The Ultimate Guide to Wedding Photo Booth Rentals

10 January 2025
9 min read
A couple kissing with a white flower wall background

Table of Contents

So you're thinking about renting a photo booth for your wedding. Good thinking. We may be biased but photo booths truly play a special role at weddings. While the traditional photographer is essential, they're really their for the bride and groom. If guests want their own photos to hang on the fridge, they're on their own.

We're not trying to guilt you into getting a photo booth but if you're looking for a fun, interactive way to engage everyone and give them a lasting keepsake then you may want one.

If you like the idea of renting a wedding photo booth but you're feeling as lost as a groom without his vows, fear not! This guide is your trusty sidekick.

We'll explore the benefits of having a photo booth, how to pick the right one, costs, what to ask vendors (besides if they accept payment in cake), and tips to make sure you're getting the most out of your photo booth. By the end, you'll be ready to rent a photo booth that fits your wedding like a glove—or maybe a tiara.

Key Takeaways:

  • If photo quality is important to you, look for photo booths that mention DSLR or Mirrorless cameras. If they mention Canon or Nikon cameras that works too. These photo booths might also be called "Printer Booths", "DSLR Booth", or "Portrait Booths".
  • Photo booth companies book out quickly. Booking at least 3 months before your wedding date should be fine but we recommend 6-12 months to ensure you get the provider you want.
  • Wedding photo booths on average cost $1,100-$1,500 for 3-4 hours. This will vary depending on your location and type of photo booth but is a good earmark for what to set aside.
  • 3 or 4 hours of active photo booth time is an ideal amount of time for the majority of weddings.
  • The best time for the photo booth to be actively taking photos is during cocktail hour and dancing.
  • Leverage "Idle Time" to save money and turn the photo booth off during moments where people won't be taking photos i.e. Ceremony, Dinner, and Speeches.
  • The best place to set up the photo booth is near the dance floor or bar. Lines can form so make sure there's room for the line to go without causing a scene.
  • You can customize just about anything you want. Props, no props, photo templates, backdrops, photo albums, photo formats i.e. GIFs, Boomerangs, Photos, Slow-Mo, Video, etc., photo filters i.e. Black and White, Glam filters (skin-smoothening filter), the list goes on. If you want something specific, let your photo booth provider know.

Why Choose a Photo Booth for Your Wedding?

Photo booths are much more than a source of entertainment—they're wedding game-changers. Here’s why:

1. Entertainment for Guests

A photo booth offers guests something interactive and fun. While waiting for dinner or in between dances, guests can pop into the booth, strike a pose, and get some new photos for the gram.

Wedding guests using a photo booth in front of a hedge wall with a neon sign

2. Wedding Photographers Are For The Couple, Photo Booths Are For Everyone

Wedding photographers and photo booths serve two completely different purposes and are complimentary to each other. While the photographer is focused on capturing the couple and the main events, the photo booth is there to capture those fun moments of all your guests.

Photo booths are also a great way for the bride and groom to knock out a bunch of group photos with guests and give everyone a photo to take home for themselves.

3. Memorable Keepsakes

Each guest leaves with a tangible memory of your wedding—a photo strip or digital snapshot to look back on and think "Damn, that was a good wedding". Most photo booth companies provide online galleries where all the images are conveniently compiled. Many also offer a physical scrapbook, often available for an additional fee, allowing guests to add their photos alongside personal messages.

Printed photos from a wedding photo booth

4. Endless Customization Options

From themed props to personalized backdrops, photo booths allow you to reflect your wedding’s unique vibe. Whether it’s a vintage vibe, a classic black tie event, or hell, even a quirky carnival feel, you can match the booth design to the aesthetic of your special day.

5. Breaks the Ice

Not everyone is going to be comfortable twerking on the dance floor, and if they are then please invite us to your wedding. Photo booths naturally draw everyone in. It's a low pressure situation where everyone gets to share in on the laughs and fun. They encourage shy or introverted guests to join the festivities and meet new people. Trust us, the pre-photo booth vs post-photo booth vibes are drastically different.

Choosing the Right Photo Booth for Your Wedding

Before committing to a wedding photo booth rental, consider these two major factors to find the perfect fit:

1. The Cost to Rent a Wedding Photo Booth

It costs anywhere between $600-$2,000+ to rent a photo booth for a wedding.  The cost will vary depending on the type of photo booth you choose and the vendor's reputation. For the vast majority of weddings, setting aside $1,100-$1,500 for a photo booth is more than enough to get a quality photo booth for 3-4 hours of rental time.  

