You’re all set for your big day (be that a wedding, birthday party or anniversary). You’ve gone for an Adesso photo guest book, so you don’t have to worry about glue or tape for your photo guest book (which can get mucky!) You’ve got your camera, film, spare batteries and photo guest book ready for use, but how can you make sure it gets completed and not left in a corner?
Complete your guest book
It’s easy. There’s two distinct ways that will work better depending on your type and size of event, and just a tiny bit of forward planning will make things run smoothly on the day.
Option 1: Show and tell
We call the first option ’show and tell’ and this option is what we used at our own wedding (you can view the result here). It’s perfect for smaller events, up to 75 guests or one guest book full!
What you need to do:
- At the end of your wedding ceremony or when all your party guests have assembled, complete your photo guest book in front of all your guests (showing them how it works)
- At this point, explain what you’re doing and tell them that you’d really like them to complete the guest book during your event. We asked our celebrant to do this for us, but you could ask the registrar, your master of ceremonies, or your wedding planner / co-ordinator
- Tell your guests where the guest book will be kept during the event
- Remind your guests about the photo guest book later in the evening. We did this during the best man speeches and that was fine as we only had 68 guests. You could also do this before you call guests to supper.
- At the end of the evening you should have a perfectly completed photo guest book, ready to take away with you.
Option 2: Job’s a good’un
As you can probably guess, this option involves putting someone in charge of the photo guest book. It doesn’t necessarily have to be one of the bridal party (and in fact it’s sometimes better if it isn’t as they may be needed for photo’s) but it should be someone you can rely on, who likes chatting to people and is responsible. If you’re using an event planner or wedding co-ordinator they’d be perfect for this – just don’t pick someone who is likely to get drunk and fall asleep under a table!
What you need to do:
- As with the ’show and tell’ it’s always a good idea if you can complete the guest book yourselves so your guests know what they’re doing.
- Put someone in charge of taking the pics at an appropriate time. For example at a wedding this could be between the ceremony and dinner, or during a drinks reception
- Having all the guests together in one place means that the photos can be taken quickly and easily and inserted into the book immediately
- Show the guests where their picture is in the book, and let them know where the book will be available for completion
- Alternatively, the guest book(s) can be passed around dinner tables and completed at that point (though if you’re doing this we strongly recommend a protective guest book cover in case of any spills)
- Ask the person in charge to gently remind everyone later in the day. I’ve done this by popping round to every table during the dessert, but you could also make a general announcement
- And that should be it. Just prepare to enjoy your fully completed guest book and enjoy your day!
