Yep. A relatively quiet weekend has been followed by our busiest month ever with Christmas almost upon us. We have travelled from the South Coast all the way up to the North West over the last couple of weeks and our new set up in the Manchester area will be up and running in the new year. By New Years Eve we will have covered 27 bookings in December alone! Half of them corporate parties and the other half, weddings.

We have worked for the Nationwide, Wella, Chiltern Railways, the NHS and quite a few other along the way and we have another busy weekend coming up starting today.

We have some very tasty new products for the new year in the shape of some gorgeous mini albums that we make up on the spot and also Flipbooks…

Take a look at the Rentabooth website early in January to see the new goodies.

I probably won’t have time to blog between now and Christmas itself so have a fab time. don’t eat too much and hope to see you in 2010.

Here are some shots from the Photobooths from last weekend…

Rentabooth was approached a while back to see if we cover charity functions but we do get quite a few calls from charities to offer our services for free. We finally made the decision to offer our services to a charity of our choice every year that we felt was a particularly good cause.

The Tabernacle in Notting Hill last Thursday was the party that we chose after Harriet rang us a few weeks ago and all of the proceeds were going to Refuge. The party itself was free to enter if the guests at the door had a toy with them. If not the entrance fee was £25.00. The toys are to be distributed amongst the children whose mums are being looked after by Refuge to make sure that they have a good Christmas. There were over 400 people there! It was heaving.

A room was set aside for the toys to be placed in and by 9.00 pm the collection would not have disgraced Hamleys. A band upstairs provided the main entertainment but the bar was downstairs along with food and of course, the Photobooth! As popular as ever we were not charging for it but we were there with a bucket asking for cash from anybody who used it and rattled it furiously after each group had used the booth…

We raised over £440 in cash for Refuge. Here are some of the images from the evening.

On Saturday we covered a Bnei Mitzvah in Bushey for Annie & Georgia. (do you remember my explanation of a Bnei Mitzvah from a few months ago when we covered the triplets?)

Here are a few of the images.

On Sunday we were at the Hilton in Stansted Airport for a wedding exhibition. Not the busiest exhibition that we have covered as the weather was truly terrible but a few bookings directly from it already with, hopefully, more to come.

We are booking up very fast for next year and 2011 bookings have started to come in too. We already have three dates in 2010 that are fully booked.

It’s been a while since I last found the time to blog as the article about Kitty Dimbleby in the Daily Mail produced a lot of enquiries and we have covered over 30 Photobooths since then…

The week following Kitty & Ed’s wedding in Bath we covered Emma’s Birthday party on Halloween. We covered two fab parties that night and the decoration was superb. Emma’s party was fancy dress and the outfits were superb.

Stavros Flatley have appeared at two events since I last blogged doing their thing to rapturous applause in both cases. First at the Emirates Stadium on the 25th October at Sara’s Batmitzvah and then on the 8th November at Jake’s Barmitzvah at Claridges.

I was shooting the function the Batmitzvah at the Emirates rather than the Photobooth and here are a few fun shots.

Here they are again in the Photobooth a couple of weeks later at Jake’s Barmitzvah.

On the 5th November we found ourselves in Leeds at Chili White (one of its trendiest venues) covering Naomi’s 21st Birthday Party and apart from the staff there was barely a single northern accent between them. All from Harrow and Eton, apparently.

Many, many thanks to Lucy and the staff. Great fun. There was a real buzz about the place. Here they are getting into the spirit of things.

Megan’s mum made me laugh at Quaglinos that same weekend insisting that the Photobooth was mainly for the kids and not to expect many of the adults to be using it. We couldn’t keep the adults out!

Dena and Mark’s wedding reception in Hendon a couple of Sundays ago was a site to behold and the bunnies ears went down rather well…

Long time no write. Apologies as it’s been such a busy time.

Last Saturday we had the privilege of supplying a Photobooth for Kitty Dimbleby and Ed Hodges wedding day. Kitty, an author and journalist, is the daughter of Bel Mooney, the Daily Mail columnist. They have been writing a weekly column together about the lead up to the wedding for the last couple of months in the Femail section of the Daily Mail. My sister mentioned it a while back and I’ve been following it week by week. It was a nice surprise when they booked us for their Photobooth and Stephen and Lisa drove down to the Assembly Rooms in Bath last Saturday for the Photobooth.

