How to prepare for a top-notch photo booth experience | Best Austin Photo Booth

We've seen it all...

After being around the block a few times, we've encountered just about every obstacle there is when it comes to surprise set up locations at events. To prevent these instances from happening twice, we do our best to make sure brides, planners and all other clients know what it takes for a great photo booth experience at their event! 

Here is what our photo booth requires for our signature top-notch experience!

1. Put the photo booth in an obvious location. Too many times we've seen clients place us outside of the main event hall. If guests can't see us, we're out of sight and out of mind, which just plain stinks! Just in case you're worried about us being distracting during speeches or dances, we make it a point to temporarily stop the photo booth during those times (and turn off our light) so we're not taking attention away from the special moment! 
2. Acessibility. Make sure the route we'll need to take to get to the set up space is wheelchair accessible. Until someone creates an affordable, futuristic,  stair-climbing rolling cart for all of our gear, we prefer elevators and wheelchair ramps. Plus, you want to make sure any disabled guests can access the photo booth once we're up and running! If our only option is a non-wheelchair accessible route, we can make it happen, but there is a small fee that will need to be added to the invoice.
3. Space requirements.  We need a space that is at least 6’ long by 9’ wide by 10' high, but a 10'x10'x10' space is ideal! Make sure to leave space for a line as well.
4. Power. We need a wall outlet (110V, 10 amps, 3 prong outlet) that is dedicated for the photo booth. Sharing an outlet with a bunch of other things like the DJ or lighting can sometimes overpower the plug, but we have a 20 foot extension cord that can help us reach a far away outlet if needed.
5. Place the photo booth indoors. Austin weather is unpredictable, and who wants to go outside and get all sweaty just to take a photo? Be proactive and carve out a space for us inside your event hall so weather is never an issue! If your only option is to put the photo booth outside, we can be placed on concrete under an awning, like a porch, or under a 10x10 tent with three tarp walls to protect the backdrop from wind. Also, if you're feeling a bit generous, a portable a/c unit or fan will keep our attendant happy and energized to entertain your guests!  The photo booth may not be placed on grass or wet ground. 
6. Keep the photo booth away from sunlight. Sunlight shining on the photo booth creates harsh shadows on the guests taking photos (not to mention it causes squinty eyes!), but also be wary of putting the backdrop against a window during daylight hours since the light might shine through the backdrop.  On the subject of light, make sure there aren't any pot lights or chandeliers right above the photo booth. Those sometimes cause crazy shadows! If there is a light above the photo booth, it can either be turned off or the lightbulb can be sneakily unscrewed and then replaced after the event!
7. Provide a 6-foot table with a linen that matches the rest of your event decor. We highly encourage all our clients to do this because it makes the photo booth look like it actually belongs at your event, and is not just an afterthought stuck in the corner. We also like to have at least one separate cocktail table to place near the photo booth, so guests have a spot to set their drinks while they cheese it up in the booth! If you want to make the space look really luxurious, repurpose a floral arrangement from your ceremony and place it on a corner of the table near the photo booth, or create a special sign that says "Photo Booth" or one that has your event hashtag on it. 

That may seem like a lot, but at most of the Austin venues we've encountered, there are usually a handful of set up options. If you're struggling with how the photo booth will work in your space, shoot us an email and we'll be happy to explain what we've done at your venue before!

Creating a great event hashtag

Importance of developing an event hashtag

Regardless of the type of event you’re hosting, a hashtag can be useful for compiling photos and interacting with guests before, during and after an event! For corporate events, an event hashtag not only allows the attendants to look back on the event, but it creates online visibility and is a lucrative way to engage guests. Event hashtags, when used properly, create a digital presence and attraction to your brand or company. For weddings, using a specified hashtag means guests can see photos of themselves that might’ve gone untagged or missed without the event hashtag. Most importantly, this allows the bride and groom to look back on the event and relive all the fun memories from one of the best days of their lives.

Here are a few ideas on how you can get started on creating a unique one for your event!

How to develop a hashtag for a corporate event or fundraiser

1. Keep it short. Simplicity is key.

Your hashtag should be as short as possible and take up as few characters as possible. If your guests will be posting on Twitter, the last thing you want to do is take up too many of their limited 140 characters! Abbreviate event names that are long. For example, Austin music festival Blues on the Green uses the hashtag #botg, as opposed to #BluesOnTheGreen, which is pretty long. Keeping it simple also means fewer people will forget exactly what your hashtag is. If they can’t remember, they won’t use it.
 

2.  Use the event's name and location.

If the convention name is BeautyCon, using #beautyconLA may be more effective than simply #beautycon.

3. Include the year for annual events.

If creating a post for an event that occurs annually, including the year to specify which year is attended - for example, using #beautycon2017 or #beautycon17.
 

4. Make sure to determine a good event hashtag well in advance.

Once it has been created, start using it yourself as an organizer and notify your audience about it. For example, runners who are training for the Austin Marathon in 2018 can use the hashtag #austinmarathon2018 when posting a photo of them training in the months leading up to the race. There is great power in promoting a hashtag before an event, especially if the goal is to encourage participation from the public.
 

