Wedding guest book: the canvas painted live where your guests write

What is a painted wedding guest book?

It is a large canvas that Giulia Dal Bon paints live during your wedding, showing the place that hosts you, and on which each guest comes to write what they like: a wish, a first name, a signature. The couple goes home that same evening with the painting, dated, which takes the place of the paper guest book and hangs on the wall. Giulia is a painter trained at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. A painted wedding guest book starts at 950 €.

How do you book a painted guest book for your wedding?

Tell Giulia Dal Bon the date, the venue and the occasion, and she brings your idea to life with you. She sends you a free quote within 48 hours. Before the day, you choose the format and the subject together, and she prepares the composition if needed. On the day, she paints in front of your guests, everyone writes on the canvas, and the signed painting is yours the same day. A painted guest book starts at 950 €.

What does the price of a painted guest book include?

The price includes Giulia Dal Bon’s performance during your wedding and the canvas, which you keep. The stretcher, the acrylics, the brushes and the easel are included, as is the drawing of the venue prepared before the day. Travel and logistics are agreed together and priced in the quote. The painted guest book starts at 950 € in 40 × 60 cm, then 1,200 € in 60 × 80 cm, 1,500 € in 70 × 100 cm and 1,800 € in 80 × 120 cm with the full day.

What can guests write on the canvas?

Whatever they like: a wish for the couple, a shared memory, a first name, a signature, the date of the celebration. Giulia Dal Bon paints the place of the wedding, and the guests’ words find their place on the same canvas. Guests from other countries write in their own language, and Giulia welcomes them in Italian, French, English or Spanish. In the evening, the couple reads all those words again on the painting they take home.

Which size should you choose for a painted guest book?

The size is chosen with Giulia Dal Bon according to the number of guests, the room to leave for the words and the wall where the painting will hang afterwards. The 60 × 80 cm is easy to see from a distance during the reception, and the 80 × 120 cm, with the full day, dresses a large wall. Giulia recommends the size in the quote, sent within 48 hours. Sizes range from 950 € in 40 × 60 cm to 1,800 € in 80 × 120 cm.

Where does Giulia set up the easel during the reception?

Somewhere your guests can see and reach easily: the entrance to the hall, the terrace of the drinks reception, a corner of the garden. Giulia Dal Bon needs about two metres by two, a power socket and light if the reception runs into the evening. She brings the canvas, the easel and the paints, and protects the floor. You let the venue know, and the plan in case of rain is agreed with you when the quote is drawn up.

Can the painted guest book be combined with the other wedding formats?

Yes, and Giulia Dal Bon builds the day with you. The painted guest book can accompany the drinks reception, the watercolour portraits of the guests can liven up the evening, and the piano and painting show, with Orlando at the piano, can become the stage moment of the celebration. Each format is described and priced in the quote, sent within 48 hours, and the running order is set with you and your wedding planner.

Can you give a painted guest book to a couple as a gift?

Yes. The person giving it writes to Giulia Dal Bon with the date and place of the reception, books the date and tells the wedding organiser, so that a spot is planned close to the guests. The couple discovers the easel during the celebration and goes home in the evening with the canvas and their guests’ words. A painted guest book starts at 950 €.

What happens to the canvas and the guests’ words after the wedding?

The canvas goes home with the couple that same evening, ready to hang, with the date of the wedding and their guests’ words. Giulia Dal Bon signs the painting, and the couple then chooses the wall where it will go: the living room, the hallway, the bedroom. For a very large size, Giulia completes the final touches and the varnish in the studio, and the handover date is written in the quote.

Does Giulia come to paint the guest book abroad or in a small village?

Yes. Giulia Dal Bon travels to seventeen European countries, to the great wedding destinations such as Lake Como, Tuscany or the French Riviera, and to villages and country estates. She speaks Italian, French, English and Spanish, which helps when guests come from several countries and write in their own language. Travel and logistics are agreed together and priced in the quote.

Where has Giulia already painted live?

On stages, in theatres, at weddings and at company evenings: Giulia Dal Bon has painted live hundreds of times, including dozens with the piano and painting show she gives as a duo. Two of those dates are public, at the Fabbrica del Vapore in Milan for Play Green, and at the Festival Gaber in Camaiore on 6 July 2017, and the Press page tells their story. On request, she sends examples of finished canvases.