Digital guestbooks are becoming a lucrative biz in S’pore’s wedding industry

All it takes is two to three weddings to break even

Two to three weddings. That’s all it takes for entrepreneurs Edmund Teo from Octopus Reels and Jessica Tay from Leave Your Message to fully recoup their startup costs—and everything after is profit.

Their business? Renting out digital guestbooks that capture audio and video messages from wedding guests. As more couples seek personalised, interactive experiences, this niche service is quickly gaining popularity and turning into a profitable opportunity.

Set up is simple, only requires two to three people, and the equipment is reusable, making margins compelling with limited costs. 

Vulcan Post speaks with the two founders to uncover what it takes to run a digital guestbook business—and just how lucrative it can be.

What’s driving couples to ditch traditional guestbooks

In Singapore, couples are increasingly moving away from traditional guestbooks because digital formats offer something far more engaging and memorable.

While handwritten guestbooks are sentimental, they are often stored away and rarely revisited. More often than not, only a few pages are filled while the rest remain blank.

Audio and video recordings, on the other hand, capture the tone, laughter, and emotions behind each message, allowing couples to relive those moments for years to come.

We have had couples share how moved they were when revisiting their recordings.

Edmund Teo, founder of Octopus Reels

Jessica added that digital guestbooks make memories feel “more alive” by preserving expressions, voices, and interactions that a page of writing cannot convey.

She also noted that the rise of digital guestbooks connects to broader cultural currents. “In recent years, there has been a strong comeback of nostalgia, like the rise of digital cameras and Y2K aesthetics, where people are drawn to things that feel a bit more raw and authentic.”

Typically, digital guestbooks use a vintage telephone setup. Guests pick up the handset to hear a short, pre-recorded message from the couple, then record their own message after a tone. The retro telephone design, complete with rotary dials or classic handsets, adds a memorable touch.

Weddings, being highly emotional occasions, naturally attract formats that combine familiar, nostalgic elements.

At the same time, the industry itself also offers fertile ground for niche services like digital guestbooks. In 2024, the Singapore wedding market was valued at US$153.22 million (S$196.57 million), and is projected to reach US$292.38 million (S$375.11 million) by 2033, growing at an annual rate of 7.46%.

With approximately 24,700 marriages registered in Singapore in 2025, the addressable market for wedding vendors remains substantial.

A 30% profit margin

Both founders of Octopus Reels and Leave Your Message now run their businesses full-time, though Jessica initially started hers as a side hustle before leaving her full-time job as demand grew.

At first glance, the business seems simple and low-cost.

Similar digital video guestbook equipment sells for around S$533 on Amazon.sg, while each accordion-style column stand—typically used to hold and elevate the vintage telephone handsets—costs between S$72 and S$101. That totals to S$797 for a digital guestbook telephone setup with three cylindrical columns of varying heights.

With rates starting at S$295 for six hours for a basic digital guestbook setup by Octopus Reels and S$380 for two hours by Leave Your Message, both businesses can recoup their initial setup costs in just three bookings, making them highly lucrative ventures.

However, running the business goes beyond purchasing equipment. Set up, logistics, and manpower are all crucial to delivering a smooth and memorable guest experience. There are also additional technical support and post-production editing required to transform raw footage into polished keepsakes. 

Edmund shared that the average breakdown of costs for each setup, excluding equipment, is as follows:

Minus off all these costs, the overall profit margin for Octopus Reels is 20–30% for simpler setups, and tends to increase with larger or customised events, making the business still highly attractive.

Leave Your Message, however, declined to disclose exact figures, with Jessica explaining that these are “commercially sensitive for the business.” She did note, though, that there are “less obvious costs,” including seasonal fluctuations in bookings and downtime between events.

“While this can be a profitable business under the right conditions, there is also a fair amount of operational work behind the scenes that people may not immediately see,” she added.

Standing out in an increasingly crowded market

Demand is booming for these businesses’ offerings.

Octopus Reels currently runs 10 to 12 events every weekend, and in 2025, it supported 208 events across 98 venues, with demand peaking in Oct when the company managed up to eight events in a single day. Meanwhile, Leave Your Message has participated in over 400 events since 2023.

While weddings remain the core revenue driver, both companies have expanded into adjacent markets.

Octopus Reels has supported corporate events, birthday celebrations, and community initiatives, including a meaningful project with Sport Singapore for individuals with dementia.

Similarly, Leave Your Message has recorded appreciation messages at company award ceremonies and participated in large-scale activations like the National Day NTUC Youth initiative, where messages collected across institutions were showcased during the National Day Parade.

This diversification reduces reliance on wedding seasonality for sales on digital guestbooks—a critical business strategy in an industry where demand fluctuates throughout the year.

As competition intensifies with more businesses offering similar services, differentiation becomes especially important.

Hence, both companies have also diversified beyond their core guestbook services. Octopus Reels now offers interactive photo gallery installations, creating “mini exhibitions” of couples’ memories and low-lying fog effects for “walking on clouds” march-ins. They are also partnering with a local coffee cart vendor to bring Vietnamese coffee experiences into wedding spaces.

Jessica’s company, on the other hand, has expanded its digital guestbook concept with a virtual video option, where guests scan QR codes to record messages on their mobile phones. This extends the experience to overseas guests who cannot attend physically.

Will digital guestbooks stay?

Edmund considers video guestbooks an “early-stage trend,” with the potential to become a standard feature at weddings.

But as with any trend, it can flare up quickly—and fade just as fast. Despite this, Jessica is confident it will endure, at least in terms of its core intent.

“The format may continue to evolve, but the intention behind it, capturing meaningful messages from loved ones, will always be relevant.”