Audio Guest Book Rental Chicago: How It Works and Costs
A paper guest book gets a name and maybe a line. A phone gets a toast, a story, a song from your grandmother or a cousin's terrible impression of the best man. An audio guest book rental in Chicago gives you all of that as recordings you keep. Here's how one works from start to finish, what it costs, and where it fits around Chicagoland.
How the day goes, step by step
Our Audio Guest Book is an all-day rental, so there's no clock to watch. Here's the flow:
- Before the event, you choose your custom greeting. That's what guests hear when they pick up.
- At setup, the phone goes out on a table or in a corner with a sign. It stays out from setup until the event ends.
- During the party, guests lift the receiver, hear your greeting and leave a voice message.
- After the event, we send you every message as an audio file.
A tip on placement: put the phone somewhere a little quieter than the dance floor, close enough that people pass it but far enough from the speakers that messages come through clearly.
Audio guest book rental Chicago prices
There are only two prices to remember:
- $399 all day when you rent it on its own
- $299 all day when you add it to any photo booth
Every rental includes the all-day phone, a custom greeting and every message as an audio file. Styling add-ons:
- Artificial flowers around the phone: $100
- Vintage phone with a classic rotary-style handset: $200
- LED light display that glows: $200
- Red carpet with stanchions: $200
Chicago-area events are taxed at 10.25%. Two examples:
- Anniversary party, audio only: $399 plus artificial flowers ($100) is $499, plus $51.15 tax.
- Wedding with a booth: a 4-hour Glam Booth ($479), the audio guest book ($299) and the vintage phone ($200) is $978 before tax. The 35% deposit is $342.30.
The $100 you save by pairing it with a booth covers most of a styling add-on.
Where it works around Chicagoland
The audio guest book fits best at events where people have something to say: weddings, anniversaries, retirement parties and baby showers. A few venues where it makes a lot of sense:
Cheney Mansion on North Euclid Avenue in Oak Park was built in 1913 and has a ballroom plus two acres of grounds. A vintage phone on a side table fits the old house perfectly.
Meson Sabika on Aurora Avenue in Naperville is a Spanish restaurant in a historic mansion that hosts rehearsal dinners, showers and banquets for up to 300. Showers and rehearsal dinners are full of short speeches, and the phone catches the ones that don't make it to the mic.
Hotel Arista in Naperville's CityGate Centre has six wedding spaces, including a Grand Ballroom and an outdoor pond ceremony site. Pairing the phone with a booth there gives guests two ways to leave something behind.
Elgin Country Club on Weld Road has a vintage stone clubhouse and the renovated Oakview Room for weddings and private parties. A rotary-style handset suits the classic setting.
We also cover River Forest, Lisle, Downers Grove, St. Charles, Geneva and the rest of the area. For every booth we bring to the city and suburbs, see the Chicago photo booth rental page.
Pickup, payment and tax
When you add the audio guest book to a photo booth, it travels with the booth. Pick both up from our location for free and return them the day after, or have us deliver and set everything up for $75.
Renting it on its own? Ask for a free quote and we'll confirm how you'd like to get it.
A 35% deposit locks the date. With delivery, the balance is due 7 days before the event. With pickup, it's due when you collect. Card payments include a 5% processing fee, and Chicago-area events add 10.25% tax.
Questions people ask
Do I need to rent a photo booth to get the audio guest book?
No. It's $399 all day on its own. It drops to $299 when you add it to any photo booth.
How do we get the messages after a Chicago wedding?
We send you every message as an audio file after the event.
Can the phone look vintage?
Yes. The vintage phone add-on is $200 and gives you a classic rotary-style handset.
Is it only for weddings?
Not at all. It works well at anniversaries, retirement parties and baby showers too, anywhere guests have something to say to the guest of honor.
Ready to add it? Build your package online and pick the audio guest book as an add-on or on its own.
Planning in Chicago? See all our photo booth rentals in Chicago.
