18 DIY Wedding Guest Book Ideas

When the bigger wedding planning decisions, like the venue, the dress, and the menu, are out of the way, it's time to start thinking about the small, personalized touches that'll make your wedding stand out from the rest. What better place to turn for unique inspiration than your guests? The people you care about most in this world will bring a whole other layer of love and joy to the big day—which makes capturing their well-wishes and warm sentiments all the more important.

That's where your wedding guest book comes in. These keepsakes are so much more than a place for friends and family to mark their attendance. They're a blank slate, just waiting to be filled with favorite memories, pieces of advice, kind words, or whatever else you hope to collect. After your wedding photo album, your guest book will likely be a main source of remembrance as the years go by. Anniversary after anniversary, you'll turn its pages, read your guests' poignant words, and feel transported back to the day that started it all. For something so incredibly custom, you might want to consider crafting this item yourself. Not sure where to start? We're here to show you how to make a wedding guest book you'll love.

These simple DIY projects—featuring a mix of traditional and alternative wedding guest book ideas—are bound to inspire. We walk you through assembling a variety of options (from elegant to rustic styles) and even make suggestions for what guests should write.

Boxes of African violets, pansies, Johnny-jump-ups, and maidenhair ferns are a lovely sight for wedding attendees to see as they enter your reception space. But these blossoms are more than just a festive focal point, they're also the beginning of this interactive guest book-turned-charming keepsake.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have Martha Stewart design your wedding guestbook? Now that dream can be a reality. In partnership with Mixbook, Martha created a selection of beautiful photo albums—including one specifically designed for your big day. All you have to do is personalize her design with your photos (we suggest using engagement snapshots) and ask guests to sign along the margins. You can use the same design for your wedding album and your invitations for a cohesive look.

Shop Now: Martha Stewart x Mixbook "Elegant" Wedding Photo Album, from $55.84, mixbook.com.

You don't have to be a graphic designer to mark your day with a logo. Upload artwork, like this simple-but-elegant wedding date, onto Lumi, a website specializing in branded supplies, and them stamp it onto a guest book in gold foil, like we did here. It's an easy and effective way to customize your guest book, perfect for even the least crafty of couples. Plus, you can use this artwork to brand pretty much everything at your reception; it doesn't have to stop at the guest book!

Thought-provoking guest books that pose single, specific questions serve as dinner table icebreakers at your wedding—and turn into keepsakes you'll want to display in your home library and re-read on every anniversary.

This accordion-style design offers friends and family enough room to ramble, wax poetic, and even doodle. Have your local hardware store cut two pieces of plywood to 5 by 7 inches. Stain them by brushing on watered-down gray acrylic paint, then wipe off the excess. Once they're dry, stamp on your date in white ink. For the pages, use a craft knife to cut a length from a Spectra ArtKraft Duo-Finish paper roll #67004. It can be as long as you want, but should be 6 inches tall. Then just fold it like a fan. Secure the ends and the ribbon to the covers with spray adhesive.

Standard guest books are no match for this striking homemade version. All you need are rectangles of paper and white Uni-ball "Signo" gel pens. Display the cards and pens at the reception so guests can leave their mark, and then paste their well-wishes into a "Noci" album by Kolo afterward.

Instead of an album-style tome, have a custom puzzle made with your names and/or wedding date (ours is by Bella Puzzles). Place the pieces in a glass bowl at your reception, along with a sign asking friends to autograph the unfinished backs. When the party is over, you'll have fun putting them together and reading the notes.

Loved ones will have fun posting a message in an interactive scrapbook album. Just set out a pair of scissors, a few rolls of tape, and a stack of blank cards trimmed with pinking shears. Then affix a note on the first page to beckon guests to follow suit.

For a novel way to keep a record of who came to your wedding, set out this poster with individual spaces for friends and family to sign. Later, you can frame it for art that's truly priceless. Just print our template and fill in your own details.

Glam-rock singers, biker boots, and punky leather jackets all count as old references for metal studs. In rose gold and brass, however, these shiny beauties on a guest book can sing a more sophisticated song.

We arranged flowers and stems just so and photographed them to create a poster that's blooming with beauty—and a great place for loved ones to jot down messages whose meanings will grow even more precious with time.

File this under "A" for adorable. Instead of a traditional guest book, use cards from an address file. Our set, by Lovely Design, contains handmade ones from vintage papers, so each is unique. Set cards on a table with a sign asking friends and family to jot down messages; once they've penned their notes, they can file their card alphabetically to flip through later.

Set up a lively guest-book table with patterned paper in bright hues. Guests pen notes on origami paper, then seal them with a sticker. The banners above are also made from origami squares—no fancy folding required.

Set out an old-fashioned typewriter with long sheets of paper for guests to write good wishes as the feeling strikes. Look for inexpensive vintage machines online or at thrift stores or flea markets; they come in colors to go with any palette. After the wedding, tie into a scroll with ribbon.

Inspire guests to express themselves artistically as they write down their sentiments on your wedding day. At the reception, set up a table with craft and office supplies—pretty card stock, colored pencils, an array of stickers—and invite guests to embellish their notes with fun designs. Finished cards can be placed in a clear glass bowl and arranged in a scrapbook later.

Transform a store-bought album into a guest book that has a handmade feel. Use double-sided tape to affix envelopes in assorted sizes and colors to the pages of a plain-paper photo album or scrapbook. Leave cards and a pen on a table for guests to write wishes. When they're done, they can tuck their cards inside the envelopes for the couple to enjoy later.

Love lives on and on in this poster, which you can print out using our PDF and display at your wedding for attendees to sign. After the wedding, frame it and hang it on your wall for a sweet memento.

Quick: Grab a pen and dash off a few incredibly witty sentences about a friend. Panicked? At a loss for words? That's how some people feel when faced with a blank guest book. Come to their rescue with these conversation-starting phrases printed on recipe-sized index cards. Store the cards in a keepsake box after the event.