Reduced wedding guests?

Have you had to reduce the number of wedding guests due to covid?

On the one hand, we think this sucks! On the other hand, we would like to congratulate you on your big day…which is going to be AMAZING! We would love to help in creating some special artwork to help you remember this day forever.

So….how does the Alternative Guest Frame work?

Well, normally it works like this.

Before the wedding, we agree on the ‘message card’ to be printed. This is an A6 card, white with a message on one side and blank on the reverse. The message can be printed in a typestyle and colour of your choice from our template (but if you have a specific colour theme we can match it). Our suggested wording for the card is as per below but you can change this as you wish.

We normally suggest one message card per person at their place setting at the reception. We often find that couples will write a joint message, but it is nice to offer them the choice to write an individual message if they would like to.

Your guests the have the reception to think about what they will write, no time pressure and this is usually a good conversation starter…”remember that time when….!”. Feedback suggests that the conversation about what to write has often erupted into tears of laughter or tears of joy (especially those sentimental messages from your parents/grandparents etc.

This in itself is a great experience with The Alternative Guest Book – a great conversation starter at the reception and you will probably find a lovely balance of funny (maybe rude!) messages from friends and heart-warming sincere messages from closer relatives. We feel that’s what makes The Alternative Guest Book really great – a reflection of those personalities of family and friends that are closest to you both.

You then gather the message up the cards, send these back to us and we get down to creating some stunning artwork for you.

When you send the cards back to us, you need to think about three things:

1. What image you want to use for the centre of the frame. This can be your favourite wedding photo, or, if we have it on file, a sketch of your venue.

2. What size frame would you like? Maybe a square, or one of our portrait or landscapes in two further sizes – We need an idea of this so that we can tailor the artwork to fit this shape.

3. But most important, for us to get started on the frame is to decide whether you want us to do one of the two following options:

i. “Scanned”: This is where we scan and edit message card, several times.

ii. “Typed”: Maybe it too difficult to read Grandpa’s writing. Maybe there is a few typo’s from one or two. Maybe a typed format could work better? This is where we take each message card and we type the comment. We use a variety of ‘hand-writing’ styles in various sizes to mix things up and create a stylish look.

You can view the two contrasting styles by taking a look at our new Pinterest board which can be found at:

www.pinterest.co.uk/alternativeguestbook/messages-typed/

www.pinterest.co.uk/alternativeguestbook/messages-scanned/

We want you to be fully involved in your frame and we want to get it absolutely perfect for you. After we have got each message just right, whether that is scanned or typed, we will send through a soft copy proof. We then work with you and get the artwork just right. As a final step, just before we print and frame, you will receive a hard copy proof of the artwork. Although a reduced quality copy, (it is a photocopy rather than high quality print) this will be in the exact size of the final frame (both artwork and surrounding frame) so will give a great feel for the overall finished frame.

Once you are at the “100% absolutely can’t wait to receive, love it, can’t wait to get it on the wall” stage we will get this framed and shipped to you.

The best bit is receiving your feedback. That always makes our day and a series of high fives in the office. We promise you will love it. Guaranteed!

So that’s how it normally works, but we have a slight variation

At the present time we know that numbers of guests allowed at weddings are sadly still limited. That won't stop you having the best day ever however.

We have put our heads together to see how we can help with your Alternative Guest Book. How those guests not able to attend can still be part of your wedding day memories and how you can have a unique keepsake that still includes all your loved family and friends who would normally have been there if it wasn’t for covid.

What about if we got their messages too!

We can provide additional cards to guests that cannot attend your wedding. These cards have a slightly different wording which is as per below.

These cards are supplied with a self-addressed envelope so your guests can easily return them to you and an additional envelope that you can send both the message card and return envelope to your guests. You can send these cards prior to your wedding and either get them to return the original message card (if going for the scanned option) or they can simply email you your message if you are going for the typed option.

Even if these messages don’t get back to you until after your wedding that’s not a problem, we can wait and produce the frame in a time at your convenience.

Offer for covid-impacted weddings

Our published prices will include message cards for all of your wedding guests on the day. The RRP for additional message cards for those guests not attending the day are £2.00. This includes the personalised message card, return envelope pre-printed with RSVP address and envelope to send both of these printed with your names and date of wedding on reverse flap.

We are providing up to x40 (RRP value £80) for free as part of our covid-impacted offer.

Let’s create a unique frame, capturing your special messages from your loved family and friends!

Give us a call or email. Take care and have the best wedding ever!

Rachael & Jamie

(and our daughters Lily and Faith earning their pocket money!)