Photobooth or photo table?! Advice needed

We're having a photobooth. A couple of reasons:

1) we got 10% off because we booked at a wedding fair!

2) It's one less thing for us to do - I love the props that they provided, and I don't have time to recreate that. I know you can get prop packs of the cardboard things on sticks, but (and this is just my opinion) I never think they look that great - it just looks like people holding a cardboard hat on a stick. If you have the time and budget to get decent props though, it could be a good option.

3) We'll be having a band set up, so the photobooth can do it at the same time. They're professionals and they know what they're doing, so even if we're still inside, I think we can trust them to be discreet. It depends on your venue, but maybe you could screen off the area where the booth will be going, so they can crack on whilst you finish your food. I think as long as they aren't being noisy over speeches, you would be fine though.

4) They are providing a person to monitor the props and guest book, which is really good - people will actually use it, and not wander off with props! When I've been to weddings with a DIY photo booth/table, no-one has really participated, because they didn't know it was there, or props had walked off. If you do decide to go DIY, might be worth asking one of your bridal party to monitor it from time to time and get people to use it. But then you also want them to have fun, so again for us, the fact that they provide a person to do this was great.

5) We get 2 copies of the pictures - so one will go in our guest book, and our guests get to keep the other. You'd get through a lot of film if you asked people to take 2 snaps, and as a guest, I really like being able to keep a copy. Also, hopefully it will mean people actually sign the guest book too!

I hope this helps, it's down to you at the end of the day - maybe have a chat with your venue to see what options they have for getting the photobooth set up if that's your biggest concern! X

I am swayed towards photo table. Been to a few weddings with both. Booth is fun but totally distracting with people queuing for a while and totally distracted by fancy dress. Fun but a bit work-christmas-party. Photo table no desperate huddle around but still enjoyed by everyone, photos much better than booth ones too.

Hi!

We have opted for the photo table option and bought an Instax Square in the Black Friday sales - it’s a really cool camera and comes with different lenses to change the style/colour of the photo and a mirror at the front for selfies! I think I’ll probably end up using it myself before our wedding comes around!!

We’re going to have a little sign with a guestbook, some glue and pens with a few props and have someone just check in on it periodically throughout the evening!

Both options come with their benefits. I have been to weddings where they have set up their booth table, and been able to really personalise and style the set up to their own theme.

When we do a typical three hour booth wedding service, we would usually take between 200-300 pictures. This may help you when factoring in print media costs (as this can soon rack up, where media can be quite expensive for the instant camera solutions). It's also worth considering who will check whether the print media needs changing through the evening, whether the lighting is set up to allow for decent pictures and if the camera has a battery, that it is still charged up throughout the evening.

Once guests get a bit tipsy, props tend to go walkabouts - as does the glue and pens for a guest book - so if going down this route, I would nominate someone like a Bridesmaid to just keep an eye on it over the course of the evening :-)

Traditional photo booths have been exhausted but still offer an easy way to have fun. Have you considered the "new wave" of guest photos - magic selfie screens? Full length mirrors with a good selection of props will keep young and old entertained for many hours. Easy to use and you can keep a copy of all the shots and compile an unusual wedding album. Search for a magic selfie mirror near you and as others have commented book early to negotiate a discount.