Here are Kitty and Ed in the strip on the left and another couple from the wedding on the right.

And Mum, Bel with her husband, Robin.

You may recognise the guy in the middle. Kitty’s dad. Jonathan Dimbleby.

One of things that I should have pointed out is that Kitty actually wanted and chose the old style black & white strip prints. One of the reasons that she booked us. Not something that many other Photobooth companies offer and I definitely should have mentioned it. I have edited the images of Kitty and Ed at the beginning of this post to show you what they received.

For the full article, pick up a copy of today’s (22nd Oct) Daily Mail. It’s a nice uplifting story.

Here’s a link to the Daily Mail Online for the story.

We have covered 35 Photobooths, shot three weddings and I’ve had two bouts of flu since I last blogged here about the booths. We have been very, very busy and now the Christmas bookings are getting under way…

Lots to tell you about including some new goodies, another Photobooth and new staff.

We have a new range of Photobooth albums to show you in the next week or two. The prototypes are finished but a few tweaks are needed before I pop them on a page on the Rentabooth website.

As there are so many booths to blog about I have picked out some of my favourite shots over the last six weeks.

We covered Gemma’s 30th Party on the 15th August and it was fancy dress. No props required!

Dana & Rob were married at a venue near Stevenage back on the 28th August. Her friend Tasha went to the wedding without a date and it obviously bothered her. So she made her own!

The Photobooth seems to go right across the generations and I always love to see shots where nans and grandads have used the Photobooth with the youngsters. The kids don’t seem to think it’s cool to have shots together with their older relatives until you throw a Photobooth into the mix…

The second fancy dress party that we covered was at the Guards Polo Club in Windsor Great Park back on the 23rd August.

Jo and Deb had their civil partnership back on the 9th August at Priston Mill in Bath. A beautiful venue in stunning countryside.

Jo and Deb’s invitations, menus etc had sunflowers all over them and I have a feeling that they like them rather a lot. For a short while real sunflowers featured as one of the subjects in the Photobooth.

Followed by a cleaver…

Here is what Jo & Deb had to say about us…

We wanted to write and send you our warmest thank yous to Rentabooth for helping to make our wedding day such a fantastic day.
 
Everybody thoroughly enjoyed the photo sessions and I can’t believe we were in two minds about whether to have the props or not - we should have known they were all a bunch of extroverts.
 
All our guests considered it to be a real treat and besides the great fun that everyone had, the service you provided was very efficient and first class .
 
We are also grateful for the wonderful album and messages provided as part of the fee as the quality of the photos and the album provides excellent value. It will be an album that we will treasure for a longtime.

More to come…

Kealey & Ben came back from their honeymoon last week and their images are up on the website so it’s time to show you a few.

Here’s Maci. Their daughter. We took loads of her…

The moment that they exchanged rings.

I love windy veil shots!

And the fisheye came out for a shot of the two of them with the whole reception in the background.

The reception was in a huge marquee and the light was beautiful.

And cavorting in the wheat field just as the sun was setting.

This is one of my faves of the year. We rarely see great sunsets with the other necessary ingredients here in the UK.

More to come…

It’s always good to receive thank you letters from happy clients and these two are no exception. Here’s the first:

Just wanted to say thank you for doing the photobooth on the 11th - it was a huge success and we can’t stop looking at our guest book!!!
 
Please can we go ahead and order 100 thank you postcards with the following images and message. Thank you! Love Luke and Nat xxx

Here they are:

And the second:
 
Firstly, thanks a million for making our day one to remember - people were so excited when they heard that we had a photobooth set up (we’d kept it a surprise from literally everyone) and I think they used it to the max! We love the photos and are planning on making an entire wall of them by getting them individually framed.   Natalie

Here they are:

Last weekend we traveled to Coventry, Kent and Essex and there was one particular Photobooth that I went to a little early.

The Wildlife Heritage Foundation near Ashford in Kent is a pretty unusual venue for a wedding reception as it’s a park for big cats. Callum & Claire’s wedding reception itself took place in a big marquee in the middle of the park and the wedding guests were given a guided tour of the animals as part of the day. The weather was not good and the light levels were very low for photography when we arrived but one of the guides gave Lisa and myself a tour of the big cats before we set up the Photobooth. One of the tigers…

And the bride and groom, Callum & Claire…

Their guests were a creative bunch and I’ve posted a few of the sequences of them from the Photobooth. Loads of fun!

