Taking photo booth props to a new level

Ogden, Utah is famous for being an adventure sport mecca in the Western US. The Ogden Convention and Visitors Bureau contacted us about providing an adventurous photo booth for the business to business fair in Layton, Utah.

The photo booth props they wanted to incorporate were some of the most creative we have ever seen. They wanted guests to use the photo booth while in a giant kayak. We placed blue and white towels under the kayak to simulate white water rapids. They also had life jackets, paddles and other fun photo booth props for the guests to use.

We utilized our amazing shout out video feature to record the guests saying visit Ogden. Instead of traditional photo booth strips, we printed a 4 x6 postcard print. This allowed us to co-brand the background with the logos of the businesses that support the Ogden Convention and Visitors Bureau.

A photo booth is a great way to interact with visitors at trade shows and conventions. It will bring fun excitement and creativity to your trade show booth. It gives them a take away piece that is a personalized advertisement for your brand or company. You can also use the shout out videos for promotional purposes. We love it when are clients suggest fun and creative ideas for photo booth props at their events.

DIY to DYI

When doing it yourself starts to do you in.

A worried mother of the bride called us last year asking if we could provide a photo booth to her daughters wedding at the last minute. Her daughter was getting married in Salt Lake City, Utah and was trying a DIY photo booth idea that she had found on Pinterest. As the wedding day was drawing closer, the photo booth idea that had appeared to be simple and inexpensive on the internet was now taking more time an money than was planned. The DIY photo booth project was adding a considerable amount of stress to the bride. Unfortunately, all of our photo booths were booked that weekend and we were not able to help the mother rescue the photo booth idea.

A simple internet search will lead you to an abundance of  DIY wedding ideas. Sites like Pinterest have revolutionized how brides plan and think about their weddings. Unique and creative wedding ideas are being shared to engaged couples around the world. Doing things yourself can save money and add a personal touch to your wedding. But sometimes doing it yourself starts to do you in.

Here are some questions to ask before you take on a DIY wedding project:

Do I have the time to do this right?

How will this DIY project affect my stress level?

Will this DIY idea take my friends and family away from the fun and enjoyment of my wedding?

Is this something can be hired out?

How much money will I really be saving by doing this myself?

How much help can my friends and family give me?

There are wedding details that make sense to do yourself. But there are also many times when a wedding professional can lower stress and improve quality of the wedding detail. There are many wedding planners that will be very helpful in lowering your wedding stress and make sure your unique ideas will be fun and enjoyable.  

Things to Investigate Before Hiring a Wedding Vendor.

It is unfortunate to read stories of brides hiring a service or buying a product for their special day, only to find out that it wasn't what they expected. Your wedding is the biggest day of your life. Don't leave parts of it up chance. Here are some simple things to investigate before hiring a wedding vendor.


Read all the reviews
Does the vendor your are thinking of hiring have any reviews online? Read them all. There will hopefully be many good reviews to read. Look for trends in the reviews, and put more weight in the more recent reviews. You will likely find that the vendor that you are looking into isn't perfect. That is okay, wedding vendors are generally real people that occasionally make mistakes. You may want to look at how they handle problems and how they respond to less than stellar reviews. Are they on time and is the general trend of reviews positive? Chances are you, you have found a good vendor.


Is the vendor licensed and registered?
One easy way to check is to see if the vendor is charging you sales or use tax. In Utah, nearly all wedding related products/services are required to pay sales or use tax. This even applies to digital photos. The wedding vendor may be building the tax into the price, but it doesn't hurt to ask.


Meet the vendor
Bridal shows are a great way to meet vendors face to face. You will get to know them and you can determine if they will be the right fit for your wedding. Share with them your vision of your special day and see if they can enhance that vision. If you are looking for a wedding photographer, look at their previous work and determine if it matches your vision and style. When choosing a photo booth rental, it is always best to look at the booth and see it in action. Photo booths can come in a variety of shapes, sizes and forms. We love it when engaged couples make an appointment to meet with us face to face and to see our booths.


Does the vendor have liability insurance?
Not only does liability insurance protect the vendor, it protects everyone involved with the wedding. Some venues require all outside vendors to carry liability insurance. The certificate of insurance is another indication that the potential vendor is a legitimate wedding professional.


Is the vendor on referral lists?
You may have to be careful with this tip because some places charge vendors to be on their referral lists. If you have a trusted venue or planner you will want to look into the vendors on their referral lists. They are likely vendors they have worked with in the past and are trusted. Ask questions about the vendors on the referral list. Find out why they may be a good fit for your wedding.


Is it too good to be true?
If the price sounds to good to be true it generally is. Finding a good deal is important, but when a price is significantly priced below the competition, be skeptical. I had potential client tell me that she had found a photo booth rental service for half of what we charge, but she was a little concerned that they didn't have a website or online reviews. She informed me after the event that the vendor never showed up to the event.


What does their online presence look like?
Many of use the internet and social media to make business decisions. A business that has a strong social media presence and continually updates fans and customers likely cares about their reputation. A professional, clean website is another good indication that you are working with a wedding professional and not just a wedding vendor. Take a look at the vendors email address. Does their email address end in their business name or does it end in Gmail, Yahoo or heaven forbid Hotmail.


The biggest day in your life merits hiring a  real wedding professional. The decision of what vendors to hire will make a big impact on your wedding.

Nine Ways to Make Your Utah Photo Booth Rental Unique in 2014

Lets be honest, everyone has seen photo booths at weddings in Utah. We are getting concerns from brides that the photo booth has become a tired idea and they are looking for something new. We have compiled some creative ideas that will make your photo booth rental unique and fun in 2014.