2. Type of Photo Booth

There are a variety of photo booths to choose from. Which one you choose is ultimately up to your personal preferences, how much space you have, if your wedding is indoors vs outdoors, and your budget.

  • Open-Air Booths: Great for group photos and ideal for venues of all sizes as they don’t require much space.  
Open air photo booth set up at a wedding venue
This is what an open-air photo booth set up looks like
  • Glam Booth: A specific type of open-air booth and also referred to as Black and White photo booths. These booths feature a classic black-and-white filter paired with a "Glam" filter that enhances skin smoothness, adding a polished, timeless touch to every photo.
  • Selfie Stations: Another type of open-air booth designed with an iPad camera instead of a professional DSLR or Mirrorless camera, offering a more budget-friendly alternative. Ideal for capturing fun Boomerangs and photos, it’s perfect for small groups of 2-4 people.
  • Enclosed Booths: The traditional photo booth you would find at a bar. These offer privacy for guests to get creative with their poses and probably make out.  
  • 360-Degree Booths: An interactive experience that captures fun videos of guests. You'll need a larger space for these types of booths.  
  • Airstream Booths: A unique retro vibe ideal for outdoor venues with lots of extra space.

For most weddings we personally recommend any open-air photo booth that comes equipped with a professional grade camera (think a Canon or Nikon) and printed photos. Glam Booths fall into this category and are one of the most popular wedding choices.

With these types of open-air booths you'll get the highest quality imagery and prints. You'll also have an easy time squeezing in a ton of people for big group photos.  When researching vendors look for photo booths that mention DSLR or Mirrorless cameras. If they mention Canon or Nikon cameras that works too. These photo booths might also be called "Printer Booths", "DSLR Booth", or "Portrait Booths".

A couple posing in a photo booth at a wedding
An example of the output our Printer Booth produces

Wedding Photo Booth Logistics

There are two crucial logistical pieces of having a photo booth at your wedding. 1) When the photo booth should be active and 2) Where it should be located. If your photo booth provider has been in the game for a little bit they'll be able to guide you and take the guess work out of things but here's what you should know.

The Best Time to Have Your Wedding Photo Booth Take Photos

There are two key points during a wedding that your photo booth should be active and taking photos. That's during Cocktail Hour and Dancing.

Cocktail Hour might as well be called the social lubricant hour. It's when people are loosening up, meeting people, getting conversations going and it's the perfect time to open up the photo booth and start setting the vibe. When it comes to those final hours of the wedding and everyone's on the dance floor that's when photo booths become a massive hit. Typically there are a few drinks in people's systems by this point and everyone is eager to catch their breath from dancing and snap some pics.

From a logistical stand point this may seem like a long time to have a photo booth at your wedding, which in your eyes might scream $$$$. I get it. Here's the trick: "Idle Time".

Not every photo booth company is going to offer idle time but it's worth inquiring about. How Idle Time works is the photo booth gets paused and stops taking photos for a specific set of time. Rather than being charged the typical hourly rate, Idle Time is around half the cost.

For weddings we recommend the following timeline to ensure guests have enough time to take photos and to save clients as much money:

  • 1 Hour Minimum Before Guests Arrive Photo booth is set up and ready to go
  • Photo Booth is in idle mode during the ceremony
  • Photo Booth becomes active for Cocktail Hour
  • Photo Booth returns to idle mode during dinner, speeches, and the first dances
  • Photo Booth becomes active for the rest of the evening

With this schedule you can save $400+ on your photo booth rental.

The Best Place to Put Your Wedding Photo Booth

Where you put your photo booth is going to make the difference between 400 photos being taken and 50. People aren't going to search for something that they don't know exists. It's paramount the photo booth can be easily seen. If your planner or venue coordinator is recommending a backroom or anything of the sort JUST SAY NO!

The best place to put your wedding photo booth is next to the dance floor or the bar. These are the two most trafficked areas at a wedding and it's a natural progression to go from dancing to taking photos or getting a drink to taking photos.

Photo booth companies have set up requirements so double-check with your venue coordinator or planner to make sure there's a space, ideally 8 feet by 8 feet or bigger, next to the bar or dance floor that has a power outlet within 10-20 feet. Keep in mind that lines often form at the photo booth. Make sure there's plenty of empty space for the line to go.

