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7 Tips for Creating a Seriously Fun DIY Photo Booth

July 24, 2018 | Junebug Weddings

photo by Lena Peterson Photography

When it comes to wedding reception activities, photo booths are still as popular as ever and DIY photo booths, in particular, are perfect for couples looking to save a little money. You don’t need fancy equipment or a lot of extra stuff to make the perfect photo booth for your wedding. With these tips, we’ll show you how to create a seriously fun DIY photo booth that will encourage your guests to strike a pose and fit in seamlessly with your design aesthetic — all without busting your budget!

    1. 1. Get creative with the backdrop

      The backdrop is the focal point of your photo booth, so you want to make sure it’s eye-catching without being too distracting. Think ribbons, curtains, banners, balloons, or chalkboard walls with cute phrases. You can keep it as simple or get as fancy as you’d like; you just need to give guests a designated area that will look cute in photos — and on its own when guests aren’t using it!

photo by Kristen Soileau Portraits

photo by Anna Duncan Photography

photo by Ed Godden Photography

photo by Jason Lucas Photography

photo by Lena Peterson Photography

photo by You Made My Day

photo by THEUPPERMOST

SIMILAR FIND: This customizable rustic wedding backdrop is perfect for a fun photo booth backdrop!

photo by Deidre Lynn Photography

SIMILAR FIND: Add your hashtag or wedding date to this navy and gold wedding photo booth frame!

photo by Love and Perry

SIMILAR FIND: We’re loving this macrame backdrop from Etsy if you’re trying to achieve a similar look!

    1. 2. Light it up

      When you’re putting together the lighting plan for your wedding reception, don’t forget to include lighting in and around the photo booth. This can be anything from clever neon signs to curtains lined with twinkle lights. If you’re hanging lights in the background, make sure to also place lights in front of the camera — pointed toward the booth, placed at average nose level — so that your guests’ faces are completely visible in the photos. A selfie light would be the perfect choice to add direct, high-quality lighting! For all our tips on choosing the correct wedding lighting and a handy checklist, check out our ultimate guide to wedding lighting.

photo by Bek & Addison Photography

photo by Aperture Photos

photo by Daring Wanderer

photo by Jordy B Photo

photo by Gloria Goode Photography

SIMILAR FIND: Etsy has all the photo booth lighting you’re looking for!

    1. 3. Provide plenty of props

      The best parts of any photo booth are the props, so make sure to provide as much variety as possible. Etsy is full of shops that provide signs, cutouts, and masks that would be perfect for your DIY photo booth (see our favorites linked below). But, keep in mind, you can also find hats, wigs, glasses, jewelry, and other accessories at thrift stores, second-hand stores, costume shops, or even your own closet. The sillier and more outrageous the better!

photo by Ed Godden Photography

photo by Jordy B Photo

SIMILAR FIND: Check out these super sweet customizable props from Postboxparty!

photo by Christy Cassano Meyer

photo by Lena Peterson Photography

Search more photo booth props on Etsy!

    1. 4. Set up in a highly visible location

      The whole point of a photo booth is to capture all of your guests in a totally informal, seriously fun way, so you’ll want to make sure all your guests can see it no matter where they are at the reception. If possible, don’t shove your photo booth in a corner or set up in a separate room. There will be so many other things happening at your reception and, if guests don’t see it, they’ll simply forget about it. Think of this as another focal point for your design and set it up in an area that everyone can see but still gives people plenty of space to take individual, small group, or large group photos. Also, don’t forget to set up a directional sign pointing guests straight to the booth!

photo by Nisha Ravji Photography

photo by Shepard Visuals

photo by Dearheart Photos

photo by Jason Lucas Photography

RELATED: 37 Etsy Wedding Welcome Signs That Will Help You Greet Your Guests in Style

    1. 5. Provide polaroid cameras

      If you’re looking for a low-tech and easy way to get printouts of your guests’ photo booth snaps, Polaroid cameras are the way to go! The best part? All of your guests, no matter how young or old, will know how to use it. Encourage everyone to take a couple of snaps so they can keep one and they can leave one for you in either an album, on a frame, or in a simple box. Just be sure to stock up on extra film to last all night.

photo by Ryan Chard Smith Photography

SIMILAR FIND: We’re obsessed with this adorable baby blue Fujifilm Instax!

photo by Vera Gayazov Photography

photo by Joelle Julian Photography

    1. 6. Or make it a selfie station

      To keep your DIY photo booth even more simple, let your guests use their own phones to snap selfies. Guests are going to be taking selfies all night as it is, so they might as well do it with fun props in front of a fab backdrop! We highly recommend providing at least one selfie stick to help capture large group shots. You could even take it one step further with a selfie stick stand to give guests a little more room to play and pose!

photo by Anna Duncan Photography

photo by Kay + Bee

photo by Nick + Danée

  1. 7. Let everyone know how to share their photos

    Whether you decide to provide Polaroid cameras or ask guests to use their phones to snap photos, you’re going to want to collect these precious memories to look at after your wedding day! So, be sure to include a sign with clear instructions on how you want guests to share their photos. For a Polaroid photo booth, provide an album, glue sticks, and pens so guests can paste a photo with a personal message or set up a frame and clothespins for guests to hang their photos on. For a selfie station, ask guests to use your wedding hashtag or upload to a shared photostream. Don’t be afraid to be thorough with your instructions so you get exactly what you want!

photo by Love and Perry

photo by Nick + Danée

photo by Nisha Ravji Photography

photo by Igloo Photoblog

photo by Lindsey Noel Photography

SIMILAR FIND: These printable signs are super cute, can be used for a variety of signage needs, and are under $10!