5. Consistency.

For annual events, having a consistent hashtag every year also allows the participants to refer back to previous years’ photos by simply changing the year at the end of the hashtag.

Photo by Pine and Blossom

How to develop a hashtag for a wedding

Wedding hashtags have recently become increasingly popular, so it is important for your hashtag to be unique. After all, you don’t want to see photos from a random wedding that isn’t yours showing up under your wedding hashtag feed! Here are a few tips on creating a hashtag that is personal and specific to your big day.

 
1. Make the hashtag easy for guests to remember.

Wedding hashtags that have a play on words may be easier for guests to remember. Consider mashing your names together or focusing on the last name if you plan on sharing a surname after you’re married. Puns are always welcomed (and totally encouraged, if you ask us!).

For example, one of our recent wedding clients’ new last name is Newberry, and their hashtag was #TheNewestBerry! We even saw a wedding where the the groom’s surname is Morgan, so they chose the hashtag #ILoveYouMorganAnything. Get punny, because the funny hashtags are typically the most memorable!
 

 2. Avoid any hashtags that could be potentially misspelled by your guests.

Try shortening any long names or move words around to avoid having two of the same letters next to each other. For example #davidandashley looks much better than #ashleyanddavid.
 

3. Use a hashtag generator.
If you're having trouble coming up with an original hashtag, try checking out a hashtag generator to get started. Sometimes it’ll get your creative juices flowing and help you come up with something unique.
  

4. Get the word out about your hashtag.
If a hashtag for the wedding has been created before the couple walks down the aisle, use it on photos of the couple engaged. If you are the one walking down the aisle, consider using it when snapping a photo of you dress shopping or wedding planning. Put it on your save-the-date and your wedding website and get the word out!

Photo by Amanda Hartfield

We hope these tips help you create the perfect hashtag for your event. What's your favorite hashtag you've seen so far?

Flannery & Nicholas' Wedding

Happy 2017, y'all! We are starting off the year right by gearing up for some amazing bridal shows and open houses this month and next, but we wanted to share some fun photos from Flannery & Nicholas' gorgeous Prospect House wedding on New Year's Eve! We had so much fun hanging out with their guests. We've always loved Prospect House, and it was so amazing to finally see it at night! There were giant white balloons lining the walkway at the entrance, and pretty lights hanging across the guests' chairs at the ceremony site. Kate with Wild Sky Events did such an amazing job helping pull everything together, and we loved getting to see some gorgeous work from our friend Shannon over at The Inviting Pear, who created Flannery and Nicholas' seating charts, acrylic dinner menus, copper drink menu and programs.

We even saw a few familiar faces at the wedding. Peter, our operations manager, is a born and raised Austinite and was helping at the wedding, and he ran into a few of his old teachers from elementary school! Small world!

Happy 2017, again, you guys! Can't wait to see what this year holds for us!

Let us treat you to coffee!

During this time of year, as all the craziness of wedding season begins to wind down and with tons of holiday parties right around the corner, we start reflecting on all of the amazing people we've gotten to work with since we started our business last October. There is absolutely no way we would be where we are today without you, and we want to say thank you!

Word of mouth is like gold in this industry! Other people trust you, the people who have seen the booth in action. Your opinions matter immensely, and we want more fun people to let us be a part of their fun events! For this to happen, we need reviews! And we're here to offer a little incentive.

If you leave us a review on at least three of these platforms, we will mail you a cup of coffee! Okay, so it'll be a Starbucks gift card. But who doesn't love a free drink from the 'bucks?? To make it easy, we won't even consider it cheating if you copy and paste your review across all the platforms!

Google

Facebook

Yelp

The Knot

Wedding Wire
 

Let us know if you have any questions, and please send us your mailing address once you give us some love online!

Warmly,

The Oh Happy Day Booth Team

Marsala Wedding Inspiration

Here at Oh Happy Day Booth, we're always searching for ways to make your photo booth rental cohesive with your wedding theme and color scheme!

When Pantone rolled out Marsala as their 2015 Color of the Year, we instantly fell in love. We're still so excited that this shade still hasn't gone out of style, and we think it's the perfect fit for a fall or winter wedding! Several of our backdrops would look so amazing with marsala, but the gold/marsala color combo is just about unbeatable. 

1. Ring box: Mrs. Box, Photo by Leah Golder, Styled by Chic and Pretty Events
2. Flower girl: Photo by Kristen Kilpatrick
3. Backdrop: Oh Happy Day Booth
4. Nails: Via BuzzFeed
5. Couple: Photo by Erica Velasco Photographers
6. Cake: Photo by Ashley Cook Photography
7. Invitation Suite: Laura Damiano Designs, Photo by @girlyhammer
8. Shoes: Photo by Tina Chiou Photography
9. Tablescape: Photo by Ashley Cook Photography

We can't wait for Pantone to release their 2017 color (or will it be color(s) like it was this year??)! According to House Beautiful, even with the fall season quickly approaching, it looks like spring is on Pantone's mind! They rolled out a few predictions of what hues will be popular this coming spring, and we're crossing our fingers that Flame and Island Paradise are in the running for the title of Color of the Year!

Are you getting married this fall? What are your wedding colors?