Photobooth Opinions?

blushingbride8888 · October 2015

Our DJ recently purchased a photo booth and offered it to us to rent for our wedding for $500. Would you do it? Are the overdone? I know a ton of people have them but would you snark at it at this point? I haven't been to any weddings - first of my friends/fam to get married so I haven't seen how they've gone over.

I trust you snarky brides!

Thanks

julieanne912 · October 2015

We had DIY photobooth. The venue we got married in had lots of cool western style stuff in the barn where the reception was, so we just picked a corner that had some wagon wheels in it, and set out some cheap cowboy hats, feather boas, and some lassos. For the camera, my MOH had an older digital camera with a remote and set it up on a tripod. The whole thing cost like $20.

missa011 · October 2015

We're kind of DIYing a photo booth, my BFF got me a polaroid camera and we're going to have it at the reception if people want to take pictures with it.

I wanted a full photo booth when I first started planning but my mom nixed it and I'm kind of glad she did; after having been to a couple weddings with one since then I feel like sometimes it can detract from the wedding. That being said you know your wedding, venue, vibe, and guests, so if you think it'll go over well and have it in the budget go for it

monkeysip · October 2015

The only thing I snark on is the idea that you HAVE to have a Photo Booth nowadays. Some people act like it's some necessity for weddings, and your wedding isn't fun without it. We didn't have one, and I don't think people were lacking for fun.

But I don't snark on photo booths. They can be a lot of fun! H and I really enjoyed the open one at my stepsister's wedding (not an actual booth... just a backdrop, props, and two assistants manning the automatic camera.) They were some SUPER high quality photos, and oddly enough, one of the best photos we have of H, DD, and I dressed up together.

If you want it and have the money, go for it. No one should snark.

anjemon · October 2015

That was the deal our DJ company (one of those companies that did everything) offered for our photobooth - it was discounted at a wedding fair and we though it was a good price. I love them and I don't think they're overdone. They're super fun and give you some really cool momentos from your wedding.

The only thing I would say is see if he's going to hire someone to watch it and how all that would work. We had an attendant at ours which was good because sometimes the camera would get bumped with people getting in and out.

JediElizabeth · October 2015

Personally, I hate photo booths. I thought they were cool the first time I saw them at a wedding, but now I think they're kind of gimmicky. But I've never been to a wedding where the photobooth was not packed for most of the reception if it was there at all, so there's that.

Then again, there's a bunch of stuff at my wedding that will be seen as gimmicky (Doctor Who & Star Wars touches). There are people who hate that. My FI and i could not care less.

You do you. If you like photobooths and think they're fun, it doesn't matter if they're overdone or if other people snark about it. It's one of those rare instances where "it's YOUR day" actually makes sense.

kimmiinthemitten · October 2015

missa011 said:

We're kind of DIYing a photo booth, my BFF got me a polaroid camera and we're going to have it at the reception if people want to take pictures with it.
I wanted a full photo booth when I first started planning but my mom nixed it and I'm kind of glad she did; after having been to a couple weddings with one since then I feel like sometimes it can detract from the wedding. That being said you know your wedding, venue, vibe, and guests, so if you think it'll go over well and have it in the budget go for it

We've been debating photo booth or Polaroid too! I was thinking a Polaroid with an old school scrapbook that the guests could leave notes in next to their photos would be a cool alternative.

knottie2b256f5c2ae42586 · October 2015

Photobooths are fun! If someone doesn't want to use it, they don't have to. It's not like you're forcing it on them.

lnixon8 · October 2015

Do you have extra money in your budget for it? Photobooths are about that price (if you have a groupon) where I live. My budget was 20k, I didn't have one and didn't miss it.

I wouldn't snark on it though!

missa011 · October 2015

kimmiandkoley said:

missa011 said:

We're kind of DIYing a photo booth, my BFF got me a polaroid camera and we're going to have it at the reception if people want to take pictures with it.
I wanted a full photo booth when I first started planning but my mom nixed it and I'm kind of glad she did; after having been to a couple weddings with one since then I feel like sometimes it can detract from the wedding. That being said you know your wedding, venue, vibe, and guests, so if you think it'll go over well and have it in the budget go for it

We've been debating photo booth or Polaroid too! I was thinking a Polaroid with an old school scrapbook that the guests could leave notes in next to their photos would be a cool alternative.

