Friday, March 28, 2008

Miscellaneous Wedding Crap

There are two things that I really don't want, but have been told that I must have:

  • A Guest Book
  • A Card Box
The guest book I am back and forth on. I had an idea for a play on the Polaroid albums that everyone's doing, but with film, that will be a $300 guest book. I wonder if I will be sad in 10 years if I skip it? Or, if I get one, will it be something that will just take up space on a bookshelf? I have a few ideas for things to submit Etsy Alchemy requests for, so I'll sleep on it for awhile. Thankfully, this is one thing that I've got time on.

Now for the card box. Let's be honest. They are u.g.l.y. And I can't spend $50 on something that I'm going to pitch the next day. All of my girlfriends insist that I need one to hold cards, which is probably true. I've been searching everywhere for a large glass bowl. Then today I remembered this:



    Image: Crate & Barrel

    It's perfect and I can use it again! And for $37, who cares if it gets nicked up? I'm thinking that I can put a band of ribbon or paper in the middle for decoration. I actually registered for the more expensive, prettier punchbowl at Crate & Barrel. Maybe I'll swap it out for this sure thing.

    11 comments:

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    Chitown Wife said...

    OMG. Thank you so much. I thought I was the only one that thought these things were ridiculous. I ended up buying a box and then decided this is stupid and not me!

    Claudia said...

    I got a lovely piece of paper and stuck a picture of hubby-to-be and myself in the centre and placed it in a large frame without the glass. I left it on a table by the entrance with different pens and got the guests to write a little something and sign it. 6 years later it hangs in my sitting room and I still love to go back to it every now and then to read the comments

    Tara Vorhes said...

    i think that if you do use something as a place to put cards... then the punch bowl is fantastic idea- it fits your dots! And most definitely can be repurposed {I registered for one of the punch bowls too!}.

    i will admit- i kind of like the idea of having something for cards... if i was to give a wad of cash or a check {i prefer giving stuff but some peeps like to give money} I would want somewhere to put it so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle...

    ley said...

    Did you hear that they're they're discontinuing Polaroids??

    I agree they're cumbersome and ugly. We have an old birdcage that we're using as a card holder (I actually used it when I graduated from highschool, too!), and we found this really cute idea for a guest book:

    We supply small notecards and envelopes in our wedding colours. Guests write their well-wishes on the cards and put them in the envelopes, unsealed. Then, after the wedding, we glue the envelopes (with cards inside) into a scrapbook to preserve. It's more work than just having them sign a book, but it's cuter and slightly more interactive for the guests.

    Wow, that was a long comment. So sorry.

    EthidiumBromide said...

    I knew I would never use a standard wedding guestbook -- it would get tossed on a shelf and never opened again. Instead we opted for a gorgeous coffee table book full of pictures of the city where we are getting married. There is lots of margin space and blank white areas under some of the pictures for guests to sign. Since it's much more interesting than just signatures, we'll actually keep the book out on our coffee table and it will serve as a memory of where we got married with the additional bonus of the well wishes written by those in attendance.

    Katherine said...

    I feel the same way about these things too, but I am told they are a must have, especially since I am marrying into a northern family and apparently they are ALL about cards with money up there.

    Anyway, I saw on the Road to the Aisle blog, a post for a DIY photo frame card box. Here is the link.

    http://roadtotheaisle.blogspot.com/2007/09/diy-photo-frame-cardbox.html

    If you're not looking to spend a lot of money then maybe this is a good idea. Also, I am sure it can be disassembled and the frames used elsewhere.

    jessica lynn said...

    i agree, most card boxes are horridly ugly. i love the idea of your bowl, I would just be afraid that some of the cards might come up "missing" (i know its a horrid thought but we are having our reception in a hotel and who knows what some people might do) since anyone can just reach in. As far as the guestbook, I think we're going to do the picture mat frame thing. But I like the coffee table book idea mentioned above....

    Kate said...

    I love your idea. Most of the card boxes I have seen so far are horrible! One way you could ensure that no cards get taken (although I don't think they would at ANL) is to have one of the important people you want to be a part of the wedding to greet guests at the reception and take care of the card bowl :)

    Big Shot said...

    For a guestbook, we made a photobook on iphoto of family photos from both sides focusing on couples and old family wedding photos. Kodakgallery and a few other photo processing sites have similar products. I just like the mac product better. Anyways, the front page has instructions for guests to sign next to any of the photos. I figured this way its special and interesting for the guests, especially family, and something we'd keep around, probably on the coffee table because of the family photos.

    Anonymous said...

    I completely agree about both the Guest Book and the ugly card boxes. A newer idea for the Guest Box is to do the framed photo that your guests get to sign. We did that at my wedding at it came out great. Because we met at Wrigley Field we took our engagement photo in front of the Wrigley sign. Then everyone signed their well wishes (and a lot of "Go Cubbies") but I think its perfect and plan to hang it in my gameroom someday!