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Mrs. Cola, Mountain View, CA Age and Occupation: 27, Product Communications and Promotions Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Managing Partner and Senior Designer Engagement Date: March 5, 2009 Wedding Date: June 2010 Venue: The Mountain Terrace, Woodside, CA About Me: I’m a Washington State native, enjoying life in Silicon Valley California with my fiancé, our three kitties and one leopard gecko. I like reading wedding blogs, Photoshopping wedding design mock ups, making lists, and planning, planning, planning! I’m a bit of an anomaly, on one side I’m a very girlie girl, I collect shoes, I lay out my outfits 4-6 weeks in advance, and I’d never leave the house without my hair curled and makeup on. But on the other side, I’m a total tomboy, I love to go camping and hiking, play drinking games (hey, I’m Irish!) and most of my closest friends are guys. My fiancé and I are planning a DIY-focused wedding with a balance between easygoing (what he wants) and chic and stylish (what I want), and are tying it all together with elements in lavender, sage, butter cream and chocolate.
About Mrs. Cola

Wishing, and Hoping, and Dreaming…

November 27th, 2009 @ 1:56 pm by Mrs. Cola

During the wedding planning process you are bombarded with an overload of visual stimuli. Hundreds of inspiration boards, ideas, and recap photos are out there just waiting for you to feast your eyes on. Some call the many, many beautiful pictures “wedding porn,” and that’s a pretty good term for it! I could (and have, and do!) spend hours looking at all the many ideas out there for inspiration, but I’m beginning to think I may need to stop.

I keep finding new things to add to our wedding plans! There are a lot of them that I think are really cute, but either are too expensive, too hard to do, or something that I really appreciate, but can live without. And then there are a few, two things in particular, that I can’t stop thinking about.

#1 is the Photobooth.

Wishing, and Hoping, and Dreaming... :  wedding favors reception 1 1

Wishing, and Hoping, and Dreaming... :  wedding favors reception 2 2

{Source for both}

I’ve seen this featured in so many weddings that I’ve seen online, since it’s the latest “trend”. And although I don’t like to jump on the bandwagon, I have a feeling that unless somebody attends like 5+ weddings a year, chances are they’ve never seen one at a wedding. Everyone looks so happy and seems to be having so much fun in all the photobooth wedding pics I’ve seen. And I know Mr. Cola and I had fun at the one wedding we’ve been to that had a photobooth. I think it would be a huge hit with all our friends, and we could even get some fun props during after Halloween sales for some silly photo ops.

The problem though, is the cost. Do we really have a spare $1000 to spend on this? That’s where I’m torn. It’s a pretty big chunk of cash for a few hours of entertainment… but then again, we would have a million awesome pictures from it (the guests all get a print-out there, and you get to keep a CD of everything at the end of the night). Plus you have the option of having a projector showing what’s going on in the booth displayed on a wall for everyone to see, which makes it even more fun and enticing. Sigh, what’s a girl to do?

My #2 obsession is an ice cream/gelato cart.

Wishing, and Hoping, and Dreaming... :  wedding favors reception Www.weddingbee http://www.weddingbee.com/ Wishing, and Hoping, and Dreaming... :  wedding favors reception 4 4

{Source 1 , Source 2}

Wouldn’t that be a neat addition to the cupcakes for dessert—to have a scoop of yummy gelato? The cart could be set up in the inside dining room near the photobooth and people could get their photos taken and then eat some gelato afterward. For $400 we can get 120 2-scoop servings, cups, spoons, napkins, 2 hrs with 1 person serving, with tax and 14% gratuity charge included in the price. But my main fear is that it would take away from the special-ness of our cupcakes and awesome 6 foot cupcake stand (more on that later). But on the other hand, it could be a really cool addition too, since we’re not having the traditional cake for dessert.

Having both of these add-ons would be so awesome. But are they worth the price? I’m not sure. I think if I had to choose one, it would be the photo booth; however that’s over twice the cost of the gelato cart. But I think the pay-off would be better and people would enjoy it more than the extra dessert… although both would be the best!

