What are You Supposed to Say in a Wedding Guestbook?

Not everyone can be Oscar Wilde. The ability to come up with witty and profound remarks at amoment’s notice is a talent few possess. To be fair, we’ve kind of tricked ourselves into believing this is common. Most of us have been raised alongside a healthy (or unhealthy) dose of movies and TV. Where actors often exchange witty repartee in quick succession. That they’re reading lines that multiple writers and editors spent hundreds of hours coming up is often forgotten in the magic of consuming entertainment. So we end up pressuring ourselves into coming up with unrealistic speeches that will be remembered and applauded.

Here are some quick tips to keep in mind when it’s your turn to etch your name in a couples’ wedding day:

  1. Keep it Simple
    • The guestbook is not the time recite in detail how happy you are for the couple. In that –a detailed telling of your hopes and dreams for them are better saved for a letter or in-person. A simple, “So happy for you! Love you –Jane Doe” works just fine.
  2. Quote
    • For all the same reasons for when you’re trying to come up with a toast. Quotes aren’t thoughtless and lazy. On the contrary, it’s actually shows you’re connecting the wedding couple with a great thinker or moment in time.
  3. Avoid Inside Jokes and Art
    • This is better left for a wedding cards or personal letters you send to the couple. Tiny flowers and jokes about specific events don’t hold up too well when the family opens the book up twenty years down the road.
  4. That said, You Can Exercise Humor
    • Nanina’s prides itself on being an elegant New jersey wedding venue, but elegance doesn’t always mean seriousness. In the right context, a small joke can be perfect. For example, this is a note that had one wedding couple howling in laughter: “Blah, blah, blah –blah, blah, blah, blah, the money’s in the card.” Of course, in order for this to work, the couple have to know your character and intentions. People know the difference between an honest joke and a back-handed comment. Context is everything.
  5. Just Sign Your Name
    • What? Too simple? If no words come to mind in front of a book, save it for when you can tell them your feelings in person. You will not be excommunicated and run out of town, we promise.

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