Photo Guest Book Questions

So for my bridal shower, we had a photo book guest book and my sister-in-law took the photos of the guests on her cell phone then printed the photos after the fact. The guests still wrote their messages in the book and she went through and matched the photo to their message. She was co-host with my mom for my shower so that's how she got selected to take the photos.

So we can't decide if we'll do a book, or if we'll just have the place cards hanging on strings and guests take a photo and replace the place card with that!

1. Did you have someone take the photos for guests? Or did you let guests handle the cameras themselves? We're going to let guests handle the cameras themselves! This way we don't have to give that task to anyone else and everyone can enjoy the day!

2. If you had someone take photos for guests, who did you ask to do this? N/A

3. If you let guests take the photos, did you leave instructions for how to swap out the film once it runs out? Or how did you handle the issue of replacing film? I'm going to make a print out that shows guests how to replace the film! I'll also have the boxes of film on the table, and they have instructions on them as well!

4. How much extra film should we make sure we have? At the moment, we have enough for our estimated guest count × 3. Would this be enough? I think that's more than enough! That ensures you have enough if guests take an extra photo to keep!

5. Any other advice as it relates to a photo guest book? Have enough washi tape, or whatever you'll use to stick the photos on the page! Also find a sharpie or pen that writes well on the film! A wedding I was at had terrible pens and the ink either wouldn't write on the film, or it wiped off as soon as it was touched!

View Quoted Comment That makes sense why she was selected to take the photos! Adding the pictures to the book later sounds like it probably saved a lot of time at the bridal shower. For a wedding reception, do you think it would make sense for me to ask someone ahead of time to take the photos for people? Is this something that a day-of coordinator would do? Or ushers? Or just let guests take the photos themselves?

View Quoted Comment Thank you Shelly!! This info is super helpful. Great suggestion about finding a sharpie or something that doesn't smudge on the film - I will have to test out different pens to see what works best.


For letting the guests replace the film, do you think there's any risk of them accidentally ruining a whole roll of film if they don't insert it correctly? Or do you think the process is easy enough for most people to figure out? I personally didn't have any issue, but I also work with electronics frequently. I would, of course, also include an instruction page to walk them through how to replace it! I might hand the camera, a package of film, and the instructions to someone who doesn't use technology much, and see if they can replace it quickly and easily just by following the directions. If so, I think it should probably be fine.

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You're welcome Lisa!! Yes, I would highly suggest that because if you'll have them write on the film, you'll want to be able to see their sweet message!

I think if there's a printout of instructions and/or the original box out on the table, then I think it'll be fine! The wedding I was at didn't have an attendant for their cameras, and it went smoothly! I do like your idea of testing it with someone less tech savvy to see how well they do. I'll have to try that with my FMIL because she's def. one of the ones that would need help haha! But yes, I think you should be fine, and if a roll gets messed up, you'll have plenty extras as backup!

We did a photo guest book, but we used a photo booth. Our photo booth had an attendant to facilitate everything. Once they took their photos, he would give them 2 copies of the strip (one for them and one for our book) and instruct them on placing the strip in the guest book and signing it. It ran very smoothly and is really fun to look at now!

I think your count for film is fairly accurate. Guests will want copies for themselves though, so just keep that in mind.

View Quoted Comment Good to know that it went smoothly for the wedding you went to! That makes me feel a whole lot better about letting guests figure out the cameras, lol. Once I'm able to get someone to test out replacing the film (it'll probably be a little bit, but hopefully soon!), I'll post an update in this thread with how it went!

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Sounds great! I'll save this thread so I can see what you update because I'm curios as to how it will go!

View Quoted Comment Thank you for your reply, Meghan! Having an attendant would certainly be ideal! Photo guest books just sound so fun to look back through. Did your guests use any photo booth props in the photos? I love that they also got a copy too! I bought extra film so that guests can take multiple photos if they wanted to (one for the book, and 1-2 for them to keep). I'm hesitant to ask a friend or family member to "work" to take pictures for everyone, and so I'm leaning towards just setting the cameras on the table and let guests take their own pictures. Is there someone else that this would be a good job for? Would this be a task that a day-of coordinator should do? Or would it make the most sense to let guests handle this themselves?

Lisa, quick question...where did you buy your film from?? I'm trying to figure out which source is more trustworthy!

View Quoted Comment I bought mine in packs of 50 from Amazon! They ended up being the best deal (at least, they were the best deal at the time, not sure if pricing changed recently) that wasn't from a shady site. Here is the link to the one I bought: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B015IY34FA

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Ahh thank you!!

I'm going to go based on what a family friend did for her wedding for something like this a couple of years ago.

1. Did you have someone take the photos for guests? Or did you let guests handle the cameras themselves? From my experience, they let the guests take it themselves. If you do this just make sure they return it to its designated area or keep it at their table before leaving for the night.

2. If you had someone take photos for guests, who did you ask to do this? This is tough on who to designate because while I am sure your family and friends want to help, I'm sure they're going to want to enjoy the wedding too. I would not suggest asking the wedding coordinator because their duty is to make sure everything is going according to plan while the reception is going on so he or she may be all over the place.

3. If you let guests take the photos, did you leave instructions for how to swap out the film once it runs out? Or how did you handle the issue of replacing film? I suggest to have a sign on how to replace it. I'm sure they will figure it out either way Make sure to have separate baskets to identify the new vs used films.

4. How much extra film should we make sure we have? At the moment, we have enough for our estimated guest count × 3. Would this be enough? That seems plenty! You should be good. Again just make sure to let them know that they cannot keep the camera and film.

5. Any other advice as it relates to a photo guest book?

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Yes, the photo booth company provided props. They were really fun to look at. I still laugh at them when I look at them.

I think if you set up a "photo area" with a table and some props, maybe make a fun background, and provide the book and pens for them to write with, it will work well. I would put a sign next to the guest book with some type of cute saying that are also instructions lol. Also, have your DJ announce that there is a photo guest book area/station set up so your guests know and don't forget or overlook it.

You could always ask you DOC to help, but honestly, she/he will be so busy doing other things. I would not want to bother them with that.

View Quoted Comment Thank you for your reply, Heather! It sounds like it'll work out just fine if I just allow guests to take their own pictures and replace the film themselves. I will put together an instructions sheet for replacing the film. I didn't even think of having baskets for the old film and the new film - great idea!!

View Quoted Comment I love the props idea! And I'm sure I can find some fun wording for an instructions sign, lol. I will plan to let guests take their own pictures (and replace the film as needed). Great idea too to have the DJ make an announcement about it!