Thanks For Coming!

I think I may have hinted at our favors a time or two in the past, but I wasn't fully ready to share with you what was going on.  But now, I suppose there isn't any point in holding back.  It's not as if you guys are going to be there, and I'm ruining the surprise!

I'm going the photobooth route for our wedding.  And before you guys said you've heard it a million times (because I have too!) hopefully the little touches of me will make it stand out.

But, first, at the beginning.  I went to a bridal expo last May shortly after getting engaged.  I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone, I didn't get a whole lot out of it.  But what was there was a photobooth for everyone to try.  That was actually the first time that I had heard of one and thought it was just the coolest thing, and I HAD to have it.
But that wasn't going to happen for $900.  Absolutely not, especially since it was just a fun added bonus to the reception.

Then later in the summer I got an email from that company saying they were having a special going on for half price rentals.  I emailed them to see if they had my date available, and luckily they did.   I told myself I could justify it if I found a fun way to make it into a favor.  I was already budgeting to spend at least $1/guest which would be $300.  So for just a bit more, this became the option.

So I quickly sat down and came up with an idea of a photo frame for the pictures so our guests could take their picture home and do what they'd like with it, and it would have our names and wedding date on it, along with a nice little Thank You message.
Here's what I came up with:

(sorry for the crappy quality, I had to take it with my webcam since I don't have my computer cord)

 

I debated putting a magnet on the back of them all so they could easily be put on the fridge, but I decided that was an unnecessary expense, and some people might rather put them on a memo board, etc.  So where it stands now, is that about 200 of the 300 are completely finished.

Then, a couple weeks ago I got an email from Vistaprint like usual, and one of the freebies was a small banner.  So I laid out a design and uploaded it to have it printed.  I believe I paid no more than $5 for the following (and that was only the shipping).

(again with the crappy picture)

It came rolled up as a banner, and I took it into my mom's work and had the framer mount it onto GatorBoard which is a very stiff foam board.  I went in to pick it up today and her boss was ringing me up for that and a can of paint, and he said, "Don't worry about the board, we'll throw it in for good luck."  How sweet?!  I would have only been paying $10, but it was an unexpected surprise.  I'm going to place it on a large black easel (that I'm borrowing from my own work) next to the booth which will be in the entry hallway into the reception.

At the bottom it reads: "To preserve your memories, please place your fabulous photos in the photo mats found at your seats, enjoy them as our gift to you!"

I'm going to make small matching tents to place on each table, to direct the guests towards the booth.  This has become one of the more exciting projects for me, and I'm loving the way it's turning out.