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Brides and grooms these days are departing from the old standards and seeking new alternatives for just about everything at their weddings. The traditional guest books, where guests sign their name at the reception in a bound book, is currently being replaced by something called a Wishing Tree.

The Wishing, or Wish Tree, is a custom that hearkens back to the Dutch. They had a tradition of hanging wishes on trees to send the bride and groom off to their new life together. And that’s exactly what modern couples are choosing for their guest book alternatives.

Out with the line of guests wait to sign a book. Instead, guests are delighted by an arrangement of branches, often strung with decorative lights or crystals. They’ll find paper leaves or card stock squares on which to write a wish to the happy couple. When their wish is written, they attach it to the tree. By the end of the evening the tree will be full of lovely cards sending wishes of happiness all around. More than one guest can write at a time, so there’s really no waiting.

How can you make a Wishing Tree part of your wedding? It’s not that hard. Just be prepared to assign someone the task of assembling the reception decoration ahead of time. There’s no good way to move it in one piece, so you’ll need to have someone in charge of putting it together at the sign in table.

The branches for your tree can be as simple or as ornate as you like. You might choose a single branch with many segments and offer a small bell attached to a decorative card and strung with ribbon. If you are having a fall wedding, you might cut branches from trees and use silk leaves in bright fall colors as your wish leaves. If you’re having a winter wedding, you might choose tiny pine or spruce trees and offer mini ornaments for the guests to write their wishes on. It’s up to you. It’s usually your best bet to collect branches or small bush trees local to your area. If you have to order trees you may pay a pretty penny. And why should you? You can get just as nice a result with backyard findings.

Next, you’ll want to find containers to house your branches. You can use hurricane vases with pretty rocks or Spanish moss inside. Or fill them with colored or plain water. You might use watering cans, fish bowls, ceramic pots—anything you like that fits your theme. Stand the branches up in random arrangements. If you’re using small shrubs or trees, pot them in urns or other decorative containers.

Here’s where your personal style really comes in. You can decorate your trees so that they drip with strands of crystals, berries, white or colored lights or tinsel. Whatever suits your taste. And the cards or leaves you choose can be as simple as a silk leaf from a craft store or an ornately edged card stock. Have a good permanent writing pen on hand. And plan to have extras in case someone accidentally pockets it. The guests can clip their wishes on with decorative clothespins or you can attach ribbon to each card or leaf ahead of time to make a hang loop.

Set the whole thing up where it won’t be in the way of traffic. Off to the side of the main entrance is a good idea. People will see it, but won’t be blocking the doorway when they step over to write their wishes.

After the big day, you can collect all the wishes and read them over. Arrange them in a scrapbook or in your wedding album next to the faces of the people who wrote them. This is a lovely way to remember who was at your wedding and also a nice touch when you include a thank you for each guest’s specific wish in your thank you cards.

Related Posts:

• Guide To Wedding Reception Accessories
• WedCasts - The perfect solution for long-distance guests
• What to Do When You Have Missing or Late RSVP's

Having a green wedding or want to break from the traditional guest book? Consider a wishing tree...one of the hottest alternatives to guest books. Wishing trees a great way to add a unique touch to your wedding. The basic principle is for guests to leave their well-wishes for the couple on small hang tags that they fill out and then hang on the "tree". The hang tags can be square or shaped (e.g. leaf-shaped for fall weddings). Normally the tree itself consists of some branches that are adorned with flowers, crystal garlands or whatever embellishments you want to use to tie in with your theme. If you are fortunate enough to get married in the Spring, you could simply buy magnolia branches with beautiful pink or white saucer cup flowers or branches covered in cherry blossoms. Other times of the year, simply use glass vases filled with colored marbles to hold branches in place (paint them any color you would like) and then attach silk or real flowers that coordinate with your color scheme.

This Wishing Tree photo (from the Wedding Star catalog) shows willow branches that are adorned with orchid flowers. The couple bought square floral place card tags and added simple pink ribbons and a crystal heart confetti to add some sparkle. They placed the hang tags along with a pen on a lovely tray and then set up a tent card asking their guests to "Please Leave Your Wishes on the Tree"....the tent card also thanked the guests for sharing in their special day. Placing a gorgeous decorated wishing tree near the entrance of the reception will get oohs and aahs from your guests. After the wedding, you can create a lovely scrapbook using the cards that guests left on the tree.

TIP - Be sure to do all of the wishing tag assembly prior to the big day. It can take a bit of time to punch gift tags, add ribbon, and add other embellishments. Also at the reception, be sure to have a good place to set-up the wishing tree because once it is set-up and the guests start hanging on their wish tags, the tree can not be moved easily.