Wedding Photobooth + Free Instructions Printable

One of my favorite things about our wedding was our photobooth. It made me laugh so hard going through the photos and I put many of them up on our fridge to remind us of our amazing wedding and of all of the amazing friends we have back in Wisconsin. Because of our tight budget, we made our own photobooth. We ended up having an amazing booth with all of these photos for just over $100!

To make an easy and cheap photobooth backdrop, I used a 50% coupon at my local craft store to buy a length of gold sequined fabric. I don’t remember exactly how much I purchased, but I want to say it was about 3 yards. We taped it up on the wall of our reception venue and voila! An easy photobooth. For props, I printed out these awesome ones from Cup of Jo (here and here) and glued them onto thick cardstock. I then taped each one on a long bamboo skewer with the pointed end snipped off. I placed all of them in large mason jars. It’s probably good to have some sort of table near your photobooth to place the instructions and the props.

We put one of our DSLR camera up on a tripod, walled in with storage bins so no one would bump the camera. We also purchased a remote on a cord. The cord wasn’t long enough that people could take their own photos, but it did allow them to wrangle a friend into pressing the button without having to touch the camera.

To make sure the photos were centered, we marked an “x” with painter’s tape so guide people where to stand. Many photobooth setups I’ve found on the internet call for a ring flash, but to save money, we just used Pat’s diffuser (he has this amazing one by Gary Fong) he uses for photography shoots and set the exposure on the camera up very high.

It took lots of tries to get the photo settings just right. Luckily, we coerced our friend Erica to be our model:

I also created a photobooth instructions printable to guide the process. I printed it out on nice cardstock and placed it in a pretty gilded frame that I made.

These are my instructions:

Just in case they can be helpful to you, I have included them at the bottom of this post as a .pdf and .doc printable!

Even Pat’s grandparents got in on the fun!              

As you can see from the photos, the photobooth was a hit! Now I can’t imagine having a party without one!

Here are the links to the photobooth instructions printable:

.pdf

.doc (Word file, with editable text)

Do you have any ideas for a photobooth backdrop? Share in the comments below!

Update: I’ve gotten a few questions and comments about the photobooth cost. Here is a rough breakdown of how much everything cost:

Doing a Photobooth on a Budget

3 yards of pretty fabric……………………$20
Camera (Preferably DSLR)…………On hand
Camera Remote…………………………….$22
Painter’s or Washi Tape……………..On hand
Camera Tripod………………….On hand or $13
Picture frame for instructions………….On hand
Flash diffuser……………………………..$60
Bamboo skewers for props……………..$3
Tagboard sheets for props………………$3

So, the estimated cost for us for the photobooth was just over $100!

In addition, everything that we purchased is something we can use again, which was a big goal for the wedding overall. We even passed on the props to my sister-in-law, who is getting married next summer.

See more of our wedding photos & DIYs:

DIY Hanging Twine Balls
First Look Wedding Photos, Part I
First Look Wedding Photos, Part II
Wedding Dance Party Photos
Wedding Details – Dessert Table & Table Decorations
Wedding Updo – How to Chalk Your Hair
Wedding Ceremony Pictures
Wedding Getting Ready Pictures
Vintage Drawer Pulls as Placecard Holders DIY
DIY Wedding Photobooth Setup with Printable
DIY Gilded Upcycled Plastic Cups
DIY Glitter Upcycled Silverware
DIY Honey Jar Wedding Favors
Rustic Wedding Cake Frosting Technique
Stuffed S’mores Cupcakes Recipe
DIY Glitter Swizzle Sticks
DIY Embossed Envelopes
Engagement Photos, Part I
Engagement Photos, Part II