Choosing a Photo Booth Company
Start looking into your options at least 5 months before your wedding. You need time to make a decision, make a reservation, and prepare any other props you might need for your big day, so starting the process in advance will ensure you aren’t scrambling at the last minute to pull something together. If you find yourself starting your research closer to your wedding date, don’t despair! Set aside 4 or 5 hours one day to do some work, and you will most likely be able to find a rental option available for your date. Make sure to communicate that you are on a time constraint, so they will know to get back to you in an extra-timely matter. Most photo booth rental companies are used to working with brides and grooms in a myriad of situations—from a small budget allowance to last-minute additions and adjustments. Trust in their expertise and professionalism to help you make a good decision.
Establish your budget before contacting companies. Having a firm number in mind for how much you are willing to spend on a photo booth rental will help you not overspend. It can be tempting to add on lots of fun accessories and options, but having a budget before making decisions will help keep you on track. Most couples end up spending between $400 to $1000 on photo booth rentals.
Check legitimate wedding directories and vendor sites. Photo booth rentals are a big business, so a reputable company will be reviewed on the major sites. Look for a company that has done a lot of events, has good reviews, and that has a large portfolio they can show you. Wedding sites to check out include Wedding Wire, the Knot, and Wedding Compass. If a business you want to use is not reviewed on these sites, ask why not. Are they a newer business? Are they not advertising in these places? This could be an indication that the company is not financially stable.
Visit a bridal show to see photo booth options in person. This is a great interactive way to check out a photo booth and talk to a company about your needs and to get answers to questions about pricing and add-on options. Get your photo taken in the booths! What better way to see how your photos would actually turn out?
Confirm the photo booth camera is a DSLR camera. This type of camera will give you the best quality results, and this information should be specified online or in person. The camera should also be able to tilt to accommodate smaller guests at your wedding. Webcam booths are often much less expensive, but you will be sacrificing on quality.
Finalize logistics for who sets up the booth and how it will be delivered. The cost for your photo booth typically includes the rental, an attendant, setup and breakdown. You will need to coordinate the delivery of the photo booth with your reception location and the start of your cocktail hour/reception. Most booths are rented by the hour, so it is good to know how long your reception will be before you make any reservations. Also, if you are having a cocktail hour, having the photo booth available then is a nice option and gives guests something to do while they for dinner to start. If your reception includes a cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing, you will want to rent the photo booth for 5-6 hours. Most reception halls have a cut-off time for when the music needs to stop and guests need to leave, and you can use that as a guideline for when the attendant can start the breakdown of the booth. If it isn’t too expensive, it’s better to err on the side of having the booth available for an extra hour. One of the last things you will want is someone coming in and taking down your photo booth while there are still guests around! Arrange to have the photo booth delivered and setup 1 hour before any guests are due to arrive.
Selecting Your Photo Options
Order photo-strips to give your guests a wedding favor to take home. Many photo booths will print photo-strips right after pictures have been taken so guests can see them right away. This is a fun way for guests to document their outfits and showcase their personalities at your wedding. Elect to have your photo booth print two copies of each photo. One copy can go with your guests, and the other copy will be yours to keep. Make a guest book out of photo strips. A guest book with black pages and gel pens for guests to sign beneath their photos is another way to preserve and document your night.
Customize your photo strips with your names and wedding date. Most large photo booth rental companies should be able to offer a myriad of customization options. Different colors, filters, or shapes can make your experience unique. Make sure to ask for the pricing for how much customizations cost.
Get your photos on a CD if you would like to import them yourself. This option allows you to pick and choose which photos you want to have printed or shared online, rather than having everything printed at once (you may not want 5 photos of the same shot of your friends wearing fake mustaches, but 1 good photo should definitely make it into your scrap book). Having photos on a CD also makes it easy to drag-and-drop photos into emails or onto social media pages to share electronically with friends.
Choose to have all photos uploaded to a website to share. This option lets you share 1 link with your friends and family, and then everyone can see all the photos! This eliminates the chance of you getting multiple calls and texts from people who are eager to see the shots from your wedding. You could write the website information on a chalkboard and place it by the booth, or you could have little cards printed up with that information for guests to take home.
Personalizing Your Photo Booth Experience
Match the style of your booth to the theme of your wedding. Is your event a black-tie affair, or are you having a traditional Ukrainian wedding? Are you focusing your decorations on a color scheme or a favorite movie series? Matching your photo booth (colors, backdrops, props) will give your event a more unified feel. Adding a fun background can make the photo booth experience even more special. Twinkly lights or sheer or sparkly fabric can add character to those photos.
Gather props for guests to use in the photo booth. Your rental company may provide props for you to choose from, but if not you can buy ones from party planning or wedding planning stores, or even make your own! Be careful to not choose too many overly-large props. They will inevitably end up blocking your guests’ faces and will leave you with lots of photos of disguised friends and family. Fun prop ideas are fake mustaches, oversized sunglasses, fuzzy boas, Mardi Gras beads, or funny hats. You could even get a large cut out of you and your spouse-to-be for friends to pose with!
Set aside time to visit the booth yourself. You don’t want to get to the end of your reception and realize you haven’t taken any photos! Visit the photo booth with your friends and family at the beginning of the reception to guarantee you make it in time. You could also plan to keep the photo booth a little past the end of your reception for some individual shots, but keep in mind that you will probably be tired and ready to hit the road at the end of the night.
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