Tag: Guest Book

Personalizing the Guest Experience

Leave a comment

One huge trend for weddings in 2018 is emphasizing the guest experience at your wedding. While guests have always been invited to participate in games for the newlyweds, many people look to have an unforgettable experience at a wedding now.

Here are a couple of ways I thought would be a great way to enhance the guest experience:

A Not-So-Traditional Guest Book
Guestbooks have typically been used to send the newlyweds good wishes for their marriage. Though traditional guestbooks ask for guests to physically write something down with pen and paper, think about changing it up. Have guests take individual Poloroid shots to scrapbook themselves. Or have them record videos to compile later into a larger guest-video.

Inside Weddings
Poppy Shoppe Productions

Food
It’s no surprise that food is always a big part of weddings. Change things up from the usual seated dinner with an interactive buffet, like a build-your-own bruschetta or sundae station. Or incorporate some local favorites so that out-of-town guests can appreciate their travel time. You can even make the food Insta-worthy (Coffee in a cone, anyone?).

Mazel Moments

Culinary Envy

Social Media Engagement
Wedding hashtags are so… 2016. While it’s still fun and convenient to incorporate a wedding hashtag to easily find your guests pictures on social media, there is now an emphasis to create Instagram-worthy photo opportunities. So nix the photo booth and create a profile picture-worthy background instead. Floral walls have been around for a while, so add a sign to make it more personalized.

Pinterest

Wedding Weekly

Create meaningful moments with Tribute!

Leave a comment

Guestbooks have become a staple within the wedding industry. But sometimes, it’s difficult to write down everything someone wants to say about a couple on the wedding day — there are just all the memories, the nostalgia, and the feelings! 


Tribute allows for couples to create video guestbooks to remember and keep for a lifetime, all while giving their guests ample time to say everything they want to say. With a quick and easy set-up, Tribute sends out links to guests for them to upload personalized tribute videos specifically about the couple. The videos then get compiled for the ultimate personalized gift for the couple-to-be! 


Tribute can also send out Tribute booths to weddings, an update on the classic photo booth that records videos of their guests’ tributes to compile for a post-wedding treat. 


Check out a sample here. Visit here to get $19 off your first Tribute video. 

Elizabeth + Jim: The Reception

Leave a comment
The first post was about Elizabeth’s and Jim’s morning and ceremony. Now it’s time for the party!

All photos by ZR photography.



I loved how well the bridesmaids dresses and shoes went together. They were such a fun option!

After the church, the group went to Olive Park for great skyline shots.




While everyone was beginning to enjoy the cocktail hour, E+J took a moment to get great shots on La Salle Street Bridge.

During the cocktail hour, nearly all of the guests enjoyed the outdoor cocktail hour with great drinks, food and weather!

During the cocktail hour, guests signed the photo book which included photos from their engagement.


Before entering the reception, all the guests were able to talk with E+J in a receiving line. I don’t see these very often, but it’s a great opportunity for the bride and groom to visit with every guest.

I love baby’s breath!


Elizabeth’s centerpieces went perfectly with the decor at Fulton’s. There was a mix of tall and short arrangements.



The cake decorated with purple flowers.

Finally, it is time to eat and party!

Following the first course, the bride and groom danced their first dance.

Then it was time for everyone to join in the fun. I have never seen such a packed dance floor all night! High Society Orchestra were amazing!

Elizabeth and Jim stayed until the party stopped! The band had everyone surround them to dance the last song of the night.

I am so glad to have worked with these two and wish them all the best!

Vino!

Leave a comment

With our love for wine, I knew it needed to have an important part in our big day…besides just drinking it 🙂 I had been struggling with deciding on a guest book for awhile and had settled on a picture book. I was satisfied but not thrilled with my decision. To be honest, I didn’t want to spend anymore time brainstorming. Click here for some ideas of other guest book options.

Then, one of my brides I worked with this fall used a large wine bottle with her own label as their guest book. I loved it! I want a large wine bottle like the one below and silver markers for all of our guests to sign. Eventually, we hope to live in a home where we can put this on our bar.

But then, I changed my mind when I saw this idea. We are going to pick two bottles of wine, one for our one year anniversary and one for our five year anniversary. Kyle is already excited to choose the two bottles! We’re doing to do both ideas and give the options to our guest to choose.
We won’t have as many bottles as this picture, but the overall look is beautiful and what I want to recreate. I like the candles and signs to let the guest know what each bottle represents.

