Photo Booth: Rent, DIY, or None?

We are having an inflatable photo booth at our big wedding. Our photographer offered a package that included the photo booth for 4 hours for $400. We initially weren't going to have a photo booth but then we decided we could fit that into our budget. Our photographer offered us photography, videography, and the photo booth (that includes printed strips for our guests) for $1800 so we couldn't pass up that offer!

View Quoted Comment Wow, that is an awesome deal!! Great find! Do you also receive copies of the pictures that your guests get from it?

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I actually can't remember, I would have to look back at my contract. But Yes it was an AMAZING deal and he does an amazing job!

We went to a wedding with a nice photo booth that a company supplied. To be honest, not many people used it including me. We also attended a wedding that had a DIY booth and there were actually more people doing that then the professional one! If we decide to have one, it will be DIY because I can't justify spending hundreds of dollars on something I will use maybe once at my wedding.

If you do decide on having one, make sure it's positioned somewhere that all of your guests can see or walk by! That was the problem with the wedding we were at, the photo booth was stuck in the corner away from everyone, so unless you heard from someone that they had one, you would've never known!

View Quoted Comment Great advice!! Totally agree that it should be positioned in a visible spot (but not in the way), or at least announced during speeches so guests are aware. I went to a wedding with a photo booth once, and I didn't even know it existed until another guest told me about it.


My fiance and I are also thinking about doing a DIY photo booth, since we already have the instant cameras for our photo guestbook, and we also have a bunch of random props (hats/sunglasses/accessories) that could be used for it as well, though would probably need to acquire a few more. Do you already have the accessories and such you'd use for a DIY photo booth? What do you plan to include?

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I haven't purchased anything yet for it until we fully agree that we want one! But the backdrop I'm looking at is on etsy and it's a plain fabric backdrop with a quote in calligraphy! I'm looking at pvc pipe to make the 'arbor' to hang it on, then spray painting it either black or gold. Our venue has a ton of faux garland and greenery so that will be decoration!

As far as props, I will more than likely use amazon or google to find props in the aesthetic I'm wanting! The usual props on sticks that you see everywhere! We're also big football fans so we will probably have a football and some team memorabilia, as well as harry potter stuff! You really can't go wrong with props and can personalize them too!

View Quoted Comment Yes! I love the idea of personalizing the photo props! I think it makes sense to have the typical wedding-themed props and crazy hats/oversized sunglasses/etc, but I also love the idea of adding things in related to your interests as well. The Harry Potter stuff especially! I'm sure you'll be able to find a sorting hat, wizard hats, wands, robes, etc. One caution is going overboard on buying props, and end up having everything cost more than if you were to rent lol. The other downside is then figuring out what to do with all the props after the wedding. Do you think you'd find a use for the props afterwards? Or would you sell them?

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Some of the personalized props would be the cutouts on sticks! But We already have a football and team memorabilia so that's no biggie for us! We def. won't go overboard with it haha!! Mostly because we know our guests won't be taking pics there the entire night. It's mostly for a quick group photo op if anything! I'm also considering no props at all and just have the nice backdrop so our guests can have a nice designated area to take group/couples/friend photos!

I think if we have props, we'll def. get some that can be used in the future!

We are doing a photo booth. And we are hiring one (comes with a photo booth attendant). Guests can keep their pictures as favors from the wedding and photo booths are lots of fun

View Quoted Comment The cutouts on sticks are a great idea, I didn't think of those before! They're also inexpensive too. I'll have to look into those if my fiance and I end up doing the DIY option, thanks for the idea! Awesome that you have the football props you already own, and can use after the wedding. I think it's smart to buy some that you can use in the future, but even if not, it'll still likely be cheaper than renting. If you end up doing the DIY photo booth at your wedding, please share pictures afterwards, I'd love to hear how it all turns out!

View Quoted Comment That's awesome! What does the photo booth attendant do? I haven't heard of that before. Does the photo booth company also include copies for you of all the photos your guests took?

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Thanks! The DJs we are interested in offer photo booth add-ons, but $600+ for one for a few hours...can't justify it haha! I'll def. post some photos!! Good luck with our photo booth!!

View Quoted Comment Thanks!! And totally understand - that's a significant amount spent for a photo booth, I can't justify spending it either. Much better spent towards honeymoon, or guest count/food, or towards a down payment on a house, or even just saving the money altogether! One other thing, if you haven't booked a DJ yet, you could also always try to negotiate and see if they'd be willing to add the photo booth in either at a discount or free. Worst they say to that is no, but doesn't hurt to ask. Good luck!

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Never thought about that! I did inquire with our venue on whether they offer off-peak season prices. She replied with a 'not usually but we can work something out!'. We got a GREAT deal on our venue, so you make a great point. I've just never thought about asking that question to any other vendors before! Thanks!!

I wanted to do one but with Covid all you would have is a bunch of people in mask and not be able to tell who is who. The props and faces people make are what makes photo booths fun for me.

We rented one! I actually did consider the idea of doing a DIY one but didn’t because I was already so crushed for time logistically

View Quoted Comment Totally agree! The photos can turn out very fun, that's for sure. If you wouldn't have been able to get what you wanted out of it (non-masked people in the photos), it's probably best to skip it. Would your venue permit people to remove their masks just for the photo booth, and then put them back on immediately after?

View Quoted Comment Makes sense! I often think it's worth the extra cost to save on time. How did it work out? Did most of your guests use the photo booth? Did the photo booth also come with extra copies for you of all the guest pictures that were taken?

Our wedding was last year. Our DJ provided our photo booth. It was a huge hit. I believe every single guest went to the photo booth at least once if not more. My brother had a DIY photo booth and barely anyone used it. It may have been the location because it was in a separate room from the food and dancing.

View Quoted Comment Awesome!! Glad it was a hit at your wedding! What types of props did they provide with the photo booth? Did the company also give you copies of the photos that your guests took? And I could totally understand the photo booth not being used as much if it's in a different room/hidden in a corner/not advertised, it's probably a good idea to announce it during the speeches to let guests know it exists.