Fingerprints are for Jailbirds and Wedding Guests

I'm not really sure what most couples do with their guest book after the wedding.  Personally, I think I would put it in a box in storage and never look at it again.  It honestly seems like a waste to me and I'd rather save the space and a tree.  I guess some people might look through theirs at some point, but that's just not me.  I think this is a pretty common concern because as I started looking I realized that there are a lot of alternatives out there for the traditional guest book. 

I've seen guest books that vary slightly from this theme by asking the signers questions to answer about married life or the bride and groom, incorporating polaroid pictures of the guests on the page where they sign, or making a hard cover book out of the engagement photos with spaces for guests to sign.  These add a bit to the traditional guest book. but they're still not really our style.

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Probably the most popular guest book alternative is the photo mat.  Basically, a photo from your engagement session is placed in a white photo mat and the guests sign the photo mat as they come in.  So later, you can put it on the wall to remember all the people who were with you on your special day.  The cool thing about this idea is that it's yet another way to use your engagement photos. 

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There are some variations on this theme, but overall they all have the same idea.

One of my favorite ideas was the puzzle book guest book.  You can get them cut into any shape you want or even have a photo of the two of you printed on the puzzle.  K and I have done many a puzzle together and really enjoy our game/puzzle nights!  So it'd be perfect for us.  I like this option because it allows our guests to leave their thoughts and wishes for us to read, rather than just their name. 

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After looking around for awhile I came upon this lovely.

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Each of the leaves of the tree is a fingerprint of a wedding guest.  They can write their names on their fingerprints if that's what you want, but they could also "leaf" just their fingerprint. I know, I'm so punny.  I love this idea because we can hang it up in our house after the wedding so it won't rot in a drawer or box.  We both also really love the outdoors so the tree is just up our alley. 

They sell these on Etsy, but they're pretty expensive.  So we've decided to make our own!  I'm excited to make this project and let you all know how it turns out.

The one thing that I wasn't so happy about with this guest book alternative is that it's just the names and our guests don't leave us with any of their wishes or hopes for our future.  So we've decided to incorporate this aspect of the guest book in a different way.  I know, you're dying to hear all about my idea, but I'll have to save this for another post!  So... stay tuned!