DIY Photo Booth

My brother and sister in law had a photo booth at their wedding. Everyone enjoyed it so much that I was determined to have one at my wedding as well. Unfortunately, when I priced them, the cheapest one that I could find cost $1000 for the evening. That was more than I had left in my budget, but my desire to have a photo booth did not wane as time went on.

Then, I found How To: DIY Your Wedding Photobooth at A Practical Wedding. This post gave me the confidence that I would be able to do it myself. I started googling “do it yourself photo booth” and found that there were almost as many ways to make one as there were people who tried. Eventually, I found Sparkbooth. This program allows you to use any computer in your photo booth, and it only costs $59. Some people online balked at that price, but I thought that it was quite fair, especially when compared to the $1000.

After buying the program, I had to figure out how to create the booth. We borrowed a couple of rolling racks and used some curtains that Douglas had hanging in his house.

We collected “props” from around the house. Ski goggles and hats, bike helmets, a feather boa, any old Halloween costumes. Douglas’ old Hilly hat was one of the most popular items. Here you can see my grandmother sporting it in a photo.

We were able to fit all of the costumes as well as the curtains in this suitcase I found in the trash.

In the end, the props were not even necessary. People had fun in the booth even when they did not use any props.

Douglas spent an hour or so learning the program and choosing the setting we would use. Sparkbooth proved easy to use. If there is internet access at your reception or party, there is a way to have the pictures sent immediately to your guests email addresses. We chose to save the pictures and send them later, as the email programs that Sparkbooth cost extra and were difficult to use.

When we arrived at the venue, all we had to do was set up a table in a corner. The curtains went on the other two sides with a space for people to enter. We set the computer on the table and set up a lamp. One important thing is to make sure you set the program so that access to the computer is locked so that no one can access your files.

The best part about the photo booth is how much fun people have in them. People you would never expect let loose once inside. It never gets old looking at the pictures. Every time we pull them out we notice something else.

After the wedding, I was really glad that we decided to make our own and not rent an actual booth. First of all, it cost a great deal less to do it ourselves. Secondly, we were able to fit more people inside. because the curtains were on rolling racks, it was easy to move them around to accommodate more people.

Many “photo bombs” occurred as people peeked through the curtains to appear in others’ pictures.

The other reason we were happy to have purchased Sparkbooth is that we have been able to use the program several times since then. It was a hit at my aunt and uncle’s 4th-of-July party.

The photo booth also made an appearance at the Halloween party we attended last fall.

Most recently, it was used again last weekend at my cousin’s wedding. Here are the lovely bride and groom.

I have no doubt that it will make more appearances in the years to come. It is always a popular attraction for people of all ages.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about how to create your own photo booth. I highly recommend it!

Happy Homemaking!