A small entertainment line with a wide price band, where the most common mistake is booking too many hours.
The low end of what most couples pay for three to four hours with an attendant, unlimited prints and a digital gallery. The top of that band is $1,500.
Guests use a booth heavily during cocktail hour and the first two hours of the reception, then barely at all once the dance floor fills. Booking the booth for the whole evening is the most common way couples overspend in this category.
Most couples land at $700 to $1,500 for three to four hours with an attendant, unlimited prints and a digital gallery.
Three hours is the standard package and it is usually enough. Guests use a booth heavily during cocktail hour and the first two hours of the reception, then almost not at all once the dance floor is full. Booking the booth for the entire evening is the most common way couples overspend here.
Additional hours run about $150, or $300 for a 360 booth. Confirm whether setup and breakdown happen inside or outside your booked window, because an hour of your three can otherwise disappear into assembly.
Travel beyond a 20 to 30 mile radius at $50 to $200, custom backdrops, a physical guest book where an attendant mounts a second print with a message, green screen, props beyond the basic box, and idle time if you want the booth present but closed during dinner. Saturday evenings in peak season carry a premium of 10 to 20 percent over a Friday or Sunday.
The package
On the night
The differences that matter are print quality, the attendant, and where it goes.
A dye-sublimation printer produces a dry, durable print in about ten seconds. Cheaper setups use inkjet, which smudges and slows the queue. Ask which printer, whether prints are unlimited or capped, and whether each person in a group photo gets a copy.
An unattended booth jams, runs out of paper, and drifts out of focus. An attendant keeps the line moving, gets shy guests in, and reloads. This is the difference between a booth people queue for and a booth people give up on.
Near the bar or the dance floor edge, not down a corridor. It needs a standard power outlet and roughly an eight by ten foot footprint, more for a 360. A booth in the wrong room is a booth nobody uses, and this is a decision to make with your venue rather than on the day.
Ask when the online gallery arrives, whether guests can text or email themselves photos on the night, and whether you receive all the images including the ones nobody printed. Book three to six months out; the strong local operators go earlier for peak Saturdays.
We are building this market by market, and a city page goes live only once it holds enough real operators to be worth your time. Two listings is not a directory, so until it is useful it stays closed.
Most couples pay $700 to $1,500 for three to four hours with an attendant, unlimited prints and a digital gallery. Open-air booths start near $475 and 360 video booths run $1,000 to $2,500.
Three is usually enough. Guests use a booth during cocktail hour and the first two hours of the reception, then stop once the dance floor is full.
A rotating arm that shoots slow-motion video around a small platform. It costs $1,000 to $2,500, needs more floor space, and adds about $300 per extra hour.
Yes. Unattended booths jam, run out of paper and drift out of focus. The attendant also keeps the queue moving and coaxes in guests who would otherwise hang back.
Near the bar or the edge of the dance floor, not down a corridor. It needs a standard outlet and roughly an eight by ten foot footprint, more for a 360.
Next: wedding DJs, favors and gifts, or all 24 vendor categories.