The only thing I did not like about the wine bottle as a guest book is that guests can’t leave us notes or messages. So I’m going to include an advice jar. My only challenge is for these two ideas to go together and for it to fit into the rest of my theme.

Off to Paper Source to find some great options!

Sharon + Carlos

1 Comment

Sharon and Carlos were planning an elegant and sophisticated wedding, but they definitely wanted to have fun, too! Their wedding was a perfect blend of both – the dance floor was packed all night.

Band Latin Street Dancing

Cake Rolf’s Patisserie

Ceremony St. Ita’s

DJ ETV Productions

Florist Vale of Enna

Hair Alice Salazar

Makeup Nika Vaughan

Photo Booth The Traveling Photo Booth

Photographer Jeremy Lawson Photography

Reception Chicago Marriott O’Hare

Transportation The Trolley Car & Bus Company

Videographer Ben Mahoney Productions

All photographs by Jeremy Lawson.

All the girls got ready at the couple’s home. The lighting was perfect – a sunny day always helps get everyone excited!

The beautiful church where the ceremony was held.

Sharon and Carlos incorporated their Filipino and Cuban traditions into the ceremony.

After, they stopped at one of their favorite restaurants, 90 Miles, for a quick spin.


Jeremy always captures unusual and fun photos!


The Best Man signs the photo mat during cocktail hour. This is always a great keepsake for the bride and groom.


Sharing a slice of yummy cake.


Carlos and Sharon thanked all of their guests who traveled from all over the country, and kicked off the party.


Though many of my brides no longer toss the bouquet, I think it can be a lot of fun with the right crowd. Sharon seems to agree!


Leading the way onto the dance floor!



Tomorrow, I’ll feature some of the details from their wedding.

Kristen + Scott: The Details

Leave a comment

As mentioned earlier this week, Kristen and Scott were recently featured in Brides Magazine. My first post highlighted Kristen and Scott’s ceremony. My last post showed their reception photos.


All photos by Olivia Leigh.

The flowers in Kristen’s jewelry were complemented by her beautiful Oscar de la Renta shoes.


I love all things paper, and I definitely appreciate a cohesive stationery suite. Here are their programs.


The bridal bouquet incorporated hydrangeas and orchids.


They used a book from the Art Institute as a guest book. It was fun for out of town guests to flip through the colorful pages about Chicago.


Their modern centerpieces included moss, orchids, carnations and succulents. Here is the arrangement on the head table.


These books from the Art Institute doubled as favors and escort cards. I did the calligraphy on the belly bands, which matched the invitations.


Decor included letters from Anthropologie and framed family photos.


This was such a fun wedding. Thanks for letting me be a part of your big day!

Engagement Party

Leave a comment


If you are having an engagement party this year, why not announce your wedding date with a custom silhouette print from Etsy shop Nelladesigns? I think this would look cute displayed at a party and then hung in your home.


Alternatively, the framed print could be used in lieu of a guest book at a wedding.

Clare + Tom, the party…

1 Comment
Yesterday, I posted about Clare + Tommy’s morning.
Today’s post is going to focus on their gorgeous wedding reception!
In lieu of traditional escort cards, the couple tied labels to Izze bottles of soda.

For their signature drink, the couple ordered custom stir sticks…

… as well as custom napkins.

I am never a fan of a boring guest book. Clare + Tommy had a gorgeous framed photo made for them on etsy.

The room was lovely! With the long tables, the bride worked with Scarlet Petal to come up with the most gorgeous decor. When guests brought their bottles of Izze soda, it just made the table look more colorful!

A close-up of the flowers. Like me, Clare favors dense arrangements.

I love this shade of sherbert orange used for the card box.

The couple’s cake was very chic and modern.


Since the venue boasted an extra long bar, the couple set the candy buffet at the far end in lieu of favors.

It was a sweet treat for the guests to take home that evening.

Clare + Tommy, I had a wonderful time spending your wedding day with you!

Would you like some advice?

1 Comment

In lieu of a guest book, I have had many couples have an advice jar. I saw this fabulous tray on Jayson Home & Garden and totally thought, THAT WOULD MAKE A FANTASTIC advice jar.

If you have never heard of such a thing, it is fairly simple: you write advice on your in a note to the couple. It’s make a much better momento than a book with a bunch of signatures.