POLL: What size guest book for wedding? Photos with white space for notes/signatures. Please advise.

[Harriet Vane]

EDITED TO ADD: Thanks everyone! I decided to go with 8x10. 😍

 

I am putting together a photo book that ds and his intended will use as a guest book for their wedding. The idea is that guests will sign a photo album of their dating + engagement.

 

The only directives I have are:

--Lots of white space for notes/signatures and no frippery. They like a clean look uncluttered by design features. Yes, I can do that.

--200 guests likely to attend. They say possibly more, though I think 200ish is accurate. ETA: Assume a mixed crowd with a high proportion of single twenty-somethings and a solid proportion of married family. Ds and his finacee are both 21 and still in school, and most of their friends are not married.

 

All sizes are available. I assume some people will write a little note and others will sign their name. I do not know in what proportion who will write great amounts and who will be more brief. I keep agonizing over getting a big album (11x14) because 200 people! and it's such a special memento! VERSUS getting a slightly smaller size so that the pages are fuller in appearance, packed with signatures and notes rather than vast white spaces with a siggy here and a note there. Options are 8x10 or smaller (5x7, etc.)

ETA: Books come with 20 pages but I can add pages for $2 each. Some spreads will have multiple photos--for example, I might cluster 2-3 on the sides. Some spreads might have just one photo on one page with the adjacent page blank. There will be space on every 2-page spread for signatures/notes.

 

VOTE: Which size is best?

Edited November 12, 2022 by Harriet Vane
Add the word POLL to title. Edited again to add information.

[Annie G]

I’m no help choosing the size,  but I will say that when dh and I go to events I generally sign for both of us.  I’ll write a sentiment, then sign Steven and Annie G.  If most guests are couples they might do similar to what we do. So not really 200 signatures. 

[Harriet Vane]

5 minutes ago, Annie G said:

I’m no help choosing the size,  but I will say that when dh and I go to events I generally sign for both of us.  I’ll write a sentiment, then sign Steven and Annie G.  If most guests are couples they might do similar to what we do. So not really 200 signatures. 

This is a valid point.

So assume a mixed crowd with a high proportion of single twenty-somethings and a solid proportion of married family. Ds and his finacee are both 21 and still in school, and most of their friends are not married.

[Corraleno]

I'd probably go with 8x10 because that's a more manageable size to handle, store, and display. I think how many signatures/how much space there is on each page depends more on the number of pages than the size of the book. Do all sizes come with the same number of pages? Will there be a photo on every page? How big are the photos?

[Harriet Vane]

Just now, Corraleno said:

I'd probably go with 8x10 because that's a more manageable size to handle, store, and display. I think how many signatures/how much space there is on each page depends more on the number of pages than the size of the book. Do all sizes come with the same number of pages? Will there be a photo on every page? How big are the photos?

Books come with 20 pages but I can add pages for $2 each. Some spreads will have multiple photos--for example, I might cluster 2-3 on the sides. Some spreads might have just one photo on one page with the adjacent page blank. There will be space on every 2-page spread for signatures/notes.

[Arcadia]

11x14 is larger than legal size which might make flipping the pages and signing more difficult. 8x10 is close to letter size and easy to manage. 5x7 would feel too cluttered to me but I need lots of white space. My elementary school autograph book was close to 5x7 in size but I didn’t have any photographs inside.

[Corraleno]

I think if there are a couple of 2-page spreads with one photo and a blank facing page (so people who want to write longer notes have a place to do it) and the rest of the pages have room for around 5-6 signatures, that should be plenty in an 8x10 book. You could add one blank page to the end, or a mostly blank page with just a tiny photo and a "Thanks so much for joining us on our special day!" and then plenty of space around it (and on the blank reverse of the page) if anyone really wants to write a lot. Sort of like "The End" at the back of a book or on the final screen of a silent movie.

[Beth S]

You may find that the guests sign smaller, to fit within the 8x10 space.
If I was signing it, I would not do a "John Hancock" (huge signature) if it was an 8x10 space.
I think this is a great idea.

Or just use a conventional guest book & scan the pages into the photo book.

 

[Clarita]

So, 5x7 would be too small in my opinion. It was way too small for the 300-ish signatures we got for our wedding (DH forgot the thing the guests were actually suppose to sign). 

8x10 would be my vote. My friend got 11x14 and it just looked huge to me. 8x10 feels cozy and look like wow look at all those signatures. 

My favorite guest books have been a poster that guests sign and then can be framed and hung up in the home. That is what my husband forgot to bring on our wedding day. 

[MercyA]

Definitely not 11x14. They are hard to fit on shelves and it's going to look too big for a guest book, IMHO. I'd go with 8x10.

You are so sweet to do this for your ds and his fiancee. 

[smfmommy]

I suggested the smaller size.  My daughter had about 200 guests and they used a large frame 2'x2' (can't remember exact size, it was large but not huge) and there was enough room for everyone to sign around a 5x7 photo of them in the middle.  Not everyone signed, or one signed for the whole family.  As lovely as the memento might be, I have never heard the guest book be the most meaningful thing which is why I suggested keeping it small.