Guest Book Schmuest Book

I didn't want a traditional guest book. I never have. If I wanted a list of every one's names and numbers, I'd compile it all myself. Oh wait, I did. It's called my guest list.

That being said, I did want some sort of memento for myself that would be a record of the guests who were there. Something other than my RSVP list that is. There are some great ideas out there.

Image via Give a Caricature / Having a caricature picture for them to sign would be great if we had any history with caricatures.

Image via Bow Ties and Bliss / The thumbprint is pretty popular, but to be honest, I don't want to have fingerprints of all those people on file should the police come looking...

Image via Martha Stewart Weddings / When Martha Stewart does traditional, it does look enticing... Nah.

Image via Wed Loft / Gotta love the photo guest book. It's the top contender for ideas to me right now.

Image via Lovely Little Things Blog / I can't even tell what the book looks like, but I'm fascinated with the styling around the book.

Image via Jamaica Wedding Blog / I've really loved this idea for a while, but we're moving across state lines and then an ocean in the next handful of years, I can't even imagine trying to move with a glass box/vase filled with rocks.

Image via Clark Walker Studio / We love music and we're music people, but I can't imagine ruining a record by letting people write on it. I listen to all my records on my record player.

So with all these wonderful options, I was in no place to decide when I lost my ability to make decisions. But with a few big decisions under my belt, I've rediscovered how to choose.

It helps that our photographer offers a couple great add-ons to our package. One of them is to do a portrait of us. They can turn that portrait into a guest book. The picture I linked to about shows the couple in a frame with a wide border to have room for their guests to sign.

We will have way more guests than any width of border will allow space to sign. I had another idea. I figured we would just get an obscenely large photo taken of ourselves. We will wear all white so that people can just sign the pictures. That way, everything but our faces will be space to sign, at least that's the idea.

I've got a great dress to wear. It's the same one I was planning on wearing to our pre-wedding dinner. It's pretty summery. Mr. Kettle is planning on wearing a summery look too. I figure it will work since it will be one of the only real summer-like things going on with this wedding.

I have to talk to the photographer to make sure the idea will work, but I think it might. Momma Kettle doesn't hate the idea, which is a bonus. If it works, we'll be going in a couple weeks to take the photo.