the idea of disposable cameras at every table was swiftly abandoned at the advice of several people and at the realization that 90% of the people will have digital cameras and i'd rather them email me their 2 best photos than have to foot the bill for developing 495 crappy photos that are all very much alike. so then i read about taking portraits of couples/families which were then framed and given out at the end of the night as the "party favors." if i made it black tie (and even if it wasn't), it would be a wonderful opportunity to take portraits, which most people don't have and deserve to have. and it sure beats pricey candies, and the fact that anything unedible is probably cheesy and serves little to no function outside the wedding. i didn't even begin to look into this as i thought it would be muy costoso.

so along came the idea of a polaroid guestbook.

i could position one or two beloved photo savvy friends at the entrance to grab shots of all the guests. and i could even save $60.95 by buying a nice sketchbook and inserting photo corners.

then jenn found something brilliant last night on theknot. some couple had rented a photobooth for their wedding. that way each guest got a keepsake, and with the unlimited photos, it doubled as a guestbook addition.

redmond, wa - $1400 for 4 hours, and $100 per hour after, ontario $1800, texas, from denver to des moines, calgary, alberta, quebec, winnipeg, and......finally! after much searching, i found vancouver, and another one here! here's the one from texas:
the canadian ones look a little 1970's to me and at two thousand some odd dollars, i'm just that much closer to a canon EOS 5D or a nikon d2xs. letterpress invitations...or a photo booth. now, spending $1 a shot on polaroid film sounds like money better spent. or even the little sticky polaroids......and then again, at $2000, maybe i should reconsider that professional portrait idea.....

as a side note, i could do the portraits-on-a-budget with a decent camera, a plug 'n play printer, and some photo paper for an affordable price provided that would be right up the alley of an on-the-guestlist shutterbug