I’m going to have to think (and drool!) over these ideas a bit more before I make any decisions. If there’s anywhere I can find it in the budget to include one or both of these—it would be either in savings on my dress (if I get the pretty cheap one I found online from a distributor instead of one I might find in a boutique), or maybe we could skip the $260 snorkel trip on our honeymoon, or heck, if I’m really looking for/grasping at straws for justification on these added costs, I suppose I could go without any new shoes or clothes for myself this coming fall/winter/spring…

Have you found any non-budgeted for, but super awesome additions you want for your wedding? And which would you pick if you were me, the photobooth, the gelato cart, both, or neither?

Tags: favors, reception |
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30 Responses to “Wishing, and Hoping, and Dreaming…”

1 2 

1.
Member Icon
Member
KMSull (message)  6,442 posts, Bee Keeper

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the gelato cart. I seriously would have one if… we had such a thing here in Lexington. My closest option would be the Swann’s frozen dinner truck… frozen mac and cheese, anyone?

 
2.
10.10.10
Member
10.10.10 (message)  118 posts, Blushing bee

I love and want both at my wedding too (well, I want a snow ball stand…Louisiana thing). I also want a hot dog cart for the end of the night. And that led me to wanting a cotton candy machine and fresh popcorn. Then I realized that I should’ve planned a carnival themed reception (complete with sword swallowers and fire breathers) . I wish I had, because all of that would be so much fun. But, I don’t think my venue will allow it. And I know for certain my budget (AKA, my father) won’t allow it.
But, I’m not giving up on the photo booth and snow balls.

 
3.
sweetlovely
Member
sweetlovely (message)  140 posts, Blushing bee

Both really great ideas Miss Cola. It’s SO hard to choose! I’ve been looking for a bay area gelato cart, thx for the info!

 
4.
Guest Icon
Guest
Bluebird

I want gelato at my wedding when I get married! I developed a slight gelato addiction in college. Unfortunately, now I live in rural Southwest Virginia where no one has even heard of it :(

 
5.
bunnylovesbear
Member
bunnylovesbear (message)  1,726 posts, Bumble bee

I’m in love with the photobooth idea. In fact, I loved this idea BEFORE it became the new trend!! Where did you find a price quote of $1000? Believe it or not, that’s cheaper than what I’ve been able to find!!

The gelato cart is quite adorable, as well.

 
6.
tea
Member
tea (message)  7,263 posts, Bee Keeper

miss cola, are you living in my head? these were two ideas that i tossed around myself. i may have dropped the gelato idea but the photobooth is still holding strong. at this point i think i’d go with the photobooth. fun and goodies for both sides!

 
7.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Frozen Yogurt (message)  2,685 posts, Sugar bee

I’m doing the photobooth, and even though i’ve seen them in tons of weddings online, I’ve never actually been to a wedding with one, so I’m excited!

 
8.
Guest Icon
Guest
drealeah

I’m having a gelato cart outside the church after my ceremony because we have an hour gap before the cocktail hou begins. I’m so excited about it :)

 
9.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Ribbons (message)  2,018 posts, Buzzing bee

I love the photobooth too - my photographer has an a la carte option for one, but like you said it’s expensive.

I have no idea what to offer since I’m so torn too, but I definitely think it will be unique. Despite the ubiquity of photobooths in the blog world, I have never seen one at a wedding I’ve been to.

 
10.
Miss Elephant
Bee
Miss Elephant (message)  6,177 posts, Bee Keeper

Gelato sounds yummy, but I would go for the photobooth. Like you said, the majority of your guests have probably never been to a wedding with one.

 
11.
Member Icon
Member
French Fry (message)  48 posts, Newbee

You have now added a gelato cart to my must haves for our wedding. Gelato at my big fat Italian wedding? Yes please.

 
12.
canegirl08
Member
canegirl08 (message)  158 posts, Blushing bee

I would definitely do the gelato cart over the photo booth. Mmm…gelato.

 
13.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Cheeseburger (message)  1,020 posts, Bumble bee

I am with you on wedding obessions. I have had sooo many over our engagement! I have found that my interest in them rises and falls with time. I’m sure whichever you pick will be great (but if you’re twisting my arm, I’d say photobooth because guests looooove them and get to take the pics home!)

 
14.
asunw
Member
asunw (message)  550 posts, Busy bee

I am dying to have a photobooth at my wedding. The cost issue is killing me though.

