Weddingbee Blog
A while back on Kiss the Groom, they featured a unique spin on the photobooth idea that is becoming so popular at weddings. I love the idea of having a photo booth at our wedding, but unfortunately, the rental fees in our area were a bit more than what we can afford. We considered setting up a DIY photobooth with a fabric backdrop and some props, but I wanted something a little more unique. So, when I saw this idea on Kiss the Groom, I was absolutely smitten.
The whole idea is that you create a large board that looks like a living room gallery wall full of pictures. Guests stand behind cutouts framed with empty picture frames, and interact with each other (or not) and they look like they’re part of the gallery wall. So. Absolutely. Awesome.
How cute is that baby in the last photo?!? Adorable. Plus, this whole gallery—the wall style, moving ”photobooth”—reminded me a bit of one of my favorite book series: Harry Potter. (Yes, I’m a book nerd, and I won’t apologize for it!) Don’t the pictures look a little bit like moving paintings in the hall where Ron, Hermoine and Harry went to their dormitories?
It was decided: we had to do this at our wedding. Dad French Fries is pretty extremely handy in the building things department, so I’ll call on his services to construct and cut out the backdrop and attach the supports to make it stand up. We might end up building it in place at the reception venue the day before, because I don’t know if this would fit in Mr. French Fries’ or my car!
I’ve already found an amazing deal on large photo frames for the openings that people will stand behind. Michaels (oh, how I love to spend my Saturdays with thee) had a 50% off frames sale, plus an extra 25% off coupon for open stock frames. You can’t beat 75% off. For the smaller frames, I posted an entry on the classifieds section at work, and asked people if they had old picture frames lying around that they wanted to get rid of. I’m going to cover them with fabric and/or paint, so it didn’t matter what condition they were in. I was so surprised at the number of people who contacted me! I must have received upwards of 15 frames, all for free! I’m planning on framing wedding pictures of family members from both of our families, and maybe some of our engagement photos, if I have room.
We’ll have it set up during cocktail hour so that people can have some fun before dinner. Some instructions may be necessary, so we’ll post those, along with some sample pictures of the Mr. and I demonstrating how to use it. I can’t wait to see it all come together!
Are you having a photobooth or some other interactive entertainment for your guests at your wedding?
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what a great idea! Love the idea of incorporating family photos into it as well! Can’t wait to see how it turns out.
I’m a huge Harry Potter nerd and I never made the connection - this photobooth just became even more awesome!
This is absolutely Fabulous! I can’t wait to share this idea. So wonderful and creative, I hope I see a lot of couples doing this at their weddings.
I’m making one of these for my wedding also. My dad will be making the backdrop and we’ve started collecting frames. So far I’ve got a large oval frame from a garage sale and several small ones from the dollar store I’ll be revamping. We also got an idea to by a cheap piece of crown molding and making our own rectangular frames if we can’t find any cheaply. My other find was a $3 wall stencil at Hobby Lobby to paint the backdrop with.
Any ideas on how to take the pictures? Are you printing out the pictures there and who is taking your pictures? I’m thinking about finding a willing friend or paid teenager to take the pic on a digital camera & then uploading all the shots to be printed off online.
Awesome idea! I too saw the original post and book marked it as a possible way to do our photobooth. I think a photobooth was one of our earliest wedding decisions. Unfortunately I don’t think the wall of picture frames is going to make the final cut for us. 
I love, love, LOVE this idea too! We’re definitely going to see about doing this.
I got Mr. Charmed, his BM and my carpenter brother to build one of these for our wedding last weekend, and it was a major hit! We set up a digital camera with tripod and people snapped away. Instead of actual frames, my brother cut some wall trim and painted it gold to match the wall.
My only word of advice is if you choose to put your own camera there, make it clear to your guests that you want them to use THAT camera. I went home at the end of the night with only a small fraction of the actual photos taken from our booth.
Yeah, when I saw that one I almost switched to that instead of my paper flower wall backdrop. It will be amazing.
when i saw that i thought it was great! a bit too ambitious for me but i sure did want it. lol
am i the only one that is completely freaked out by this?! someone should build this and put it in a haunted house for halloween!