That's what we're considering too! I'm not sure if people will want to take home the photos though so I wasn't sure if we should have the book.

We used the polaroid to test a few shots at my bachelorette and they are awesome so I definitely vote for it!

TNDancer · October 2015

missa011 said:

kimmiandkoley said:

missa011 said:

We're kind of DIYing a photo booth, my BFF got me a polaroid camera and we're going to have it at the reception if people want to take pictures with it.
I wanted a full photo booth when I first started planning but my mom nixed it and I'm kind of glad she did; after having been to a couple weddings with one since then I feel like sometimes it can detract from the wedding. That being said you know your wedding, venue, vibe, and guests, so if you think it'll go over well and have it in the budget go for it

We've been debating photo booth or Polaroid too! I was thinking a Polaroid with an old school scrapbook that the guests could leave notes in next to their photos would be a cool alternative.

That's what we're considering too! I'm not sure if people will want to take home the photos though so I wasn't sure if we should have the book.
We used the polaroid to test a few shots at my bachelorette and they are awesome so I definitely vote for it!

Yes, the bolded is the best part! Looking back at the crazy antics after a few wedding drinks.

julieanne912 · October 2015

TNDancer said:

missa011 said:

kimmiandkoley said:

missa011 said:

We're kind of DIYing a photo booth, my BFF got me a polaroid camera and we're going to have it at the reception if people want to take pictures with it.
I wanted a full photo booth when I first started planning but my mom nixed it and I'm kind of glad she did; after having been to a couple weddings with one since then I feel like sometimes it can detract from the wedding. That being said you know your wedding, venue, vibe, and guests, so if you think it'll go over well and have it in the budget go for it

We've been debating photo booth or Polaroid too! I was thinking a Polaroid with an old school scrapbook that the guests could leave notes in next to their photos would be a cool alternative.

That's what we're considering too! I'm not sure if people will want to take home the photos though so I wasn't sure if we should have the book.
We used the polaroid to test a few shots at my bachelorette and they are awesome so I definitely vote for it!

Yes, the bolded is the best part! Looking back at the crazy antics after a few wedding drinks.

What a lot of people our did was get someone to take their picture in our "booth" with their own cameras. They posted some of them on Facebook so it was fun to look at them the day after.

charlotte989875 · October 2015

We got a good deal on ours so we had one. Hs 95 year old aunt with our 7 year old niece is one of my favorite pictures of the night. I was really surprised how many people used it I never noticed people over there, but we got a Zip drive with copies, and people got to put them in our guestbook/scrapbook so it was really nice to see that so many people took pictures.

I agree with PPs that say it's important to have someone work it (for us it was included in the deal) and that it be open the entire night. Ours shut down during dinner but other than that ran the same time as the DJ.

kvruns · October 2015

I think they are fun if the guests get a copy of the picture, and even better if you also get a copy of all of them at the end of the night. If it is just YOU getting digital copies of the pictures and the guests don't get anything or get to see the instant picture then I don't think it is worth it. My friend had one where it was just the photographers taking images and we only saw the pictures when she showed us some pix 6 months later - so most guests probably never got to see their pix let alone get a copy if it was a good one.

arrrghmatey · October 2015

Four out of the five weddings we've been to so far this year have had a photobooth. We are not having one at our wedding next month, mostly because we would rather put that money towards something else. And of the weddings we went to that had a photobooth, the dance floor was practically dead all night. Granted, that could be a reflection on the DJ as well, but guests seemed a lot more occupied by the photobooth than by the music. And we just find photobooths way overdone these days. But that's just our opinion.

hellohkb · October 2015

I think they're fun. If you get a good deal on one, it seems worth it to me. Our DJ is offering a package on one and it's a phenomenal price ($700 for the photobooth and DJ) so we may just do it because why not. If it weren't for the package we would likely skip it.

peachy13 · October 2015

I'm having one. $500 is a pretty good deal too.