How to Rent a Wedding Photo Booth  

Now that you know what type of photo booth you want, follow these steps to rent one for your big day:

Step 1: Research Vendors

Search for "photo booth rental [city]" online and start perusing websites. I'd recommend staying away from directory sites like The Knot since photo booth companies on those sites have to pay to show up. The more they pay, the higher on the search rankings they appear. It's not a great measure of the quality of a company, but rather how much a company can spend.

When you find some companies that look interesting check their Instagrams, look through all their photos, and read their Google reviews. If there aren't any reviews or if their photos don't look good, RUN! There are a number of new companies popping up that use stock images to market their services and don't have much experience. You're going to want to stay away from these people.  

Step 2: Compare Packages

Photo booth rental costs can vary depending on add-ons, type of photo booth, hours of service, and features. Average wedding photo booth costs range from $600-$2,000+ so it's important to determine your budget and prioritize the features most important to you.

It's also worth noting that some photo booth companies might have hidden upsells for basic features that other companies already bake into their prices. Printed photos, different photo capture types i.e. GIFs, and early set up are common items that some companies charge separate for.

Other features to consider and keywords to look out for include:

  • Unlimited Prints - some companies charge extra for printing while others have the cost of unlimited prints built into the price and other ones even charge a set price for 100 prints and anything over that costs extra.
  • Photo Capture Types - GIFs, Boomerangs, Slowmo, Video, Photo, etc. These are all potential photo capture types that specific photo booths can capture. If there's a format you really want, ask your vendor if the photo booth you're looking at can provide that format.
  • Filters - Black and White as well as other filters can be added on to most photo booths for an additional cost.
  • Digital Sharing - Most photo booths will have the ability to immediately text, airdrop, and email captures to guests but it's worth double checking. This feature is almost always complimentary to the rental.
  • Online Gallery - Most companies will offer an online gallery with every photo from the event. Some companies charge extra for this, which is a bit of a scam in our eyes.
  • Props - This is an important one. Some companies are very tacky with their props, others don't offer them at all, and others (like us) provide simple and trendy props but also give you the option to not have props at all. Look at past event photos and figure out what kind of prop situation you're dealing with or if you even want props at all.
  • On-Site Attendant - There are some photo booths that are "drop off booths" where no attendant is required. These "drop off booths" are usually iPad booths where the camera of an iPad is used rather than a professional camera. For all other photo booths you'll likely have an attendant who will be by the photo booth for the whole night. Most companies have the cost of an attendant built-in, but again it's worth double checking.
  • Setup and Teardown - It's important to note when companies plan on arriving to begin set up, how long it takes them, and when they plan to tear down. The last thing you want on your wedding day is the sound of a photo booth being set up during your ceremony so make sure you have this info. In general, most companies can set up within 60-90 minutes and teardown in 30 minutes.
  • Travel Fees - If your wedding venue is 30+ miles away from the nearest metropolitan area you may have to pay a small travel fee. This is typically charged at a per mile rate round trip anywhere from $0.50-$2.00 per mile.

Step 3: Ask for Availability

If you've found a good company and picked the photo booth you want it's time to check the company's availability ASAP! Popular photo booth rental providers might be booked well in advance, so inquire about availability as soon as you can. We recommend booking a photo booth at least 6 months before your wedding date. At the bare minimum try to book before 3 months out.

Step 4: Check What’s Included

After inquiring and confirming availability with your photo booth provider you'll get an invoice. Double check everything and make sure there are no hidden upsells for basic items like setup, teardown, an attendant, or access to digital copies. Transparent pricing is key to avoiding hidden costs.

Step 5: Confirm a Few Important Details

Before signing a contract here are a few important things you should ask your photo booth provider:

  • Insurance: Make sure the vendor has liability insurance in case of any mishaps.  Your venue may ask for your vendor to provide a COI (Certificate of Insurance) with the venue as an additional insured. This should not be an issue for any legitimate photo booth company.
  • Setup Time: Confirm how long the vendor needs for setup and whether it aligns with your wedding day schedule.  
  • Power Requirements: Know the booth’s power setup—especially if your venue is outdoors or in a remote location.  

Also, check if the vendor has a contingency plan in case of technical issues during the event! They may note this in their contract so read it carefully.

Step 6: Sign a Contract and Pay a Deposit

Once you’re happy with everything, sign your rental agreement and secure your booking with a deposit to lock in your chosen vendor. After that you're all set to go! There may be a few additional steps as your date gets closer to go over things like designs for your photo templates but that's the fun stuff. All the hard, stressful stuff is out of the way now.

