Every bride and groom wants their wedding day to be memorable. You hire a wedding planner, such as those found at Traci's Touch, because they are your ally in creating the wedding of your dreams. Your wedding planner can help coordinate all the puzzle pieces so that they fall perfectly in place to create a completed masterpiece on your wedding day. There are little fun touches that you and your guests can create together on your wedding day. Although gifts are nice and should be cherished, it's not always practical to keep them forever. However, when you have all your guests contribute to a wish book at your wedding, you have a single keepsake to always treasure that includes something special from everyone, including your partner!

A wish book is a journal or scrapbook where every guest records a sentence or two about what they wish for the bride and groom in their married lives. To make it extra special, the bride and groom should also write a short bit about what they wish for each other in the marriage. A wish book can be as fancy or simple as you want. Here's how to create one.

Step 1: Set up the supplies on a decorated table on the day of the wedding. The bride and groom will be adding their wishes at the end, since they may be of a private nature. So, the book should be empty at first except for text that should read "I wish for (name of the bride and groom)" at the top of each page. That should guide each guest to write their wish on a separate page. The supplies should include:

• The blank journal or scrapbook itself
• Dozens of pens (Have plenty of extra on hand as people will accidentally walk off with them.)
• Stamps
• Stencils
• Colored pens or pencils
• Stickers
• Glitter
• Glue

The idea is to allow people to utilize their page to create a decorative statement, whether it's just through words or with the use of other crafting materials.

Step 2: Create a sign explaining the wish book. Keep it simple, short, and sweet. You may choose to have a sign that says something like; "Welcome to the wedding of (married couple's names). Write a sentence or two about what you wish for them on a page dedicated just to you! Let them know the wonder that awaits them!"

Step 3: Encourage the parents of the bride and groom and members of the wedding party to be the first to write in the book. They may be invited to do so at the rehearsal dinner, but they should definitely do so by the time the other guests arrive on the wedding day.

Step 4: Have someone at the table to guide guests as they arrive. This person should explain to the guests that they should write their well wishes in the book. Although the sign is nice, not everyone will bother to read it and may mistake the wish book for a simple guest book. Also, you may offer something near the table to entertain guests who are waiting for people who take a long time to write their wishes in the book.

Step 5: Have someone gather the wish book and present it to the bride and groom at the wedding reception. At that time, they can write their own wishes for one another, or they may wait to do that on their honeymoon.

Finally, keep in mind that the wish book may become a wedding tradition that the bride and groom pass on to their offspring and tell others about. A wish book can be something that they look back on decades later and appreciate reading messages and loving wishes from people who are no longer there. It can be an important, meaningful part of a wedding.