Have you considered…fun group shots? (3 Fun Alternatives To The Formal Photos!)

Yippee! Martina is back with another kick ass edition to her ‘Have You Considered’ series! In this collection of posts she’ll make you question things that you hadn’t even thought twice about and you’ll be so pleased you did after! So without further a do, i’ll hand you over to the lovely lady herself…

Hi! I’m Martina, you might remember me from posts like Have You Considered…a REAL Engagement Shoot?, or, Have You Considered… a First Look? or also Have You Considered…An Unplugged Ceremony?

And today I am here to pose you another question: Have you considered a photo booth-formals mix up?

Right, so, there’s two things that most couples nowadays end up pondering on when planning their wedding day: first one is “Should we do formals?” (best known as group photos), the second one is “Should we or should we not have a photo booth?” Group shots can be a bit of a mess to coordinate and most people just don’t feel comfortable standing still and smiling. So it often happens that couple just decide not to have any, until their families remind them that “It’s nice to have them though”. But what if you were to mix them up with the photobooth idea, and – even better – with your guestbook?

Here’s 3 ideas to have a fun and hassle free set of formals that will be part of your day without taking up too much time and boring anyone. One thing you’ll need for all, is one or two instant film cameras.

1. The DIY board.

Set up a table with a couple of instant cameras and a board. The board should have a clear invitation and a set of pre-assigned drawn-on frames. Here, let my famous designing skills show you what I mean:

Cute huh? No, not the drawing , the idea. This way you get all the group shots you need and your guests will take them themselves, and will have fun in the process! No awkward calling for the bridesmaid that had to run to the toilet exactly when the bridal party is scheduled to have a group shot taken. Easy peasy!

The board could be magnetic, made of wood or cardboard. That really is up to you (and I’m sure Emily and Jess could come up with some awesome DIY ideas for it!).

2. The all pretty secret diary.

I don’t know about you, but when I was at school, diaries were HUGE, in many ways. I would write down on each page all the things that would happen to me on a given day; thoughts, wishes, and then I would stick on it a little memento of that day. And it could be anything. The straw I had used to have my Sunday Nutella milkshake, the ticket to the cinema, cut-outs from magazines, etc.

Now, you really don’t have to stick a piece of your veil to your guestbook, but what if, along with the polaroid cameras (as per number 1) you provided a set of cute little things to help embellish it? Say, a set of colourful pens and markers, cute decorative washi tape, Baby’s Breath and so on. Use your imagination!

The idea is the same: mark each page with a title for the group (e.g. “Groomsmen”) and let your guests have fun with it, this way you’ve sorted out group shots and guestbook!

3. The Selfie Corner.

If you’re not too fussed about the group shots being exactly ‘formal’, you will like this one.

Set up a twine going from one corner of the room to the other. Set a ‘start here’ point and place the polaroid cameras on a table underneath it. Then let your guests take all the selfies they wish and provide a basket of tiny pegs that they can use to hang their selfies on the twine. As the time goes by, you’ll notice an increase in silly expressions. Whether or not they’re caused by tipsy moods that’s up to you (and your guests!).