DIY Rustic Wedding Guest Book

Prior to getting married (or getting engaged for that matter!) my Pinterest account was almost entirely dedicated to wedding ideas.

So when it came time to actually get married, I was well prepared!  I knew I didn’t want to go the traditional route and have a guest book.  It was just another thing that would collect dust in my home, and I could pretty much guarantee that I would never look at it.

Instead, I wanted some sort of board that our guests could sign, and include personal messages on.  I began scanning the internet for custom boards that we could use.  I learned pretty quickly that these will cost you over $100 easily.  In our case, even more since we had 200+ guests.

More guests=more space needed.  So buying online was no longer an option.

My only option was to create one of my own.  This was a quick project and it cost me less than $10!

I also created this gorgeous farmhouse style Window Frame Seating Chart that went perfectly with my wooden guest book.


Wooden Guest Book Board Tutorial

Materials

  • Six solid wood 2×4 boards cut to same length (Tip: HD or Lowes can do this for you if you don’t have a saw)
  • Two solid wood 2×4 boards cut to 22″ (Or slightly smaller than total height)
  • 12- 3″ Screws
  • Small can of stain (Tip: Check your garage before heading out to the store!)
  • Rags
  • Drop Cloth
  • White Paint
  • Optional: Scotch Tape and/or Stencil


Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Your Workstation

Start by setting up your workstation.  For me, this was my living room floor, but regardless of where you work, I highly suggest using a drop cloth to avoid getting the stain everywhere!


Step 2: Arrange Your Boards

Arrange all six boards face down, and line them up evenly in the order that you like best.  

I flipped a few around until I decided on the level of imperfection i wanted to show on the front. Once you have arranged the boards in a way that you like, you are going to place the two support pieces perpendicular to them. Roughly 3″ from the end on each side.


Step 3: Secure Your Boards

Next, using screws, drill the support pieces into each of the wood boards.  As shown below.  If you like you could also utilize wood glue to get a good hold.

Note: I forgot to take a picture before I stained it πŸ™‚


Step 4: Stain

These are my best staining tips (it’s easy and difficult to mess up):

  • Using a rag (I prefer old white t-shirts) rub stain onto the wood.
  • Be sure not to put too much on, as it will clump or sink through the cracks.
  • Repeat this step to achieve a darker appearance.

Allow the stain to dry before moving onto step 5.


Step 5: Adding A Heart Decal with Initials

Using tape, create your initials.  Make sure the tape is pressed onto the board to avoid paint seeping under it, and paint a large heart around it.  (I did this freehand, and left the initials as negative space, but you could always use a stencil!)


Step 6: Enjoy your new board!  

I highly suggest heading to your local craft store and buying a few different paint markers to see which works best with your stain.

 


Have you completed a similar project for your guest book?  If so, I would love to hear from you!

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16 Comments

  1. amindfultravellerblog August 5, 2017 at 10:10 am

    That’s so cool Laura. πŸ™‚

    1. Laura Cameron August 5, 2017 at 3:28 pm

      Thanks you πŸ™‚

    2. da-AL August 5, 2017 at 6:15 pm

      totally agree, amindfultravellerblog – thanks, Laura, for visiting my blog – am much enjoying your lovely site πŸ™‚

      1. Laura Cameron August 5, 2017 at 8:32 pm

        Thank you!!! Glad you like it so far πŸ™‚

  2. Hannah (BitterSweet) August 6, 2017 at 9:25 pm

    What a lovely idea! My sister is in the middle of planning her wedding now, so I’ll have to send this along to her. πŸ™‚

    1. Laura Cameron August 6, 2017 at 10:14 pm

      Thank you! I would love to know if she ends up doing something like this πŸ™‚

  3. diyingmachine August 7, 2017 at 5:01 pm

    This is such a neat idea πŸ™‚

    1. Laura Cameron August 7, 2017 at 5:05 pm

      Thank you! I don’t think my husband would have appreciated it too much if I spent $200 for one on Etsy πŸ™‚

  4. Shawna August 8, 2017 at 12:02 am

    This is such a cute idea. I love it.

    1. Laura Cameron August 8, 2017 at 7:22 am

      Thank you so much Shawna! It was so easy and cheap πŸ™‚ most people could probably make it entirely out of scrapes from their garage too!

  5. Jescole August 14, 2017 at 3:44 pm

    It’s so much more fun to create something yourself than purchase it especially when you know it’s going to be so sentimental!

    1. Laura Cameron August 14, 2017 at 4:10 pm

      Exactly! And saving the money doesn’t hurt. At the end of the day, I simply love building things with my own hands. I appreciate and embrace the imperfections that come with building something by hand.

  6. Offrs August 14, 2017 at 10:19 pm

    amazing book! Great job! Enjoy weekend.

  7. ihaveabadsenseofhumor August 18, 2017 at 5:15 pm

    This is such a creative and good idea! It looks great, and I like how it’s a bit different from what people usually do. I hope the wedding was awesome😊

    1. Laura Cameron August 18, 2017 at 9:29 pm

      It was absolutely beautiful πŸ™‚ went by too fast and now almost 2 years later it is a blur that I barely remember!

  8. How to Create a Window Frame Seating Chart || Damsel with a Drill October 1, 2021 at 10:03 pm

    […] was recently reviewing my β€œRustic Wedding Guestbook” tutorial and it reminded me that I never shared my beautiful window frame seating […]

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