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DIY Wedding Photobooth - Polaroid Style

by on ‎02-25-2014 12:56 PM

Last summer, I was a woman on a mission. In addition to my busy schedule of working the overnight shift as an Associate Producer, I was spending most of my free time trying to finalize all of the details of my upcoming  DIY September wedding.  Luckily, while at work I was constantly surrounded by new ideas and products that served as inspiration. 


For the longest time, I was trying to figure out a way to have some sort of photo booth at the wedding.  A professional version cost too much, and a digital camera would require some sort of printer in order to have something for the guests to take home.  That is, until I remembered a blast from the past that was making a comeback on QVC:



The Polaroid Camera.  Instant pictures in a charming old school style.  It was the perfect solution. It was easy to use and there were a ton of ideas online for instant camera photo booths. After ordering this, I went to work preparing everything else for the photo booth (well, photo table if you want to get specific.)  



When setting up my photo booth – the devil was in the details. I wanted to make sure my guests had plenty of information and lots of extra film so they could snap several pictures. I typed up several informational sheets and even used diagrams from the manual to give a clear and concise guide of how to take pictures and if needed, reload film.  I made a little place card instructing guests to take two pictures, one for them to keep and one to leave for us. 


 


Since the pictures were doing double duty as favors, I wanted to add an extra touch to protect the pictures as the guests took them home.  After doing some research, I decided making some custom envelopes would be the best way to go. Due to the unique size of the Polaroid film, it took a little research to find the perfect envelope.  I actually discovered coin envelopes (normally used by coin collectors) were a great fit – also they were easy to find online and I could order them in bulk. Once I had those, I just decorated them with normal address labels that I customized on my computer. It was an easy and cheap way to personalize everything.



As for the pictures that the guests were leaving for us, I also wanted them to act as extra decorations for the reception. After all, why not showcase our closest family and friends?


 For this, I framed a piece of wrapping paper that matched our theme, and then attached two plastic pieces to the back of the frame so it would be able to stand on its own.  For the pictures, I glued mini clothespins to the front so guests could easily attach their pictures. 


 


It was a huge hit. All night long, I saw flashes from the camera and people showing off their snapshots to other guests. Even my 90 year old grandmother got into the fun! It was a low cost and unique way to have a photo booth and collect photos of all of our guests. Plus, there are so many ways to make it customized to your party.  Some other ideas include making a personalized backdrop or even making some fun props for guests to use.  In fact, if you need some prop inspiration – we featured a ton of great props in our QVC Photo booth a few months ago. 


Check out some of those great shots here: Canon Photo Booth Blog

I plan on doing this for other parties in the years to come. How fun would it be to have this set up at a birthday party or even a picnic? Your guests will love it, and honestly it’s much easier than trying to snap pictures of all of your guests during the party. You can just kick back and collect the pictures at the end.


What DIY ideas have you worked into your parties lately?


Tori – Studio Scoop Team


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