 
15.
Angiepie
Member
Angiepie (message)  94 posts, Worker bee

DO THE PHOTOBOOTH! My husband and I were on the fence about it, but just bit the bullet and did it. It was, by far, the biggest hit of our wedding! And we had SO MANY great candid shots of our guests. We included some props that I rounded up from several relatives (hats, boas, snorkel masks, a long stuffed snake)–what a riot! Don’t miss out on it! Also, my aunt passed away 2 weeks to the day after our wedding. We have some great shots of her being goofy in the booth with friends and family. I really cherish those photos now that she’s gone.

 
16.
Guest Icon
Guest
James

I hope this isn’t spam, but if a “real” photobooth is too costly you should consider the DIY approach. I wrote a DIY photobooth program that I sell, but there are others out there and they’re a fraction of the $1000-1500 that a photobooth rental will cost.

bunnylovesbear is right… $1000 is relatively cheap compared to most photobooth rentals. I was quoted $1500-2000, which is ridiculous. A DIY is a small amount more work, but saves tons and still gives great results. And in my opinion, the photos can be more creative, since they don’t have to fit in that tiny booth. Lookup some photobooth examples, people get very creative with them.

Regarding the gelato vs. photobooth, I’d vote for both. My wife and I really loved the photobooth pics we got, and they really helped us enjoy our guests and reception since we got to see all those things we missed while we were busy. However, my wife wanted a cotton candy machine, but we focused on other more fancy things. Now looking back? We’d totally get the cotton candy machine. If we had to choose one, we’d get the booth. But if you have room in the budget for one, then you could fit a DIY booth *and* gelato in for the same price. Have your gelato and eat it too!

There’s so many things that make a wedding more beautiful and fancy, and impressive. But when you look back afterward, I think it’s the creative, fun, and unique things that stick out and are most appreciated. So instead of more decorations, we should have had a cotton candy machine. And we should’ve danced earlier and longer. And invited more people…. :)

Good luck. I think these kind of unique things will be so much more special and memorable than the napkins/flowers/tuxes/etc when you look back on it in a year.

 
17.
honeybun
Member
honeybun (message)  1,783 posts, Buzzing bee

I REALLY want to do a photobooth!! I know I can rent one for $400, which seems like nothing compared to what everyone else on here gets quoted! Gelato cart is super cute too. There’s a little place here called Deb’s lemonade that FI lovesssss…I know they will send one of their little trucks to places but I haven’t checked on prices yet. He would be sooo excited!

 
18.
Member Icon
Member
fromcharleston (message)  651 posts, Busy bee

do gelato just without the cart. it would be much cheaper to buy gelato and serve it. also, don’t give up the snorkeling trip with your new hubby! those are memories that are more important than the gelato cart. as for the photobooth, maybe you can cut back the bells and whistles of it or find a similar (and cheaper) alternative.

 
19.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Scissors (message)  7,343 posts, Bee Keeper

Photobooooooooth! But then again, I’m biased, since we’re doing that.

 
20.
Guest Icon
Guest
Raquel

Well personally I would go with the photoboof. You’ll have the memories forever and so will your family and friends. Imagine people scrapbooking using the pictures they got done at your wedding, they’ll be talking about your wedding and the wonderful time they had. Whereas gelato maybe very tasty, but its more of novelty and once its gone its gone. A picture is worth a 1000 words I’ve been told. :)
Go with what your heart tells you is the bottomline.

 
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Mrs. Cola
Mrs. Cola

Mrs. Cola, Mountain View, CA Age and Occupation: 27, Product Communications and Promotions Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Managing Partner and Senior Designer Engagement Date: March 5, 2009 Wedding Date: June 2010 Venue: The Mountain Terrace, Woodside, CA About Me: I’m a Washington State native, enjoying life in Silicon Valley California with my fiancé, our three kitties and one leopard gecko. I like reading wedding blogs, Photoshopping wedding design mock ups, making lists, and planning, planning, planning! I’m a bit of an anomaly, on one side I’m a very girlie girl, I collect shoes, I lay out my outfits 4-6 weeks in advance, and I’d never leave the house without my hair curled and makeup on. But on the other side, I’m a total tomboy, I love to go camping and hiking, play drinking games (hey, I’m Irish!) and most of my closest friends are guys. My fiancé and I are planning a DIY-focused wedding with a balance between easygoing (what he wants) and chic and stylish (what I want), and are tying it all together with elements in lavender, sage, butter cream and chocolate.

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