day 17: {guest post} jess.

each monday of this 31 days series, one of my blogging friends will be guest posting here. first it was sonnie, then jamie shared last week. today is my friend jess! jess lived with me for a semester in college, and is now out in san diego with her husband, matt. jess had a beautiful athens wedding a couple of years ago. she is expecting a little girl soon, and (like sonnie) is due on my wedding weekend!

I am so excited to be part of Marisa's 30 days of wedding blogging extravaganza! {And I'm thrilled to have another January-bride friend... winter weddings are so special!}

Two years ago, I was in the throws of the last semester of graduate school, planning a wedding, and preparing to start my new life across the country with my amazing husband-to-be. I remember wanting so badly to keep a level head about wedding planning, but in today's world of wedding blogs, it proved to be very difficult.

The thing I discovered about wedding blogs is that I felt like my wedding wouldn't be "good enough" if every element wasn't either DIY or way out of my budget. I realize that isn't the intention of these well-meaning bloggers, but it's hard not to fall into that way of thinking. So once I picked my colors and decided what I wanted the overall feel of the day to be, I picked just a couple of elements that could be a little unique and personal. One of those was the guest book!

I didn't want a book that would be tucked away in a closet with a bunch of signatures in it. I didn't want to frame a picture and have guests sign the matte because I wasn't sure I would always have a place to hang it. I wanted something that could showcase some of our engagement pictures while also giving guests a way to write a personal message if they chose.

I saw a picture somewhere that inspired me to make my own guest book. I purchased a 10x10 black scrapbook, added some engagement pictures, made little envelopes using this tutorial, cut pieces of paper to fit inside the envelopes, and my guest book was created!

Here are some pictures of the finished product:

Several times since being married, Matt and I have pulled out our guest book to read the messages and have been blessed all over again by the amazing people God has put in our lives. It accomplished all the things I was hoping and probably the wedding element in which I am most pleased!

*marisa's marks: jess is so right -- all of the blogs out there can be overwhelming & make you think it's possible to have every detail be just perfect. but choosing the elements that mean the most to you and spending your time & creative energy on those, that's what makes your day perfect. especially something that will last like a guest book! thanks for sharing, jess!!