Just after the bouquet toss…

This fun couple asked if we could increase the delay between each shot in the Photobooth sequence. No problem as long as we don’t have a big queue. I thought that this sequence was great fun.

Amy and Lee’s wedding reception took place on a farm near Coventry and the wet weather added to the drama along with problems with the main electricity generator. Teri’s car got stuck in the mud and the power went off a few times. If you are having your wedding reception in a marquee and there is no normal mains power, let us know! There are a couple of things that we can take with us to an event to prevent any power outage.

Here are Amy and Lee.

Claire & Nick’s wedding reception took place at the Woodlands Park Hotel near Cobham and they all got into the true Photobooth spirit very quickly. Here they are:

And last, but by no means least, the photographers.

Abdul and Abida had their wedding reception in North Weald in Essex on Sunday afternoon. Although they never had the opportunity to use the Photobooth themselves, their guests had great fun!

Amongst others here are the bridesmaids.

More to come soon…

Lots been happening since I last blogged a few weeks ago along with a dozen Photobooths, of course!

I’ve been shooting weddings for many, many years and I’ve seen priests at wedding receptions, many, many times. Never in a Photobooth though… My guess is that he’s a vicar rather than a priest as he appears to be with his wife and is maybe a family friend of Natalie & Luke.

Here he is

Here’s Natalie and Luke and a few fun shots from their reception on the 11th July near Bath.

Here’s the toastmaster too who really got into it sitting with Claire & Nick at Brocket Hall Golf club on the 24th July. What an amazing venue!

This has to be one of the biggest groups that we have ever had in the Photobooth.

And the pink glasses a hangover from the hen night.

Remember Vickie and David from last year? They have been at, at least three of the Photobooths that we have done over the last few months. Here they are at Claire & Paul’s wedding at Eynsham Hall near Oxford on the 10th July. Here’s Vickie blooming nicely…

Here are Claire & Paul.

Selina had a milestone birthday up at Shoreditch Film Studios back on the 16th July and went for the black and white strips. Here she is.

This reminded me of one of the cinemas from year ago. This is Jo who dances occasionally for Uptown Events. She was there handing out free cigarettes! Not too PC and everybody had to go out in the rain to enjoy them!

Alex and Kevin had their wedding reception at a Viable Craft Centre in Basingstoke on the 11th July and also took along an extra prop of their own.

Here they are.

Abi and Paul had their wedding reception at Offley Place near Hitchin in Hertfordshire on the 17th July. They didn’t really get into the props in the way that their guests did…

Katie & Hugo had their wedding Orchard Leigh House near Frome in Somerset two weekends ago. Wow. What a stunning venue! I had to drive close to two miles to get from the gate to the venue itself!

Here they are.

Tracy and Scott were married on the 17th July and it was a problem getting them into the Photobooth together. It was half an hour into the Photoboopth when I realised that Scott had used the Photobooth four times before I realised that he was the Bridegroom…

I could have been forgiven for mistaking Tracy as she was wearing black but she was the first to use the booth.

Here’s an action shot as a couple disappear over the back of the Photobooth. It is better if we can get the Photobooth into a corner when we set up…

I think I’ve finally made it to this last weekend. Whew! And, of course, it was the busiest of the year…

In my other guise as a wedding photographer, James and I, made our way to a venue called Knowlton Court, just outside of Canterbury. On the way I dropped James off at Herne Bay as the bridegroom, Ben, was arriving at Knowlton Court in a helicopter!

Knowlton Court is a spralling venue that is also a farm with buildings all over the place where your guests can also stay overnight. The wedding itself took place in Knowlton house and the reception took place in a huge marquee. I will post some of Kealey and Ben’s wedding photographs as soon as the couple come back from honeymoon after they have seen them. In the meantime, here are a couple of Photobooth images from their wedding.

While Kealy and Ben’s wedding was taking place, Stephen and Maria were making their way down to Frimley in Hampshire for Emma & David’s wedding reception. Here they are.

At the same time that they were both going on, Dominic and Debbie were in Wandsworth covering Darren and Melanie’s wedding reception.

Here they are.