Looking for more activities to keep your guests entertained during your cocktail hour or reception? Make sure to check out these 8 tips for a killer cocktail hour and these 9 creative reception activities your guests will love!

photo by Bek & Addison Photography

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3 Reasons You Should Consider Silk Flowers for Your Wedding

July 24, 2018 | Junebug Weddings

photo by Desiree Watkins Photography

If silk flowers haven’t come up in your wedding planning discussions yet, don’t worry. We hadn’t considered them either until we were introduced to Something Borrowed Blooms, but it’s safe to say we’re completely obsessed! Bringing the Rent the Runway model of the quality you love for a fraction of the price to the wedding industry, Something Borrowed Blooms provides couples with an alternative to expensive wedding florals – and your budget isn’t the only thing that’s going to be happy about it! With stylish collections crafted from the highest quality silks that include blooms for every part of your day, Something Borrowed Blooms is brilliantly shaking up the standard of live flowers as the only option for your wedding. If you haven’t considered silk flowers for your wedding, we’ve got three reasons thanks to Something Borrowed Blooms as to why you absolutely should!

photo by Desiree Watkins Photography

photo by Desiree Watkins Photography

1. Budget & Priorities

Your wedding budget should reflect the things that are most important to you, like capturing fleeting moments or throwing an unforgettable party for your friends and family. From the bridal bouquet to outfitting your wedding party in blooms to centerpieces on every table, wedding florals can cost a pretty penny. Trying to keep a tight budget without sacrificing style? Silk flowers by Something Borrowed Blooms cost a fraction of the rate of real flowers and the available collections are just as gorgeous and statement-making as live blooms.

photo by Lily Elyse Photography

photo by Kristen Soileau Portraits

photo by Kristen Soileau Portraits

2. Expectation = Reality

When your wedding flowers arrive on your big day, they should look exactly like you imagined and discussed with your florist! Co-founder of Something Borrowed Blooms, Lauren Bercier, was inspired to start the company after her own wedding florals turned up totally different than what her florist had promised. Renting silk flowers for your wedding from Something Borrowed Blooms ensures that you know exactly what your florals will look like, meaning you have one less thing to worry about when you should be enjoying tying the knot!

photo by Haley Rynn Ringo

photo by Haley Rynn Ringo

photo by Haley Rynn Ringo

3. Sustainability

When it comes to millennial weddings, we’re hearing more and more that couples are prioritizing sustainable choices in their wedding planning process. If the idea of buying a bunch of flowers to be used for a single occasion makes you stress over the inevitable waste, renting silk blooms for your wedding can be a really great alternative. Not only are the florals not being wasted after your sparkler send-off, but the entire model of renting through Something Borrowed Blooms is based in upholding sustainability and re-using the same stunning pieces again and again.

Considering silk flowers for your wedding? Check out what real brides had to say about their experience with Something Borrowed Blooms as well as answers to your burning questions about the rental process.

This post is sponsored by Something Borrowed Blooms. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Junebug Weddings!

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This Chic Wayfarer’s Chapel Wedding May Look Effortless, But The Couple Thoughtfully Curated Every Detail

July 24, 2018 | Junebug Weddings

Jessie and Adrian’s wedding at Wayfarer’s Chapel is classically beautiful in every detail. Each detail was done with such intention, and Kindred Wedding + Events put it all together in a picture-perfect way for photographer Haley Rynn Ringo and videographer Parfait Productions to capture. These two lovebirds customized everything in their wedding from welcome bags for their guests by Be Collective to an engagement ring painting done by the bride herself, Jessie Kuruc! With such talent and an eye for design, it’s no surprise Jessie and Adrian’s wedding turned out gorgeously!

The Couple:

Jessie and Adrian

The Wedding:

Wayfarer’s Chapel, Palos Verdes, California

Our wedding advice is to shop small! It’s so easy to get wrapped up into the convenience of buying wedding items at a craft store or getting your ring at a big box store, but when you shop from small businesses, you’re not only getting more unique things, you’re lucky enough to contribute to somebody’s life’s work. Plus, the service is SO much more personal! We entered married life with some incredible new friends because we grew close to some of our vendors and didn’t want the relationships to stop after we said our vows. I think that personalized, genuine level of communication from a vendor is much more valuable than having a big corporation crank out your wedding and I truly think your guests can tell the difference. It’s almost like buying a store-bought cake or having one made by your grandmother–you just know which one is made with love!

