After the Beep
Hunched over a dimly lit table, struggling to put into written words a heartfelt message for the happy couple is an undesirable but often-encountered experience for wedding guests. The solution? Audio guestbooks. Simply pick up the phone handset and get talking (after that beep!). Give your guests the option of leaving a wholesome voice message that you can listen to over and over, without the struggle of making out messy handwriting or messages hastily scrawled after one-too-many complimentary drinks. Saturne Roberts from Western Australia Wedding & Bride magazine sits down with the owner of Illuminate Photo Booth Hire, Vicky Le, to discuss the rising popularity of audio guestbooks and the options available for couples on their big day.
Image Credit: Illuminate Photo Booth Hire
Guests leaving their mark at a wedding is a long-standing tradition, typically seen through written messages, a group photo and now, through audio guestbooks. Unlike a written message, audio guestbooks are more personal. It’s a message between you, the phone and the couple; no one else can read what you’ve written, so to speak. Le confides her favourite wedding moment is “when the bride and groom leave a message for each other. They are very heartfelt as they are very raw – think-on-the spot messages.” Audio guestbooks provide the opportunity for emotional rawness to be reflected through a voice, not solely reliant on the message itself. Audio guestbooks are an incredible way to unify your guests and have a cherished keepsake of the voices of those you love most sharing their favourite part of the day, a hilarious joke or a romantic moment.
Ring, Ring
Spending the day with friends and family as they come together to celebrate your big day is special and you want to remember it forever. With a voice recording, the enjoyment shared on that day will be immortalised. Audio guestbooks are an interactive and fun way of recording a genuine message for the bridal couple. Le explains that for the bridal couple, “listening to the heartfelt messages through a loved one’s voice can evoke so many emotions, making you smile, laugh and possibly cry.”
This trendy option is easy to use. “All the guest has to do is pick up the phone, wait for the tone, speak and then hangup,” Le says. The messages are then uploaded and fine-tuned to increase the
audio quality, sent off to the couple and voila! With a personalised voice message, the day’s experiences and emotions will wash back over you as you listen. Le explains that her company also offers to incorporate a photo taken in a photobooth to use as a feature image for the MP4 link for each individual message, so you know who it’s from before you even listen.
Hello?
An audio guestbook is not only a more personalised method of leaving a message for the happy couple, but it also means guests aren’t hovering over a book in a dark room trying to see enough to write a coherent message. Regardless of the rising popularity of audio guestbooks, guests might still be unfamiliar with the process and what to expect. Making audio guestbooks successful requires some signage and communication.
Making sure the guestbook is simplified and accessible means the messages can reflect the comfortable aura of the space as well. You take care of your guests, and they’ll shower you with love. When having an audio guestbook at your wedding, instructions on how to use the phone and suggestions on what messages you can leave are extremely useful to ensure guests aren’t left ‘stumbling in the dark’. To make an audio guestbook successful, Le advises to “make sure the guests are aware the audio guestbook is there, and it is located where it’s not extremely loud.” Allowing guests a comfortable space to leave the message encourages the want to leave the message. Another helpful tip is to have the DJ announce that the audio guestbook is ready to use.
Leave a Message!
The emotion behind a whirlwind wedding day can only be truly captured by an audio message. Nothing can capture honesty like a voice cracking with affection or the laughter of your friends and family as they express their love and happiness.
Offering a variety of styles and colours, audio guestbooks are suited to every wedding theme. Le says she also offers backdrops to be hired as well, to create a cohesive and inviting space, as well as an amazing range of optional features including GIFs, black and white ‘glam’ shots, QR code sharing and much more for the photobooths. The audio guestbooks are offered as an add-on feature with a photobooth starting at $300 at Illuminate Photo Booth Hire. Create a memorable experience and lasting keepsakes with audio guestbooks. The photo opportunities available when hiring the guestbook and a photobooth are sure to be fun and unique.
As the modernised guestbook, leaving a message for a newlywed couple has never been so easy and fun. As an interactive concept, the fun comes from more than the novelty of speaking into an old telephone; it comes from the stress-free atmosphere of not having to write Shakespearian messages, but to say what comes to mind in the moment. Le leaves us with this final advice on why couples should invest in an audio guestbook for their wedding: “Capture a reminder of your wedding day through the voices of family and friends and why they have come to celebrate your love on your special day.”