alternative guestbook | caitlin elizabeth photography | wedding ideas

i know the blog has been FULL of wedding-y things this week. no, i'm not a newlywed.  no, i'm not getting married soon. no, i'm not even engaged.  BUT i have about a hundred friends who are all engaged and getting married this summer and next - which is SUPER exciting and has me constantly looking for things they might like.  an interesting trend  i'm noticing on the blogospheres these days is this idea of an 'alternative guestbook.'

i've been to PLENTY of weddings where folks have one of those white books with lines for everyone to sign in on and write a brief message to the bride and groom.  believe me, there is NOTHING wrong with that, it works! but i also am fascinated by the OPTIONS couples have.  there are some seriously creative folks out there:  i've seen polaroids that people take at the wedding and write on then hang on a 'picture wall,' wine corks that you can write messages on, engagement photos bound in an album with page margins for leaving well-wishes, jars to leave a note in that the couple takes on their honeymoon, wishing trees, puzzle pieces that guests sign, rocks to write on that later go in the couple's garden, squares of fabric that are later made in to a quilt... really there is NO limit to what counts as a guest book!

if you know nothing else about me, know that i am IN LOVE with the hand written word.  and SO last saturday i decided to set up my own take on an 'alternative guestbook'

the premise is simple: love notes and quotes, message in a bottle style

guests have slips of paper they can write tidings of joy and happiness, or their favorite quotes from love songs and stories, past or present :) and really, this quote from john donne sums up quite well why i think that writing love notes is such a perfect idea for a guest book instead of just signing your name on a line:

"sir, more than kisses, letters mingle souls, for thus friends absent speak" ~john donne

once they write out their love note, they can slip it into a bottle, which can be saved to open on a later date or buried in true 'time capsule' form.

to give this presentation a little more height/variety i incorporated books - these include 'southern tales' which is a book comprised of short stories written by southerners and 'love poems'

 

 there are about a bajillion bottles like these in various shapes/sizes/colors at the local thrift store.  i've also seen them at flea markets and you can often find them in yard sales for next to nothing!  but each one is interesting, with it's own style and story. 

shakespeare will always hold a very special place in my heart - these little red books? they're acts from some of my favorite plays :) there are so many good quotes! 

"let us go hand in hand, not one before the other" ~shakespeare, comedy of errors (act V scene 1)

"when i saw you i fell in love, and you smiled because you knew" ~shakespeare, hamlet (act II scene 2)

"may your tears come from laughin, you find friends worth havin, with every year passin, they mean more than gold..." ~lady antebellum, never alone

do those wine bottles wrapped in twine look familiar?! you can find out how to make them HERE since they were my most recent PINday craft!  if you get a chance, check out the PINday board and 'like' or 'repin' whichever craft you want to see featured on the blog next week!

there are so many interesting options for brides regarding ANY facet of the wedding day.  guest books shouldn't be left out!  it comes down to what YOU and YOUR HUBBY-TO-BE want!  obviously if you don't particularly value the written word, this wouldn't be for you.  if you are a more tech-y pair, you could get your guests to video blog for you, or if you're into music, get each guest to select a song and have a 'wedding day guest-book-playlist' - are you pickin up what i'm puttin down ya'll?!  make it personal!

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT coming up on the blog next week.  as well as my ALL TIME FAVORITE DESSERT RECIPE. swing back by sometime, there'll be something new to take a gander at ;)

PINday | an alternative to mason jars

my friends can attest to my undying love for mason jars.

they can also attest to the fact that i have BEEN in love with them for forever.  back in college i wrote a blog called the 'mason jar monologues.'  i stored my pens/pencils on my desk in a mason jar.  it was not uncommon to see me walking to class or roll into staff meeting with a mason jar of sweet tea.  one christmas i gave my besties a 'sweet tea making kit' including two mason jars, tea bags, sugar, and a freakin adorable little poem with the foolproof steps to sweeten it just right.  i decorated my dorm room with mason jars full of colorful candy and ribbon (my undying love for ribbon is worthy of a whole separate blogpost)

it deeply saddens my heart to know that all of these bandwagoners have ruined any chance of me actually going through with the mason jar themed wedding i've been dreaming up since i was a wee little thing drinking lemonade from a mason jar on the front porch swing... 

SO for the first official installment for PINday i've prepared an alternative for mason jars :)  

PINday is a new installment on the blog - basically i have a pintrest board devoted to crafty things that YOU can 'like' and i'll try them out for you... because honestly, how many things have you pinned on pintrest that you are NEVER going to do?! that's right. a bunch.

the inspiration for this project came from this DIY yarn bottles project i found.  i mixed it up a little, to fit what resources i had readily available:

MATERIALS: bottle, yarn/twine, hot glue gun 

obviously  you can use whatever you want, and the actual pin on pintrest calls for smaller bottles and yarn, BUT 

i am forever drinking wine 

and i love me some twine, 

so i just decided to use what i had 

and make up a sweet rhyme 

:) 

golly i crack myself up 

also: if you don't already have a hot glue gun, what are you doing with your life?! using it is probably my second favorite thing ever.  drinking wine would be the first.

just a little heads up: this wine (lucky duck) is from wal-mart and it is SO CHEAP and SO GOOD.  i particularly liked this bottle, which was a sauvignon blanc from chile i believe.  they have all different types - some not as good as others, but hey, for $4 a bottle what can you expect?

seriously though: twine is so useful.  and it seems to last forever.  i've had this roll since September and i use it every chance i get: decorating, packaging prints/products for clients etc. 

starting this can be a little tricky - i found that NOT having huge globs of very warm adhesive all over the place is helpful - less is more when it comes to hot glue guns - you don't want a huge hunk of glue at the top where you start wrapping the twine around.  i took a little dab and put it just inside the top of the wine bottle, attached the twine to it, let the glue cool just a little so i knew the twine wasn't going anywhere, and then started working my way around the very top of the bottle, using very small amounts of glue to make sure the twine covered the top lip of the bottle completely  

after you clear the top of the wine bottle it's easy as pie!  just keep wrapping the twine around the bottle, stopping every once in a while to put a little dab of hot glue to make sure the twine stays put!  again, less is more.  you don't want big pockets of glue sticking through between your twine

from start to finish this project took me about 45 minutes, but i'm sure that once you did it a few times it wouldn't be as time consuming. (or if you used smaller bottles)

these would be great to just have around the house as decorations OR you could use them as centerpieces or accents in tablescapes :)  you can check out the finished product later on in the week when i feature this DIY PINday project in a special little something i thought up over the weekend!!  

check out the PINday pinboard too and vote for the next project by 'liking' whatever you want to see me craft :)  thanks ya'll!