guest book/photo help

[Deleted User]

We are thinking of doing a DIY photo booth and thanks to the Vistaprint goddess have great ideas on how to do it but I'm looking for opinions or ideas -or for someone to tell me to quit overthinking!
We will have DIY backdrop and props, camera, tripod and paid picture taker if we want/need  one. We thought to have a few memory cards so that 1 could be in the camera and be switched out to the printer,  photo paper and printer set up to take 2 strips of pics, 1 for the guest book, 1 for people to take home. We have had suggestions to just have the photo booth and then put the pics online for anyone to print out themselves. It would be easier (and less expensive) but then we wouldn't be able to have guests write a message with their picture.
I'll go with what the guests would like or with what you ladies have experienced or thought through already. Thanks!

tamara5050

What if you had a chalkboard of wipeoff board that guests could hold inside the photobooth  http://pinterest.com/pin/402438916671804239/  At least that way you could get messages. Then just have them put online.

RMcDougle

One way to do it would be to put out guest book cards, saying something like "Well wishes for the bride and groom..." and have a box to collect them. Then after the wedding you can scrap book the guest book cards and the photos together.

Otherwise, you could create a guest book and leave spaces for the photos (by marking off a space at the correct size and framing it with photo corners) and then have spaces designated for guests to sign/leave notes. Then after the fact, go in and fill in pictures of the guests where they signed (and if they signed but didn't use the booth, you can put a general wedding photo in that slot, or whatever)

RMcDougle

I am going through the same situation, debating whether or not to try to print the pictures on site, so I'll add my thoughts there.  If you have a good plan for printing on site that you are comfortable with, then go for it (and maybe still host the pictures online for everyone to enjoy).

But for me, the idea of trying to coordinate photos and printing was a little scary and seemed too big, so I'm leaning toward just hosting online the dayafter. (As long as the guests can download/print them for free. I've seen people who used a photographer who then charged for guests to print/download the pics online). If it is not a physical photo booth then I'm betting guests won't expect a picture printed on site. You can alway send a print in the thank-you cards to personalize them.

persefonie

We had a DIY photo booth at our wedding.  We used a MAC and a really awesome software program we found online (I don't know the name-sorry!).  The guests were able to man it themselves.  Even after the bar opened up, nobody had any problems.  Just press a button, timer counts down, and click!  For the backdrop we used a metal frame and a cream cloth.  It worked well except you could sometimes see people's shadows if they were standing on the other side.  So think about lighting versus backdrop color.  We found the props either online or at party stores.  The things people used the most were the inflatable guitar, fake lips, sombrero/hawaiian hats, and swords.  We also had a chewbacca doll that made it into most of the pictures.  We didn't want to worry about problems with a printer, so we just printed the photos for ourselves through Walmart, and posted the photos online for guests to save and print if they wanted to.  We put the guest book nearby so that anyone could sign it and had areas on each page for writing and areas to add pictures later.  All in all it worked out well.