10 tips to look out for when booking a photo booth
Ten things worth checking before you pay a deposit on a photo booth — from insurance and idle time to who is actually going to be standing next to the booth on the night.
Photo booth hire is a crowded market, and the difference between two quotes that look identical on paper can be enormous on the night. Here are the ten things we would check if we were booking someone else.
1. Ask what “unlimited prints” actually means
Some companies count a print per session rather than per guest — so a group of six gets one strip between them and everyone else goes home empty-handed. Ask directly: is it one print per session, or one per person in the photo?
2. Check whether an attendant stays
A booth left on its own runs out of paper, jams, gets props scattered across the floor and stops working an hour before the end. Confirm that someone is on it for the whole hire, and confirm how many people that is.
3. Find out about idle time
If your booth is needed for the evening but has to be built before the wedding breakfast, someone has to be there in between. Ask how idle time is charged — a small fixed fee is normal, an hourly rate for standing still is not.
4. Ask to see a print, not a screenshot
Screen mock-ups always look good. A physical print tells you about the paper, the size, the colour and whether the printer is a proper dye-sublimation unit or an office inkjet with a nice border on it.
5. Check the insurance and the PAT certificates
Public liability cover is the minimum, and most venues will refuse to let a supplier plug anything in without seeing it. Ask for copies when you book rather than the week before, and check the dates on them.
6. Confirm the space and power requirements in writing
Every booth has a footprint, and every venue has an awkward corner. Get the required floor area and power supply in writing, then send it to your venue. A booth that will not fit is not a problem you want to discover on the day.
7. Ask who designs the print template
A template with your names dropped into a stock border is not the same as one designed around your stationery. Ask who does the design, how many revisions you get and when you will see a proof.
8. Read the cancellation and postponement terms
Deposits are almost always non-refundable, which is fair — the date has been held for you. What matters is what happens if the event has to move. Look for a supplier who will transfer the deposit to a new date.
9. Check what you get afterwards
Prints on the night are half of it. Ask whether you get all the digital images, how they are delivered, how long they are kept, and whether there is a charge for a copy if you lose the stick.
10. Ask what happens if the equipment fails
Kit fails occasionally; that is machinery. What separates suppliers is whether they carry spares and what they do about the hours you lost. Get the answer before you book, not after.
If you would like straight answers to all ten of these about our own service, they are on the FAQ page — or just ask us .
Check your date — then let the fun begin
Tell us the date, the venue and roughly how many guests you are expecting, and we will come back with a written quote and a hold on the booth. No deposit is taken until you are happy.