10 Fun Alternatives to a Photobooth for Your Wedding
Many couples want to provide their guests with an interactive element or activity during the cocktail hour or dancing portion of their wedding. These experiences can act as an icebreaker for friends and family who may not know each other, showcase the couple’s personality, and often double as a meaningful memento or keepsake for guests to take home.
In recent years, photo booths have become increasingly popular, and many weddings now use them as their primary interactive element. However, there are many other creative options couples should consider when looking to add a fun and memorable experience for their guests.
Live Poet
A poet asks guests a few questions and then writes a short, personalized poem on the spot using a typewriter. Guests are often delighted by the experience and can take the poem home as a meaningful keepsake from the day. The paper used by the poet can be customized with the couple’s name, monogram, or wedding hashtag to commemorate the occasion.
Our Favorite is Ars Poetica
Arcade Games
Hours of entertainment! If your guests are less into dancing and more into gaming, then create your own arcade! Have guests play on their own or set-up a tournament to get more participation. We suggest picking a mix of simple and standard games so that guests who aren’t as experienced with gaming can have fun too!
Our favorite arcade rental in Seattle is NW Flash Arcade
Paint by Number
Imagine a painting made entirely by your guests! That’s the magic of paint by number at a wedding. It’s a fun, hands-on activity that lets everyone contribute to a unique, collaborative masterpiece even if they have never held a paintbrush before. The finished piece becomes a one-of-a-kind keepsake, showcasing your community coming together to create something memorable. We suggest providing aprons so guests do not get paint on their party clothes.
Our favorite is Paintillio
Personalized Crossword Puzzle
How well do your guests know you? Couples can commission a crossword or make their own to display. The solving is best done as a group activity as most guests know some of the answers, but not all. Putting the crossword in a frame behind glass and providing dry erase markers protects against irreversible mistakes.
Tarot Card Reader
Add a mystical touch to your wedding by offering guests a tarot card reading. Each reading typically involves a few cards and takes about 10 minutes, giving guests a fun, personal experience without taking up too much time.
Our favorites are The Wedding Witch, The Primal Mystic & Clairvoyant Clementine
Tattoo Artist
Give your guests a wedding experience they will remember forever, literally. A tattoo station lets friends and family create a permanent keepsake from your celebration. This works best for friends and family who are already comfortable with tattoos, so everyone can participate rather than watching from the sidelines. Work with the artist to create a flash sheet that guests can choose from. If you like the concept but want a less permanent option, consider offering temporary tattoos or hiring a henna artist instead.
Our favorites are Level Up Studio, Malmi B&B
Live Guest Painting
Live guest paintings are a unique way to capture your wedding day. Usually, the artist spends about five minutes on each person, creating sketches that are impressionistic and capture the essence of each guest rather than a detailed portrait. The result is a fun, artistic keepsake that guests can take home as a memorable reminder of your celebration.
Our Favorites - You as an Animal, Happily Emily Made, MarsArt, PNW Wedding Painting, WDNG Painter
Video Toasts
Instead of a guest book, provide a video option. Guests are given a few questions to answer if they need a starting point. We recommend putting the video set-up in a spot that’s away from the dancefloor so that the audio is good quality, but not so out of the way that people won’t find it. You can have the DJ make a few announcements throughout the night, so guests remember to record a video.
Our favorite is Voast
Audio Guestbook
Another alternative guest book option is an audio recording. These often come in the form of leaving a message on an analog telephone in a booth. Prompts can be provided as well to give guests an idea of what to talk about. The audio telephone rental company will then splice the audio into a file that you can enjoy after the wedding.
Our favorites are Kinship Tales & After the Tone
Claw Machine or Candy Dispenser
One of our favorite recent wedding additions is a claw machine! Be sure to fill it with something useful or meaningful. Chocolate, packaged macarons, or cookies are a great choice and help reduce unnecessary tchotchke waste. Another fun twist is a candy machine where guests use provided tokens to win treats, adding a playful and interactive element to your celebration.
Our favorites are Insaiyan Entertainment & The Friday Co
Guest Cameras
Get a different perspective by giving your guests a camera to use. You can go the old school route with a disposable camera but we HIGHLY encourage you to rent or find reusable cameras. OR have guests use their phones to take photos and upload them onto a Google Drive or photo service. Its very important to have signs with instructions so that guests know what to do.
Our favorites are Nine Ten Photo, Wedding Weekender, Camp Snap or Instax and GuestCam for guest photo upload
Bonus Idea
Work with Puzzled Parties to create a puzzle or game for your guests to play or experience throughout the event. It can be as small as a seating chart puzzle or encompass the entire event theme like a murder mystery. Everything is personalized to your love story!
We love helping our couples plan a wedding day that reflects their personalities and values. Your entertainment is one way to provide your guests a wedding day experience that feels like “you.”
Contact us to learn more about our services and how we can help you brainstorm fun ideas for your wedding.
Your love story is one of a kind, and we believe that your wedding should be, too. At Evergreen Event Co., our mission is to ensure your wedding is a reflection of your personality and values while making the planning process easy.
We specialize in eco-friendly celebrations, unconventional weddings, adventure elopements and weekend campouts.
