Make a wish, on camera
Every birthday wish, captured forever
No app to install: your guests share their birthday wishes on video, their photos and kind words with a simple link or a QR code. You keep it all: the videos, the photo album, the written messages and two edited films.
$49 one time · link and QR code sent instantly
Try it like a guest: see the demo →
What is a birthday video guest book?
A birthday video guest book replaces the card that goes round with a link and a QR code. Guests in the room or far away record up to 3 videos of up to one minute, send photos and write a note, with no app and no account, before, during and after the party. During the party, photos can play as a live slideshow. You keep the videos, the photo album, the written messages and two films: the first arrives within 24 hours after the collection closes, then you build a personalized film. With Video Message it costs $49 for the event, with no limit on guests.
How it works
Get your link and QR code
By email, right after you order. Send the link by WhatsApp, text or email, including to friends who can’t make it, and print the QR code for the table with the question your guests will answer.
Your guests take part
A minute of video, photos, a written note. Anyone who fluffs their message can start again before sending, and the photos join the party slideshow.
You receive everything
The videos, the photo album, the written messages and two films: the first birthday film within 24 hours after the collection closes, then your personalized film.
What you keep from the birthday
Everything your guests sent, together in your dashboard.
The video messages
The voices, the jokes and the stories nobody bothers to write down, to rewatch one by one.
The photo album
Tonight’s photos next to the ones dug out from twenty years ago. During the party they play on a screen, and you can choose to open the album to your guests.
The written messages
Notes from the friends who would rather write, gathered in a PDF message book.
Two edited films
A first film of the video messages within 24 hours after the collection closes, then your personalized film with the photos and notes. Share them by link and download photos and videos as ZIP files; files stay for 3 months after your first film.
Picture it
Milestone birthdays
At a fortieth or a seventieth, give guests a question and you get forty people talking properly about someone.
Surprise parties
Collect quietly in the weeks before and hand over the finished film as the gift.
Kids’ parties
The real audience is the adult the child becomes: ask guests to describe them as they are right now.
Long-distance
The friend abroad and the grandparent who no longer travels record from home and land in the same film.
Getting birthday messages people actually want to rewatch
The people who cannot be there
The friend abroad, the grandparent who no longer travels, the cousin working nights: they usually send a text nobody reads twice.
Read more
With the link, they record from their kitchen a week early, and nothing in the film tells who was in the room and who was not.
What to ask people to say
Handed a camera with no instruction, people say “happy birthday, have a great one” and stop. One specific prompt on the sign changes that.
Read more
“Tell the story of how you two met.” “What is the most ridiculous thing he has talked you into?” A prompt turns an eight-second message into nearly a minute, and the best ones are written by the host, for that person.
If it is a surprise
Collect in advance and make the finished film the gift: share the link privately two or three weeks before, chase the quiet ones once, and keep the birthday person off the group chat.
Read more
Decide early whether you play it at the party or hand it over privately. A room makes a bigger moment, but the most heartfelt messages can be hard to sit through in public.
Milestone birthdays are a different job
At a thirtieth, the messages are jokes. At a seventieth, they are closer to a tribute, and people know it.
Read more
Tell guests in the invitation that there will be something to record. The ones who care will arrive having thought about it, and it shows in the film.
Children’s birthdays are recorded for later
For a first or fifth birthday, the audience is the adult the child becomes, watching people who were young then.
Read more
Rather than a wish, ask each guest to describe the child as they are right now. It reads as ordinary today and becomes the whole point in twenty years.
When to set up & how to share
When to activate your space
Set up your space about a week before the party: name the birthday star, pick the music, and print your QR code.
Send the link, print the QR code
- ✓Put the QR code on the table, near the cake, and at the entrance.
- ✓Drop the link in the group chat before the party.
- ✓Send the QR code and link to friends and family through WhatsApp, SMS, or your party group chat so those who can’t attend can still send a wish, photos or a note.
- ✓Ask the host to remind everyone to film a message.
The link goes to your guest list by WhatsApp, text or email, before, during and after the event; the QR code goes on your signage.
Everything included
Made for your event
Simple pricing
Digital QR code
One event, delivered instantly, everything included
$49
or 3 for $99, for 3 separate events
- ✓ Videos, photos and written notes
- ✓ Live photo slideshow
- ✓ Two films, the album and the message book
- ✓ No app and no limit on guests
Throwing events for a living, or buying for clients? See pro pricing →
Questions
Is this good for a surprise party?
Yes, and it is one of the most common uses. Collect messages ahead of time and play the finished film as the surprise, or leave the code out on the night and let guests add to it.
Can far-away friends join in?
Yes. Share your link and they can send a video, photos or a note from anywhere, before, during or after the party, on any phone or computer. Their message appears in the film alongside everyone who attended.
What do we receive?
Two films. The first, made from the video messages, arrives within 24 hours after your event’s collection closes, with every individual video to download. Then you build a personalized film with the photos and notes. You also get every photo and video as ZIP files and the notes as a PDF message book.
How long can each message be?
Each guest can record up to 3 videos of up to one minute each. Most people use 30 to 45 seconds once they have a prompt to answer, and many add a few photos or a written note.
What if only a few people record?
That is almost always a visibility problem rather than a willingness one. Put the code where people already stop (the bar, the cake table, the seating plan) and have someone announce it once during the evening. Parties where nobody mentions it out loud collect a fraction of the messages.
Do guests need to download an app?
No. They scan the code, the recording page opens in their browser, and they record. No app, no account, no sign-up.
How far ahead should I set it up?
About a week before. That gives you time to name the birthday person, choose the music, print your sign, and send the link to anyone who cannot attend.
Can I use it for a child’s birthday?
Yes, and it works particularly well as a time capsule. Ask each guest to describe the child at this age rather than simply wish them a happy birthday.
What happens to the videos afterwards?
You keep them. Download both films, every photo and video as ZIP files and the notes as a PDF from your dashboard, and save them somewhere of your own, as with any online service. Everything stays online for 3 months after your first film is delivered; the date is shown in your dashboard and we email you a reminder before anything is deleted.
Can guests send photos as well as videos?
Yes. From the same page, a guest can record a video, send photos several at a time from their gallery and write a note signed with their first name. Guests who would rather not be on camera often send a photo and a few lines instead.
Can the photos play during the party?
Yes, if you have a TV, screen or projector with a web browser and an internet connection. Open your slideshow link on it and photos appear as guests send them, automatically or once you approve them. The slideshow shows photos only; the videos go into your films.
Does this work outside the United States?
Yes, anywhere in the world. Nothing ships to you: your QR code and guest link arrive by email the moment you pay, and your guests take part in their phone’s browser. It works the same in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, across Europe and anywhere else. This page shows US dollars; we also have pricing pages in pounds, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars, Swiss francs and euros, and you pay in the currency of the page you buy from.
What language is it in?
Each event runs in the language you choose: English, French, Spanish, Italian, German or Portuguese. The guest page, your dashboard and the wording in your films follow that language. Your guests can speak or write in whatever language they like; nothing is transcribed or translated, so each message stays exactly as they recorded it.
Can we collect for longer?
Yes. Guests take part before, during and after your event, from the moment you share the link. You set the closing date, a few days after the event if you like, and can move it from your dashboard.