  C.R.A.F.T.
Unique Guest Book

18. Doodle in a person

I used this guest book at a book inspired baby shower I hosted for a friend. I had it on a desk as guests arrived and it proved to be a fun ice breaker activity for everyone. Each guest personalized a simple doodle character with colored pencils. Since the shower I was hosting was book themed, I had each guest add their favorite kids book in the flag above.

Creative baby shower guest book idea

19. Baby’s 1st Alphabet book

My sister in law had this adorable Baby’s First Alphabet book set up at her baby shower and it proved to be such a fun activity for everyone. Here is the free printable template we used.

DIY baby alphabet guest book

20. Favorite Book, Bible, Atlas, or Dictionary

A dictionary would be perfect for a graduation or wedding. Invite guests to circle a word that describes the couple or graduate and leave a note. I love the idea of a favorite kids book for a baby shower guest book. Here are few of my favorite baby shower guest book ideas:

  • The Giving Tree
  • Oh The Places You’ll Go
  •  Where the Wild Things Are
  • The Wonderful Things You Will Be
  • Guess How Much I Love You (used below)

guest book ideas for a baby shower

Graduation Guest Book Ideas

21. Matted Picture Frame

You can’t go wrong with having friends and family autographing a matted picture frame. It’s classic, inexpensive, and a beautiful memory that can hang on your wall. You can find an 11×14 black frame matted to fit a 5×7 picture on Amazon. That means the mat has enough rooms for signatures!

22. Chalkboard Messages

A photo booth doubles as a fun activity for guests at an event, but it can also be turned into a guest book.

Guest book ideas

23. Guest Log

If you’re looking for an inexpensive, unique option guest book option, this guest log is perfect. All you need is a tree slice and  You can use a real tree slice from your own back yard or buy a 13in slice on Amazon.guest book

24. Guitar

Or any musical instrument for that matter! What about a banjo, ukulele, or a violin? As you can see the guitar guest book was used at a wedding, but would make such a fun guest book for a musical graduate. For a baby shower, I love the idea of guests singing a child’s ukulele with the thought that one day the child can use their baby shower guest book! (Image via Full Bouquet)
 Guitar guest book

25. Collaborative art peice 

Divide a canvas up into squares and encourage each guest to paint or color a square to make a large art peice the guest of honor can use in their home.
Spray bottle painting and syringe painting

26. Globe or map

If the guest of honor loves to travel consider a globe, map, or atlas as a unique guest book idea. Here is a white 8 inch globe that would work well as a guest book.
guest book ideas
Which guest book idea is your favorite? What did you use at your wedding or baby shower? The ideas are seriously endless. What about baseballs, records, a surf board, wooden tree swing, or a picnic table!
If you’re in party planning mode, here are 3 more posts you don’t want to miss:
  • 24 food station ideas
  • 16 party bars
  • 29 DIY wedding bouquets

Filed Under: DIY Wedding Ideas Tagged With: baby shower, guest book, inexpensive wedding ideas

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Comments

  1. Bonnie and Trish @ Uncommon says

    March 12, 2013 at 7:34 pm

    What a great collection! Those are some super clever ideas!

    Reply
  2. Randi - Dukes and Duchesses says

    March 11, 2013 at 8:55 am

    We just had a regular guest book at our wedding (it was in 1995 before anyone was doing anything cool) but I love these ideas. I still have guest book in my house now for overnight guests and might switch it over to one of these fun ideas!

    Reply
  3. Beyond Back Creek says

    March 8, 2013 at 8:44 am

    I love the globe! But all the ideas are fantastic!

    Reply
  4. MIchelle says

    March 7, 2013 at 7:41 pm

    We are getting married in July and using the book idea. Our invitations were inspired by The Giving Tree, so we’re having everyone write in a copy of it. Happens to work well because the illustrations and content are so simple, there’s a ton of room for people to write notes or draw pictures or what have you!

    Reply
    • Jamie Dorobek says

      March 8, 2013 at 10:04 pm

      LOVE that book 🙂 Happy wedding planning!

      Reply
  5. Kelly @ View Along the Way says

    March 7, 2013 at 11:42 am

    This is so fun! Makes me wish I could do my pre-pinterest wedding all over again!

    Reply
  6. Kimberly @ A Night Owl says

    March 7, 2013 at 11:02 am

    I LOVE this list! How cute! We did the matted frame… 😉

    Reply
  7. danielle says

    March 7, 2013 at 8:32 am

    Love these ideas – my sis is getting married in May – forwarding this to her.

    Reply
  8. Lois says

    March 7, 2013 at 12:24 am

    I love the unique ideas here. Guest books to me make very little sense, people sign them then they get put away as a keepsake rarely ever brought out again. But to turn it into something that can be left out as art gives it a purpose to be on display.

    Reply
  9. Jennifer Elliott says

    September 8, 2012 at 4:10 pm

    Do you know where you can purchase those large letters to sign? I love it!!

    Reply
    • Jamie D. says

      September 9, 2012 at 9:59 am

      I’d look on etsy…

      Reply
  10. Hilary says

    August 20, 2012 at 12:35 am

    my husband and i are both musicians so we used a black guitar and had everyone sign it with white paint pens – looks fantastic, and we play it still.