For ours, I just wanted to make sure each guest got their own copy of the photo, and that there would be an extra one to put in a scrap book (which the photobooth company provides). I think it will be more fun going through the scrap book after the wedding than looking at our guest book.

anjemon · October 2015

peachy13 said:

I'm having one. $500 is a pretty good deal too.

For ours, I just wanted to make sure each guest got their own copy of the photo, and that there would be an extra one to put in a scrap book (which the photobooth company provides). I think it will be more fun going through the scrap book after the wedding than looking at our guest book.

For ours, it is more fun to look at the photobooth book. Lots of people left comments and there are some really funny pictures. It shows more of the personality of our friends and family than the guestbook. The guestbook is still nice and has some lovely sentiments, but the photobooth book is more fun.

mauiwowie9 · October 2015

I wouldn't snark on a photo-booth per se and I think they can be a fun extra. That said, I always laugh a little when brides think a photo-booth is some super unique idea that's going to make their wedding stand out. Almost every wedding I have been to in the last 3 years has had a photo booth. and a candy bar. haha, but. . . candy! so I can't snark on that.

charcoalandblush · October 2015

anjemon said:

peachy13 said:

I'm having one. $500 is a pretty good deal too.

For ours, I just wanted to make sure each guest got their own copy of the photo, and that there would be an extra one to put in a scrap book (which the photobooth company provides). I think it will be more fun going through the scrap book after the wedding than looking at our guest book.

For ours, it is more fun to look at the photobooth book. Lots of people left comments and there are some really funny pictures. It shows more of the personality of our friends and family than the guestbook. The guestbook is still nice and has some lovely sentiments, but the photobooth book is more fun.

Agreed, our photo booth book is HILARIOUS. Our photo booth was $600 and totally worth it, in my opinion. There was a line all night and everyone had so much fun with it. If you have the money in your budget, I'd say go for it.

thisismynickname2 · October 2015

I'd much rather have silly photo-booth photos of me and my closest friends than some awkward dance floor photo of me in the happy couple's album 6 months later. (cringe...)

So I vote yes for photobooths! Those are some of my favorite photos over the years.

badbnagdway · October 2015

We had a photobooth at our wedding and it was a huge hit. Like, I had booked the photobooth for 3 hours and I literally paid the girl $100 extra during the reception to stay an extra hour because people were nuts for it. I love the scrapbook the photobooth company made for us, it was a great way to get pictures of our guests.

The last wedding I went to the photobooth was not as awesome and not as popular. I think it was partly the booth didn't take as great a quality of photo and there were very limited props. I would recommend making sure there are a decent array of props.

Knottie1428763015 · October 2015

I think photobooths are the silliest things...I don't get them. But then again, I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority, so even I considered getting one for my wedding briefly. But I never have understood the appeal of wearing a goofy hat and coming up with 4 rapid-fire goofy faces to flash at a camera. I thought that it was a byproduct of our social media culture, that it was basically permission to take a selfie...people don't point out the duckface you made because you did it in a photobooth. People can craft their image and post evidence of how much fun their life is on Facebook.

Just my $.02

HappyAnjel · November 2015

I think photo booths are fun and i wouldn't snark on it BC they are popular. I think they are great for those who dont dance.. I didn't have one at our wedding because my husband wanted a candy and dessert bar instead but I kind of wish we did a photobooth since most family on his side don't dance and didn't get up from their table all night.

leroweb · November 2015

I personally hate wedding booths, but I wouldnt snark if someone had one. I have ben to a few weddignng with them and never used one but I dont so a lot of photos of myself.

FrenchHouseCat · November 2015

I added a photo booth like 3 weeks out, and it was AWESOME. By awesome I mean everyone LOVED it there was a line for it all night. I know they are a bit overdone, but for my parent's friends and older relatives, it was pretty novel and they all had a blast! And we didn't have props or anything, and it was still super fun btw.

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