Katie is getting married and I need a great gift!

Books featuring contributions from several people are one of my specialties. I LOVE bringing the different voices to life.

A collection of personal messages along with photos from friends, family, colleagues, all put together into a book to create a celebration of the person it is dedicated to.

Here are my tips if you want to get this hen night gift book made:

1. Start early! These memory books (and the people contributing) need time.

2. Make a list of the people you are going to involve. Are you going to be asking for messages or photos too? Put together a message explaining what you need and send it out asap, specifying a deadline by when you need everything to be passed on to you.

3. When asking contributors to send through photos, encourage them to email their contributions rather than WhatsApp them to you.

4. Any handwritten notes (which look lovely in a book!) will need to be written in dark ink on plain white paper and scanned in.

5. You are going to need to chase people for their contributions. Some might struggle with ideas so providing a couple of prompts might help.

6. The best way to organise photos and material for this type of book is by creating a folder for each contributor and then saving any images and messages they send in their respective folder.

7. If you are going to have me create your gift book for you, this would be the point where you hand it all over to me.

If you are going to create the book yourself, choose your printer, and have fun designing!

Consider personal factors when designing the book to make it even more personal. Themes, colours, etc. And don’t forget a good name for the book!

Enjoy gifting your loved one this collection of memories. It is so special for the bride-to-be to know so many people worked towards this gift to help celebrate them!

Save this post for a loved one’s special occasion, or share it with someone planning that special gift!