    Reply
    • Jamie D. says

      August 20, 2012 at 3:15 pm

      What a neat idea!

      Reply
  11. Carey says

    June 27, 2012 at 8:34 pm

    Oh my gosh these are all such great ideas! I would have to say that the postcards are a favorite (because I collect them), but the little envelopes and birthday calendar are great too!

    Reply
  12. Allison says

    May 18, 2012 at 12:19 pm

    We are using Guestbook Store. http://www.facebook.com/guestbookstore

    Reply
    • Jamie D. says

      May 18, 2012 at 2:03 pm

      I’ve never seen that! Thanks for sharing 🙂

      Reply
  13. Jamie Dorobek says

    April 25, 2012 at 10:21 am

    Aleah, The only pictures that are mine are 12 (my BFF's wedding!) and 18 (a baby shower I did). The others you will have to click on the link to take you back to the original source. Although, I would check Hobby Lobby, Micheal's, Amazon, and Ebay for metal letters 🙂 Wood would work too!

    Reply
  14. Aleahb says

    April 25, 2012 at 9:03 am

    Where did you find the Large letter S? I love the idea but can't seem to find one!

    Reply
  15. chandra ~ oh lovely day says

    April 23, 2012 at 1:28 am

    Thanks for including the jenga guestbook from my blog! It would be great if you could include the credit: Jennifer Roper via Oh Lovely Day. Thanks 🙂

    Reply
  16. Megs says

    April 12, 2012 at 11:26 pm

    Jamie, these are fantastic. I am getting married in December and am JUST starting planning. (I know, I know). I'm from upstate NY and the guest 'log' would be great, though I love the plate design (as long as it isn't a 'country stuffy' look) you put up.

    Do you have a more close-up photo of the 'twigs in a vase' with some instructions? I haven't googled it but the photo of that one, as well, is incredible.

    Reply
  17. KareyJo says

    April 8, 2012 at 12:57 am

    These are great ideas for my son's graduation in June… like the things he could take to his college room – #2,4,11, and 19 seem just perfect!

    Reply
  18. kwen says

    January 26, 2012 at 8:49 am

    These are just awesome ideas for me and my soon-to-be hubby. I'm so excited 🙂

    Reply
  19. Tess says

    October 8, 2011 at 5:33 pm

    Great ideas! For my bridal shower, wedding, and baby shower, we used matted photos. Now that I'm seeing all these great ideas, I can't wait for the next event. For my baby shower, the matted picture was a great ultrasound shot, and everyone wrote in either pink or blue because we didn't know the baby's sex.

    Reply
  20. SKendall says

    September 27, 2011 at 5:20 pm

    We are using the guest "Book" Bench!

    Reply
  21. Rachel says

    September 26, 2011 at 9:15 am

    What great ideas! Too bad my wedding is over, but I'm filing these away for future use!

    Reply
  22. C.R.A.F.T. says

    September 24, 2011 at 8:46 pm

    It just dawned on me that it is a guest "log"! ha! thank you 🙂 i'm going to change that now on the post!

    Reply
  23. juliecache says

    September 24, 2011 at 12:44 am

    love the guest 'log' print. a lot.

    Reply
  24. Kimmy says

    September 23, 2011 at 11:12 pm

    Our wedding was very small–we rented a beach house and had family and friends stay for the weekend in the NINE bedrooms, then we had the house for our honeymoon. Because it was so small, each guest was able to take an entire page to write a personal note, give advice, etc. It's a treasure to this very day!

    Reply
  25. Kelley @ TheGrantLife.com says

    September 23, 2011 at 7:42 am

    cute ideas! we did the matted photo. 🙂

    Reply
  26. Katherines Corner says

    September 23, 2011 at 12:17 pm

    I love the balloons! Some great ideas here. Thank you for sharing.Hugs and wishes for a joy filled weekend.

    Reply
  27. Mandy says

    September 23, 2011 at 11:03 am

    These are fun ideas. We had the matted picture frame and I love that we choose that one. It has been hanging up in our hallway ever since and I think every house guest we have had has stopped to look at it.

    Reply
  28. Chelsea @ {twotwentyone} says

    September 23, 2011 at 8:59 am

    I like the plate and balloon guest books!

    We did a tree/leaf guestbook, but instead of thumb prints we had self-adhesive leaves that people signed and stuck on the tree. After we matte and frame it, we're going to include it in our dining room gallery wall.

    Reply
  29. jesspoole says

    September 23, 2011 at 8:22 am

    I like the small envelopes and Mad Libs! I also like the tree trunk because you could shadow box it. I like the idea of being able to put it on the way instead of it getting lost in a box/on a shelf somewhere

    Reply
  30. Susan says

    September 23, 2011 at 1:46 am

    The guestbook at our wedding was similar to #12. I had a bunch of scrapbook pages with our engagement pictures on them and people signed and wrote notes on the scrapbook pages. Then the pages went straight into our wedding scrapbook so we can enjoy them!

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Jamie!
I Create Really Awesome Free Things for your home, wardrobe, kitchen, and kids in Austin, TX with the sometimes help of Andy!
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