Something Borrowed Blooms are another friend that I’ve made through the industry and were so generous to send me these flowers for my wedding day, but I truly was already planning on using them! The concept of their business is amazing, but the women who run it are so passionate and it shows. The flowers were literally the last thing on my mind the entire day, and if we had done real flowers I think I would have been stressing all weekend, so I can’t say enough good things about them. 

SHOP THIS LOOK

 

We actually chose Wayfarer’s Chapel when we were really new in our relationship. The first time we ever visited California together, I wanted to visit the chapel because it was designed by the son of Frank Lloyd Wright. We walked in and were just awestruck by how beautiful and unique it was. It was WAY too early for us to be talking about marriage, but in our heads, we both thought “okay, if I marry this person, it has to be here!” We ended up moving to the area a few years later and after almost five years of dating, we ended up getting married at that very chapel! 

SHOP THIS LOOK

 

Our photographer, Haley, is absolutely incredible. Not only is she talented, but she has this firey heart and spirit. She makes every person feel like they’re her best friend. We could not be more thrilled with our photos and I recommend her to everyone I know (and don’t know!)

I think the biggest of the DIY projects was collecting all of our decor. I spent an entire year gathering lanterns and candles and random trinkets from the clearance department of my church (TJMaxx) and my temple (Homegoods.) It was a lot of slightly damaged goods, a lot of gold paint, and a lot of space being taken up in our apartment. My favorite of the projects was actually our place cards, though! I had a vision for these California-shaped place cards but could not find anything similar, so I reached out to Etsy sellers who made acrylic ornaments and found someone who could do a custom shape for me. I had him cut 90 acrylic Californias so I could do calligraphy on each one, making it a place card cute enough for a guest to want to take home.

The most important thing when planning was the DETAILS! We’re both extremely detail-oriented, so knowing that every detail was carefully chosen made us feel like we really put our heart and soul into our wedding day. Everything down to the cocktail napkins was picked for a reason! The entire day was also very guest-centered, which was our number one priority. We’ve been to a lot of ‘could have been great’ weddings and we knew that we didn’t want to our day to be remembered as the wedding where there wasn’t enough food, or nobody really danced, or worse, it isn’t remembered at all. We wanted every guest to feel spoiled and considered!

One really memorable personalization of our day was the daddy-daughter dance. My dad was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer the day of Adrian and I’s first date in May of 2013. Though we were supposed to have a few years left, he passed away a month and a half later and in a way it always felt like it was all timed in a divine way–where Adrian stepped in right as my dad stepped out. I had my dad’s best friend walk me down the aisle, but nobody was the right fit for the daddy-daughter dance except my husband. We did our first dance as husband and wife and were then introduced to do my daddy-daughter dance together, in his honor, to one of my dad and I’s favorite Beatles songs. It was so emotional for everyone because my dad was my best friend and every guest knew that, but it made our wedding day extra special.

The most memorable part of our day was surprisingly the dancing at the reception. We had an open craft cocktail bar that our friends and family flocked to like it was their last day on earth, so by the time dancing rolled around everyone was well hydrated and had a total blast. The best part was being able to see my sorority sisters from college, his childhood best friends, my old neighbors, our jewelers, and everyone in between all out on the dance floor at once. It’s almost surreal to see all the people you love from all areas of your lives in one space, sharing finger food and cocktails, and celebrating your relationship. We wanted everyone to feel welcome, even though a lot of the guests didn’t know each other, and seeing them all dancing TOGETHER (not just near each other) was absolutely incredible!

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Haley Rynn Ringo
Event Planning – Sarah Blessinger of Kindred Wedding + Events
Ceremony Venue – Wayfarer’s Chapel
Reception Venue – Point Vicente Interpretive Center
Floral Design – Something Borrowed Blooms
Catering – Little Nelly Catering
Cake – Torrance Bakery
DJ – Aaron of VIP DJ
Videography – Parfait Productions
Stationery – Wedding Paper Divas
Hair and Makeup Artist – Sara Pacheco
Wedding Dress – Lillian West via Bridal Elegance Studio
Bridal Accessories – Mamie and James, Emma Katzka Bridal
Bridesmaids’ Apparel – Adrianna Papell
Groom’s Apparel – The Black Tux
Groomsmen’s Apparel – The Black Tux
Rings – The True Gem Company
Rentals – Premiere Party Rentals
Engagement Ring Painting – Jessie Kuruc
Acrylic Californias – The Chunky Hunk
Pretzel Sleeve – Give It Pretty
Tablecloth – Mrs. Freund & Co.
Vow Books – Seniman Calligraphy
Menus – Fabled Papery
Seating Chart – Fine and Dandy Paper Co
Welcome Bags – Be Collective
Return Address Stamp – Empress Stationary

 

The biggest congratulations to Jessie and Adrian on their wedding day, and thank you to Junebug member Haley Rynn Ringo for sharing their special day with us! For more classically beautiful wedding inspo, take a look at this elegant vintage-inspired outdoor wedding at The Ridge Asheville.

 

 

 

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