Photo Booth Add-Ons and Customizations

There are a handful of add-ons and customizations that you can look into for your photo booth. Not every photo booth vendor will provide these options. That said, these are some of the essentials to think about:

Backdrops

The backdrop of your photo booth is an essential component that sets the tone and also serves as wedding decor so it's important it looks good. A classic White or Black backdrop are always our recommended backdrops for weddings. If you're willing to spend an additional $150-$400 and your preferred vendor offers it you can get a Flower Wall or Hedge Wall and even consider hanging a neon sign with your last name.

A group wedding photo booth photo

Props

We mentioned this earlier but it's worth mentioning again. Props can get tacky quick. If you're having a black tie wedding we'd highly recommend telling your vendor that you don't want any props or at most some trendy glasses, disco balls, and potentially some high quality signs. If you want some tacky props then more power to you, all we recommend is knowing what you want and checking in with your photo booth provider to make sure they're aligned.

A family photo at a wedding with a white flower wall
An example of a black tie wedding where we provided some minimal props including trendy glasses, disco balls, and a few signs.

Photo Templates

Photo templates are the designs that accompany each photo print. You can customize both the layout (ex. photo strip layout vs postcard layout) and the actual design (color, text, etc.). Below are examples of our favorite layouts that we like to use, but this is ultimately going to come down to personal preference.

When it comes to the photo template design you should have a clear vision of the colors, fonts, etc. that will be at your wedding. If you have a Pinterest board or wedding invites that you'd like to serve as inspiration for the photo template, send those to your photo booth provider so they can stay on brand with your vision.

A horizontal two photo postcard layout photo template
2 Photo Postcard Photo Template Design
A vertical two photo postcard layout photo template
2 Photo Vertical Postcard Photo Template Design
A three photo photo-strip  layout photo template
Traditional 3 Photo Photo Strip
A horizontal single photo postcard layout photo template
Single photo post card photo template

Photo Albums

The vast majority of photo booths will provide a digital photo gallery with all your photos from the evening. If you're a sucker for physical photo albums and are willing to pay an extra $100-$200, get a custom engraved photo album. Guests can print out extra photo copies, add them to your photo book and leave a special message.

Tap to Start Screens

Depending on the type of photo booth you choose their will likely be a large screen that we call the "Tap to Start" screen. This screen can be customized in all sorts of ways. Incorporating your engagement photos, having a looping video from your engagement shoot, or simple static designs that are on brand for your wedding are all options we recommend.


Questions to Ask Your Photo Booth Rental Provider  

To ensure you’re making the right choice with your photo booth rental provider here are some questions you should consider asking:

  • What kind of camera does your photo booth come with?
  • Can I see examples of your photo booth set ups and the photo output?  
  • Do you provide props? If so, what are the props?
  • Are the backdrops complimentary or do they cost extra?
  • Can I see examples of the photo template designs you've created for past weddings?  
  • Do you offer idle hours at a discounted rate?
  • Is an attendant present during the event for assistance?  
  • What happens if the booth malfunctions during the wedding?  
  • Are travel fees included in the price?  
  • How many people can fit in the booth?
  • How do guests receive their pics (text message, online gallery, printed photos, photo strip, etc.)?
  • Are there any additional charges we should know about (travel fee, overtime, and so on)?
  • Do I get an online gallery of all photos? Are these photos edited?
  • Are you insured?
  • Have you done previous events at my venue?

Having these answers will give you peace of mind and clarify what to expect from the service. Hopefully you'll be able to answer these questions on your own simply by browsing the websites of each provider but if you can't you should absolutely email them and ask. This is your wedding, you want it done right.

Book a Wedding Photo Booth with Puddles Photo Booth

If you've made it this far hopefully you realize by now that having a wedding without a photo booth is like having a cake without frosting or a dance floor without the cupid shuffle. YOU NEED A PHOTO BOOTH!

If you live in the Portland, OR area we can save you all the hassle of researching vendors. Believe it or not we rent photo booths for a living and we're kind of good at it! Our Printer Booth and Glam Booth are our two most popular choices for weddings. The 2025 wedding season is upon us and while our dates are starting to fill up for the Spring and Summer, we still have lots of availability. If you're interested in booking with us simply fill out an inquiry and we'll be in touch ASAP!

A bride and groom taking a photo booth photo

XOXO,

Connor - Owner of Puddles Photo Booth

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