Video and audio guest books are the hottest new commodities at weddings these days.
In lieu of (or in addition to) the traditional guest book which attendees sign, couples are inviting guests to pick up a retro-style phone or hop into a video recording booth and spill their hearts out for the newlyweds.
“People are really falling in love with the old-school charm of it all,” said Andy White, founder of the Telephone Guestbook, noting that couples loved the “mix of retro and emotion,” and that these recorded messages — full of laughter, inside jokes or retellings of favorite memories and late-night ramblings — become a “timeless keepsake.”
For his service, which starts at $219, the telephone style of your choice is shipped to you before your big day so couples can pre-record a greeting inviting their loved ones to leave them a message after the beep. After the wedding, the phone is returned and the recorded messages are uploaded for you to cherish forever.
White shared that the funniest one he has heard to date was a fellow who “spent three minutes apologizing to the couple for ‘that thing that happened in Cancun.’ ”
Unfortunately, White and his team are yet to find out what “that thing” was. Guess some shenanigans are better left off the record — even when you’re literally on one.
A similar service is offered by FêteFone. After the big day, save your messages on the included USB or listen to them through the phone itself, which is yours to keep. Prices start at $249.
Aside from hilarious quips like Jerry Maguire’s “Show me the money!” or couples channeling “Seinfeld’s” George Costanza’s iconic answering machine jingle, CEO and founder Michael Radolinski said that such a guest book experience can lead to heartbreakingly important keepsakes.
“More than one bride has told us she found a message from her mom after she passed away, and how hearing her voice again saying ‘I love you’ or ‘I’m proud of you’ on such a happy day hits harder than any photo ever could,” he said.
Many couples said they would have never known some of the things that had happened at the wedding unless their friend had confessed about it into the rotary phone, said Jacob Yackley, CEO and co-founder of After The Tone. “It’s the perfect way for the couple to learn of the little things they may have missed while cutting the cake or doing their rounds,” he said.
Their service adds the option of getting the messages saved on a vinyl record. And, as per Yackley, “we’re now at 1 in 100 weddings in the US.”
There are “plenty of the classic drunk confessionals and cry confessionals,” said Yackley. Then, there are other standouts like when “one maid of honor confessed that she saw the bride’s new father-in-law almost break his leg doing the worm, or a groomsman jokingly confessed that he left his special brownies at the bride and groom’s house,“ he said.
Or why not go one further with a video guest book? Safe to say, those grainy, man-on-the-street-style bar mitzvah videos of yesteryear have gotten a serious overhaul in the 21st century.
Voast, a video rental service, can be set up in less than five minutes and requires no attendant to staff. Couples choose questions before the wedding for guests to answer which are entered into the digital device, and then guests can record up to three minutes of footage per question.
If you wish, you can add a professional edit of the footage you collect or a keepsake video book; a weekend rental starts at $1,240.
“Don’t bad-mouth your spouse in front of other people. Just have fun.”
Grandparents more than 40 years into their marriage
“Voast has captured over 40,000 video messages, so we’ve heard it all,” quipped marketing director Hannah Fuchigami.
In July, a couple invited friends and family to their engagement party. Shortly after guests arrived, they took the whole room by surprise when they asked them to sit down for the ceremony. Turns out, it was their wedding. They asked each guest, via the video guest book, “On a scale of 1-10, how surprised were you today?” Ten was the most common answer.
Of course, as cocktails get flowing, video messages get a little raunchier “as the liquid courage hits.”
At a wedding in Flagstaff, a bridal party checked in after each drink. “Groomsmen lost their shirts somewhere before they started recreating the couple’s engagement photos. The last drink on record was #17,” she shared. “They showed dance moves, reported about which bridesmaids were still single, and recounted some rated-R experiences when asked about their favorite memories.”
Beyond jokes, heartfelt tributes get preserved on camera, too. One dad took the opportunity to do the rest of his speech, since he respectfully stayed to his five-minute time limit during the reception, said Fuchigami. “He had more to say, and the bride is so glad she got this on video.”
Or take one 9-year-old’s stoic response when a couple prompted guests to share their advice for the newlyweds: “Stay faithful.”
Grandparents more than 40 years into their marriage also had sound advice: “Don’t bad-mouth your spouse in front of other people. Just have fun.”
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