1. The Shout Out Video
The shout out video feature lets your guests record a short congratulations video while their pictures are printing. A way to make the videos unique is to give your guests a theme to talk about in the video. Some fun themes that we have seen in the past are: your favorite memory of the couple, the most embarrassing moment with the couple, or sharing marriage advice. These videos will provide entertainment for years to come. We have helped some couples incorporate the photo booth videos into their actual wedding video.

2. A Really Unique Scrapbook
We had a couple provide a giant book to use as their photo booth scrapbook. The book was so large it took two groomsmen to carry. We were able to fit 10 photo strips per page. The groom explained to me that they were going to use this book as their "book of life". The photo booth pictures were just the opening chapter of this very large book that was going to document their lives together.

3. The Photo Booth Receiving Line
Why not make the receiving line at your wedding something that your guests will never forget? Put the photo booth open style (meaning it has no privacy surround) in front of the bride and groom in the receiving line. Each guest will get their picture with the bride and groom. We will set up the booth so it will only take one or two pictures so line doesn't get too backed up. The fact our Catch Photo Booths are able to print pictures in an amazingly fast 8 seconds make this idea a reality.

4. The 4x6 Postcard Print
Most photo booths print 2x6 photo strips. Stand out by printing your guests 4x6 postcard print. The 4x6 prints allow for the pictures to be bigger and have more space for fun borders and text. Most guests love to recieve the bigger print because it is so unique and fun.


5. The Customized Vinyl Backdrop
You have seen vinyl backdrops on the red carpet for award shows and movie premieres. Why not have one for your wedding photo booth? We help you create a nice logo  featuring your names and wedding date and then we step and repeat it across the vinyl backdrop. We place the photo booth in open style in front of the backdrop. Your guests can also sign the backdrop when they are done taking their pictures. How many of your friends can say they have a 6 foot x 8 foot sign in book from their wedding? A 6 x 8 vinyl backdrop costs about $200 and generally takes a week to produce.

6. Totally Themed Photo Booth Props
Make props manditory in your wedding photo booth. But just don't have your plain run of the mill dollar store photo booth props. Have fun, unique themed props that match your unique style and interests. We have helped provide circus, superhero, mid-evil, ski and redneck themed photo booth props. Your guests will love the chance to dress up to a certain theme. The fact that all of the guests are dressing up makes it even more fun.

7. Photo Booth Picture Sequence
Have a set sequence of picture styles you want your wedding guests to take in the photo booth. For the first picture, we can prompt the guests to look serious. For the second picture we could prompt the guests to stick their tongues out. You will have the fun at looking at how fun your guests followed the different commands.

8. A Photo Booth Picture Contest
Give the guest a prize that has the most creative photo booth pictures. Advertise it with a sign outside the photo booth. You can also have a contest with the shout out video feature. To make the contest even more fun, put the pictures up on social media and let your guests vote on their favorite.

9. The Instant Upload to Your Facebook Page
Do want people to see the fun and excitement happening in your wedding photo booth as it happens? Our Catch Photo Booths have the ability to instantly upload the pictures directly to your Facebook page. Your wedding will go viral before it even gets over!

We love photo booths and we love to try new and exciting ideas. We understand that some of these ideas will not work with your wedding. But we hope you will have a photo booth that is uniquely you at your wedding.

If you are reading this blog post before February 21, 2014, we want you to come to a special event we are having for engaged couples in Ogden Utah. Engage couples will meet with wedding vendors at the Hilton Garden Inn and then will go to the Ifly skydiving simulator for some fun. It is the perfect date night for engaged couples. Go to Weddings of Ogden for more information.

2014 Couples Choice Award

Wedding Wire has awarded Catch Photo Booths with a 2014 Couples Choice Award. This means that we were rated among the top 5% of wedding professionals nation wide, based on reviews and feed back. This is our second consecutive year receiving this award.

We would like to thank the many wonderful couples that trusted us with being part of the biggest day in their lives. A month ago we received a post to our Facebook page that stated, "It was so much more than expected. Even though my wedding day was so fast and a bit of a blur. I knew you took care of making my guests happy and us!" We love to exceed expectations of photo booth quality and service.

One of the greatest lessons my father has taught me is the importance of good customer service. As a wedding professional, customer service is the key to our business. I would like to thank our attendants that understand the value of good customer service and have helped receive this award.

We are excited for 2014 and look forward to providing photo booths to many more weddings. At Catch Photo Booths we are committed to providing brides with Northern Utah's best photo booth experience.. 

Best Christmas Sweaters in the Photo Booth

One trend that we have seen at holiday parties is the awesome Christmas sweaters. We have seen so many this year that we decided to have the Catch Photo Booths 2013 Awesome Christmas Sweater Awards. We love providing photo booth rentals for so many fun holiday parties.

Best Sweater that fits a size too small

Best Holiday t shirt

Best Holiday shirts with a Star Trek feel

Bets Trio of Holiday sweaters

The best holiday sweater to ever be pictured in our booths

The family photo in the photo booth

It always brings joy to my heart to see family pictures in the photo booth. Sure it's not the same as a professional photo with the whole family jumping in unison in front of beautiful fall colors. The family photo in the photo booth during a wedding is spontaneous, it is a lasting memory of one of the most important days that the family is sharing. The smiles are real, the energy is not staged and the memories are lasting.

I love it when I come across family photos from one of our photo booths on social media. Just yesterday, this great family photo came across my timeline. It was from a wedding that we were a part of nearly two years. The picture has important meaning and memories associated with it. It is a worth while feeling to be able to share so many lasting memories with so many great people.