I’m doing this, too! I saw it even before Pengy posted about it. I’m just hoping ours turns out just as good as this one! Good luck with yours!
How funny - I just remembered this idea the other day when I was going through Kiss the Groom again. I think it’s darling!
OMG, Mr. R & I stumblds upon this too & decided we’d HAVE to have it @ our wedding! Great minds!
I was just telling my mom this weekend that I want to do this! I can’t wait to see how it turns out!
What a fun idea! I’d be all over that thing at a wedding.
That is such an awesome idea….kind of reminds me of those boards you see at zoos and places….but way more sophisticated!! I can’t wait to see it in action.
If you do this, I might love you forever! It’s amazing!
Totally awesome! I can’t wait to see what it looks like.
I’ve been in love with that photobooth idea since the first time I saw it, too! Great idea - and you’re right - it’s very HP! Can’t wait to see this in action.
I can’t wait to see how this turns out!
We’re having OLoL’s smilebooth. V. excited.
i SO wanted to do this but ran out of time. maybe we’ll make one for Christmas or something 
Miss Fries,
When it is finished is there anyway you could post a full tutorial. I am no carpenter, but am willing to try to do this, if I have proper instruction. I am so in love with this idea. I have been trying to figure out a good photobooth idea, and this is perfect!!!
That is so cool! I also thought of Harry Potter when I saw it 
Sigh. I so love this idea (I saw it a few months ago!) but I just don’t know if I have the motivation to pull it off!
From 1 HP fan to another: You know about the HP theme park thats opening next Spring, right? When I saw the photos of the park I think I died a little… lol
This is a great idea! If we didn’t have to take a gondola to get to our reception I’d totally do something like this
When I saw this, I wanted my own. I emailed it to my mom as an unattainable dream and she instantly started planning it out. We quickly got my handy brother on board and it seems like it may be come a reality after all. I’m just not sure about the building/storage/transport part as it will be quite large. I too would love to see a tutorial. My bro suggested using drywall instead of wood which I think was lighter and cheaper. I’m going to give some direction on design but ultimately leave execution up to ma mom and brother since I’m long distance.
@lobstergirl: I will try to take pictures along the way and post a tutorial.
@RecessionistaBride: I do know about the theme park!!! It looks so.freaking.awesome.
@slicey19: Great idea about using drywall — my dad suggested possibly using MDF instead of wood, too, to make it lighter/cheaper.
I love that photo booth/portrait wall! can’t wait to see it in action!
I LOVED this idea when I saw it…wherever I first saw it. Just a warning - it think it has the potential to come out cheesy if it’s not done right. But I know yours will be done beautifully! You’re a Bee!
I kinda want to make one of these myself and ask potential brides if they want me to bring it to their receptions… Except I don’t have a handy relative to help! Still…
I think I am going to do this too. Fellow bees, I would love to see how this turns out! Please post pics!
So. Freaking. Cool.
And I LOOOOOOOOVE the subtle Harry Potter-ness of it all. If it weren’t for the FI, I’d be marrying a fictional character. We’re actually heading to the Museum of Science in Boston this weekend for the special HP exhibit they’ve got on. Dangerousness.
We had a photobooth for our Milwaukee wedding last year (reasonably priced with Matt and the http://www.partypicturebooth.com), and it was wonderful because they’re still very rare in this area and we hadn’t told anyone about it but the MOH. The guests had a blast (we’re STILL getting compliments!), and we couldn’t recommend it highly enough. We loved looking at them in our hotel room the next morning!
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Miss French Fries, Milwaukee Age and Occupation: 27, Paralegal Fiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Investments Advisor Engagement Date: September 20, 2008 Wedding Date: June 2010 Venue: Ceremony: Catholic Church, Reception: Hotel Ballroom About Me: I'm a Midwestern girl who longs to live in a warmer climate (my feet would be happy in flip flops any day!). I love travel, impromptu napping, grilled cheese sandwiches, my iPhone, singing with reckless abandon in my car, and Mr. French Fries.
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