Thursday, November 13, 2008

Teaser 7: Photobooth Shenanigans

I hate doing things that are "in" or cliche or could possibly be considered a fad as the years pass. I still haven't decided if the photo booth can be deemed any of those things, but there is something you should know... I actually don't care because photo booths are the best thing weddings have seen since the tradition of serving wedding cake began. I guarantee you there is no chance I would ever have been looking at photos like this without it:



Reasons why I like this photo:
1. My Great-Grandma is over 90 years old. I haven't seen her look this young in a long time.
2. She used to tell me stories of dancing on the pier while listening to big band music in the 20's and 30's. She told me once that she was the one that everyone wanted to dance with. I think the fake pearls, the purse, and the little hat remind me of that time period.
3. I hope to be able to show my daughters this photo one day and tell them "This grandma? She used to send me books because she and I both loved to read, and gave me a pair of semi-precious earrings I have always treasured, and she led a glamorous life sailing the Caribbean and traveling the world after she retired." I think you can sense her glamour in this photo.
4. Our photo booth? It was free! Jaquilyn Shumate brought her husband and took the pictures in exchange for a meal (and they must have done a fabulous job of coaching people and helping them feel natural because it shows in the photos). The camera and lights were provided by my mom, and the camera lens and backdrop were provided by Kelli. I got the hookups!

This is the first set of photos that make me a little bit sad and glad. Glad, because they are so hilarious (all of them!) Sad, because we only made out with 53 photos by the end of the night! With 75 guests that showed up, this means that less than half of our guests must have made their way over to it.

I don't want to end on a sad note, but this is the first time I will write about a wedding regret: Not doing a good enough job of spreading the word about the photo booth. I should have posted about it on the wedding website, included "tickets" for it in the ring ceremony program, and talked it up every single chance I got!

I just started to get really sad thinking about it. Then I scrolled back up again and looked at that photo of my Great-Grandma and began to smile again. :)

13 comments:

Momma, PhD said...

Did some of your guests take photos in groups? If so, you might have gotten all (or most) of your 75 guests in just 53 shots.

AmyJean {Relentless Bride®} said...

Your great grandmother is absolutely fabulous!

Ellen Mint said...

Wedding regrets are evil things. Last night I was flipping through the pro ceremony pics of the guys and pointed out how they didn't have their boutonnieres on yet.

So my guy says "Is that a problem we should fix."

And I of course have to respond with "Yes, get everyone back from Chicago and I want them done before Thanksgiving so I can finish this scrapbook."

A2Z Photo Booths LLC said...

I agree with Courtney. Most of your guests probably got in the booth together - or with a small group. I'd be surprised if you missed more than 4-5 people. Typically we only get about 120 photos with a guest list of 200. And it's my job to make sure everyone gets in the photo booth. I think it's great that more and more people and seeing the benefit of having a photo booth at their wedding. And it's not quite a trend yet - so your safe as far as following the crowd....this time you're leading out!!
The picture of your G-grandmother is fabulous. You will cherish that forever!
Jill Smith
www.a2zPhotoBooths.com

jennifer said...

OMG! I don't have a granmother, let alone a great-grandmother...so can I borrow her? Seriously! She is so cute!

I think regreats like this are okay. I have one regret from the wedding similar to this. I 'd rather you and me regret a detail like this than regretting the whole shabang...or something horrible that happened.

Angela said...

I LOVE this picture.

Brian @ The Photobooth Company said...

"I should have posted about it on the wedding website, included "tickets" for it in the ring ceremony program, and talked it up every single chance I got!"

That is an awesome idea! A few of our brides have done similar things, and it seems like the photobooth is twice as busy. Some people come back multiple times...

Great writeup!

Lisa Ann said...

Thanks for the great post !
We usually tell our brides to mention the photobooth in the programs and we hit up the DJ or band as well. Every little bit helps. As far as grandmothers go...well they are always the first in the booth and they might just love it the most. Nostalgia is a beautiful thing.

Anonymous said...

Your great-grandma is SOOO cute! I think she would be an awesome person to know :)

Kaitlyn said...

You know, I saw this picture of Kelli's blog and it stuck with me. I honestly think I looked at it for a few minutes before I scrolled again! Love it :)

Jenna said...

Courtney-What a cheering thought! I'll feel a little more optimistic about things now until I actually see the photos.

blab-Glad a few others feel the same way.

a2z-Thanks for the encouragement from someone who knows what they are talking about!

jennifer-I definitely don't regret the whole thing, which is how it should be.

heidzilla said...

it is SO hard to look back on your big day and think about the things you could have changed for done better. but think about all the amazing things you accomplished, too. like they say, hindsight is 20/20... i'm just about 3 months from my big day (08.30.08) and i'm still thinking about how things went, could have been, photos i wish were taken etc. but you know what, if that AWESOME photo of your g-gma is the ONLY shot you got with your photo booth, i'd would think it's worth it. that is an amazing shot that i'm sure you'll treasure forever. i'll never forget it and i don't even know YOU let alone your great grandma!! :)

~heidzilla
www.heidzillas.com

Cate Subrosa said...

That is such a brilliant photo! I can only imagine how much I might love it if she were my own great grandmother!