On Sunday we were in Blake Hall in Ongar, Essex for Victoria and Michael’s wedding reception. A great rock and roll band provided the entertainment and we provided the Photobooth. Here they are.

It’s been a very busy few weeks and my Mum is back in hospital so time is precious right now. Lots to tell you about…

We have been doing lots of corporate work lately and had a few lookalikes at parties too.

How about this guy for a lookalike?! Is he really a lookalike? He’s sitting here with Harry. We covered his barmitzvah a couple of weeks ago.

And Ozzy…

He was at Jared’s Barmitzvah. Here is Jared.

How many of you would use a Photobooth at 8.30 am in the morning? The Axiom Housing Association, based in Peterborough did! The Photobooth contributed hugely to a very successful conference.

Here are Axiom the accountants…

Feathers that fall from the boas make great props…

Here is the winning shot from the Photobooth competition.

The end of break prom for the girls of St Paul’s school in Hammersmith gave us the biggest queue that we have ever seen for a Photobooth.

These were going fpr the record for the number of people in a Rentabooth. Eleven is pretty good but not enough. You have to see everybody in the shot to qualify.

Helen’s Hollywood theme party was a blast!

Here are Natalie & Simon. Their wedding took place at Dodmoor House, Northamptonshire at the end of June. It’s a beautiful venue.

This bunch were once agin going for the record. Tantalisingly close…

Nicola’s Batmitzvah took place a stunning venue called Gilgamesh up near Camden market on the 21st. The first time we have used a coloured background.

On the same day just up the road at the Dorchester in Park Lane was Adam’s Barmitzvah. We do get around! Here’s Adam.

Shier’s sweet 16 party was on the 22nd June up in Swiss Cottage. What a busy party! Here she is on the right.

And onto Shirley and her two boys party a couple of weeks ago in the De Vere in Tilehouse Lane in Denham. Here they are.

The Sony ATV party was a load of fun last Friday lunchtime. The plastic palm tree was taller than the Photobooth and they insisted that it had to go in…

Who does that guy on the left in black remind you of? Sid Snot from the Kenny Everett show!

Do not ask me why the inflatable bird made it into the Photobooth but it did and alcohol was involved!

Adele & Gary had their wedding reception in Derby on Saturday night. Here they are.

Deborah and Andrew

Helen & James had everybody involved in their Photobooth. The chefs, the photographer and the videographer!

Jackie & Nick were married on the South Coast back on the 27th June. Here they are.

Ren & Chris had their reception at Ufton Court near Reading. Here they are.

A slightly abbreviated blog entry as we have so much to cover. Lots going on with Christmas bookings and bookings for next year. Book soon. Don’t leave it too late!

Edinburgh is a fabulous place but it’s a looong way. We took ourselves off to Scotland early in the morning on the 6th and arrived bright and early so we could spend some time looking around and also to have a beautiful fish meal in the city. Not before we’d checked out the location of Colette and Mike’s wedding reception at the University first though.

Lots of kilts by the way, and only a couple of bums which I won’t subject you to…

The main theme running over the last couple of weeks has been people supplying their own props. It’s not necessary as we carry plenty by the way but you are welcome to do so. The thing to avoid is props that cover peoples’ faces. Just my opinion and you can make up your own mind.

Here’s Colette and Mike.

They start ‘em young in Scotland!

While I was out of the country (!) Gemma and Daniel’s wedding reception took place up near Ipswich.

Here they are.

The hats are ours, the mask is not…

The hat is not ours and I love it!

Meanwhile in Hampshire Julie & Phil were having their wedding reception. Here they are.

Sunday the 7th June took us to Mali’s Batmitzvah. Here she is on the left.

This last weekend found us in Market Harborough, Portsmouth and London. Emma & Ross celebrated their wedding reception in naval style in Portsmouth. Here they are.

Saturdat night also found us in Market Harborough for Kirsty & Robert’s wedding reception. Here they are.

Lots of bridesmaids!

Sophie’s Batmitzvah was the last Photobooth of the weekend on Sunday in Finchley. We introduced a new product that I wll be telling you about in the next couple of weeks…

Here she is with her two brothers following.

A bit of a story to this shot and I hope Sophie’s dad doesn’t mind me posting it… She told him that he wasn’t allowed to embarrass her with topless dancing at the beginning of the evening. Naturally he did the next best thing and used the Photobooth!

See you next week.