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Updated Aug 17, 2022How to Rent a Photo Booth for Your Wedding
Say cheese!
A photo booth can be a great addition to a wedding reception. Not only does it provide a fun keepsake for your guests, it's also a great activity for those who need a break from the dance floor. And as the night goes on, things are sure to get pretty rowdy in the booth! Photo booths are pretty popular nowadays—according to The Knot Real Wedding Study, 43% of couples had additional guest entertainment at their reception and 54% of those respondents rented photo booths. But how do you actually get a photo booth for your wedding? Here's a step-by-step guide to renting photo booth services for your big day.
Gather important information.
Before you can book your wedding photo booth, you'll need to make some basic, yet important, decisions. Without these details, you won't have enough information to provide to a photo booth company—so make sure the basics of your big day are ready to go before moving forward.
- Have you booked a wedding venue and set a date?
- How many guests will you be hosting? (An estimate is fine.)
- What's your wedding style?
- What is your budget for a photo booth? (Note: According to The Knot Real Wedding Study, the average couple spends $1,000 on guest entertainment, which includes photo booths).
- What are your goals for your photo booth (cool backdrops, ability to share on social media, online gallery of images, classic photo strips, green screen, boomerangs, etc.)?
You should also talk to your venue coordinator and/or wedding planner about if having a photo booth is allowed and possible in your event space, and if so, how much room you have available (preferably near a power source!). It's a good idea to get a floor plan and measurements of your venue so you can ensure that the photo booth of your choice will fit and exactly where it will go. If space is tight, a roaming photo booth (where an attendant strolls around with a handheld touchscreen) is always an option.
Choose the best photo booth for your event.
Now it's time to answer the big question: What type of photo booth do you want to rent for your reception? There are lots of photo booth options available, and it's really a matter of personal preference. Here are just a few types to choose from:
- 360-degree photo booths
- GIF photo booths
- Slow-motion video photo booths
- Traditional photo booths
- Airstream photo booths
- Inflatable photo booths
- Open-air photo booths
- Flip book photo booths
While DIY photo booths are certainly an option, we highly recommend hiring a company that specializes in photo booths to make the process stress-free and seamless.
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Find a photo booth rental company in your wedding location.
Now that you've identified an ideal photo booth type, you can start researching rental companies in your area. The Knot Marketplace features thousands of vendors, and allows you to read reviews of photo booth companies near you. You can also search by price and offerings such as social media sharing, digital files, online proofing and more. Your wedding photographer, DJ or other vendors may have recommendations (or offer photo booth services themselves!), and you can also ask recently-married family members and friends for suggestions. Narrow the list down to a couple of companies you're most interested in working with.
Reach out and ask questions.
When reaching out to a professional photo booth company, your first question should be about their availability on your wedding date. A few other questions to ask a photo booth vendor:
- What types of photo booths do you have available? What type of booth do you recommend for my event/venue/guest count?
- How many people can fit into each type of booth?
- What do your photo booth backdrops look like?
- How do guests receive their pics (text message, online gallery, printed photos, photo strip, etc.)?
- Can I see examples of photos from the photo booths to make sure they're high quality?
- Will we receive an online gallery of all of the photos taken during the event?
- What do your packages include? How many hours will we have the photo booth at our event?
- What is your pricing? When are payment due?
- Are there any additional charges we should know about (travel fee, overtime, etc.)?
- Have you worked at our wedding venue before?
- Do you provide photo booth props?
- Will there be an attendant present during the event?
- What happens if the attendant can't make our event due to an emergency? Do you have a backup plan?
- How do setup and breakdown work? When will you arrive and depart?
- Are you licensed and insured?
- What's your cancellation policy? What's the latest date that I can make changes to my order?
Read the contract carefully.
Once you've selected your photo booth company, ask for a contract. As with any other service or pro, it's important to read (and re-read!) your contract. Doing so will ensure you receive the photo booth services you really want, and eliminate any miscommunication. As you carefully read over your contract, make sure you're clear on the number of hours the photo booth will be present, the deposit and payment schedule, what the photo booth company provides, attendant information and more. Once you have all your bases covered and everything is correct, sign on the line and have your photo booth pro do the same.
