The short version
- Guests write from the invitation they already have, in any browser, with no app and no account; if they have replied, their name is already filled in.
- In an open book, each entry waits until you add it to the book. What you add is what the other guests read, and you can hide or delete it later.
- Or keep the book private: entries go straight into your book, only you and the people planning with you read them, and every guest is told so before writing.
- After the event, one tap emails you the book as a PDF with a cover. The PDF costs nothing extra; the guest book itself is part of the paid guest side.
Guests write from the invitation they already have
There is no second link to send and nothing to install. The guest book is a section of the guest page your invitation already opens, beside the schedule, the directions and the photos. A guest opens it, writes a few words and signs. If they have already replied, the name from their reply is filled in, and they can change it.
The guest page reads in nine languages, so each guest writes in their own. An entry holds up to 1,000 characters, which is a long paragraph rather than a line. Web addresses cannot be posted, so a spam link never reaches your book or its PDF. And if the phone reloads the page halfway through, as the browsers inside Instagram and WhatsApp tend to do when someone switches apps, the half-written words are still there.
You decide what goes in the book
In an open book, a new entry does not appear on the page straight away. It arrives in your list as New, with the name and the time, and it waits. You add it to the book, and from then on every guest who opens the page can read it. If you never add it, no other guest sees it.
Entries sit in three groups, New, In the book and Hidden, and there are three things you can do with one: Add to the book, Hide and Delete. A hidden entry can go back into the book later; a deleted one is gone for good. You do not have to watch the list during the event. The app lets you know when new entries arrive, once for a burst rather than once for every entry, and the list is still there the next morning.
Open to every guest, or private
An open book works like the paper one on the table, only easier to reach: the entries you add form a page that every guest can read, set like the page of a book. That matters more than it sounds. A guest who finds three good entries already there knows what the book is for, and writes more than one line.
A private book is for you. Every entry goes straight into your book and is never shown on the guest page. Before a guest writes, the page tells them the book is private and who will read it: the hosts and the people planning the event with them. If you open the book to every guest later, the entries written while it was private stay private.
After the event, the book as a PDF
When the day is over, one tap emails you the book as a PDF, attached to the message rather than behind a download link. The cover carries your names, or the event’s title, with the date. Then every entry in the book follows in the order it was written, each signed with its name and the time.
The pages are A5, so the book reads comfortably on a phone and prints on A4 when you choose fit to page. Only entries in the book are printed; new and hidden ones stay out. The PDF costs nothing extra, and you can still have it sent after your subscription ends. Print it for the back of a paper guest book, or bind it as a small book of its own.
For a wedding, a birthday or a company event
The guest book works on all ten event types, from a wedding or an engagement to a baby shower, a birthday or a housewarming. The page speaks to guests in a way that fits the occasion: at a wedding it asks for a wish for the two of you, at a company event for a thought on the day.
On a corporate event, the PDF’s cover can carry the company’s name, so the book reads as the record of the day rather than of one person.
Getting guests to write
Three small things do most of the work. Put the invitation’s QR code on the tables rather than by the door: it opens the same page the book is on, so the way in is where people are sitting. Ask for it once, out loud, when dinner is announced. And give people a question rather than a blank space, such as how they met one of you, or what you should do on your first anniversary.
The article on the digital wedding guest book goes through each of these, and through keeping a paper book on the same table for the guests who would rather write by hand.
What it costs
The guest book is part of the guest side of Vowly Event, with the RSVP form and the guest page. The guest side opens when you publish your invitation on Premium, or during the 14-day trial. The PDF of the book costs nothing extra and stays available after your subscription ends. Planning, from the guest list to the seating plan, is free with no time limit, and the pricing page has today’s prices.
Questions people ask
- What is a digital guest book?
- A page where guests leave a few words instead of signing a paper book. In Vowly Event it is a section of your invitation page, so guests reach it from the link or the QR code they already have, and a guest who has replied finds their name filled in.
- Do guests need an app or an account?
- No. The guest book opens in any browser, from the invitation link, in the guest’s own language; the guest page reads in nine.
- Who can read what guests write?
- In an open book, a new entry waits for you. Once you add it to the book, every guest who opens the page can read it, and you can hide or delete it later. In a private book, only you and the people planning the event with you read the entries, and guests are told so before they write.
- When can guests write in it?
- Before, during and after the day, for as long as your guest page is live. You choose whether the guest book is open to everyone with the link or only to guests who have replied. If only invited guests can open your invitation, they write from their personal link.
- Can we print the guest book?
- Yes. One tap emails you an A5 PDF with a cover and every entry in the book, in the order it was written, each with its name and time. It prints on A4 when you choose fit to page.
- Can we use it for a corporate event?
- Yes. It works on all ten event types, and on a corporate event the PDF’s cover can carry the company’s name.
- Is the guest book free?
- The guest book is part of the guest side of Vowly Event, which opens when you publish your invitation on Premium or during the 14-day trial; the PDF of the book costs nothing extra and stays available after your subscription ends.