Our guests have more fun with one of our Photobooths than any other…

Well. That is what I was told when a couple booked their Photobooth with us last week. The bride had a couple of quotes and put them in front of the groom to choose.

His comment went something like this before booking. “The Rentabooth guests look, from the photos on the blog and website, as though they are having far more fun than the others…”

We, of course, have to agree. Where is that big smiley icon when I want one?

Hope you have had a great Easter. We had a relatively quiet weekend in comparison to previous weeks with a couple of booths but it is very much like the lull before the storm. We have loads coming up in May.

Nickie & KJ were at Clearwell Castle down in Gloucestershire at the beginning of the weekend. If you are not familiar with the venue and you are looking for something stunningly different, check out their website.

http://www.countryhouseweddings.co.uk/clearwell-castle/

Nickie & KJs was a military affair and you know what that means where a Photobooth is concerned/ Very fit guys that can’t wait to strip off! Here are the bride and groom.

Here’s some beefcake and this was 7.30 pm…

And a little more…

Onto The Grange in Northwood and Chrissie and Curtis’s wedding. Very local for us and by far the biggest Guestbook and the busiest we have ever been for a three hour Photobooth.

Here are the Chrissie and Curtis.

Another busy and fun weekend leading up to Easter with many old faces from previous events. Starting off with Anita and Darren’s wedding in Guildford.

Here they are. Anita & Darren trying Strictly Come Dancing pose in the booth…

A couple asleep in the booth…

Definitely a leg weekend. Lots on show in the Photobooth.

Onto Greenwich at an old haunt of ours going back to Christmas at the Royal Naval College. It is a fab venue and Kathryn and Ian’s wedding was

Here they are.

A few months ago we covered Viv and Matt’s wedding up in the Midlands. Just to prove that clients come back to us time and again here is Viv, on the left, this time as a bridesmaid.

Legs again…

A bit of hat swapping.

This has a touch of the Silence of the Lambs about it. )

This is what happens in a Photobooth, much after 10.35 pm…

After that shock onto Jaime’s Batmitzvah. Here is Tracy (Mum), Jaime and sister, Emma. Stephen and Terri covered the Photobooth as I was shooting the party in the old fashioned way. Photos to come from that side of the party next week.

If you follow this blog you may remember Georgia and her sister from the beginning of December.

This lad really, really wanted to be the star of the show…

Even the dancers from Uptown Events joined in.

The busiest weekend so far with a Friday night job in Chesterfield for Carrie and Aaron culminating in Park Lane at the Intercontinental Hotel with Daniel’s Barmitzvah. Am I tired? You bet I am but we had a great time.

It was one of my best friends daughter’s wedding too on Saturday and we shot that too and, of course, they had a Photobooth…

For regulars, you will know that I love receiving nice emails and the following is one of the nicest sent by Carrie from the Photobooth on Friday night.

I just would like to thank you again for the fab time had by all attending our wedding on Friday. Even my camera-shy husband enjoyed the experience!
Many of our guests just loved the concept of the booth and as the photo’s in our guestbook prove, it was the best investment of the day – a real treasure to keep forever, documenting the whole vibe of the reception. I have lost count of how many times I have looked through the pages in the last two days, one of the happiest days of my life shared by so many friends and family.

”Mrs Carrie Butler”

Here they are. Carrie & Aaron Butler. They went for the black and white strip option, by the way.

Carrie & friends being silly. That’s what the booth is for!

Here’s a few of the latest shots from the Megabooth of Daniel’s Barmitzvah on Sunday night at the Intercontinental Hotel in Park Lane.

It was the second Megabooth that we have done and the scope for personalising the images and prints is so much greater. The backgrounds will add a little extra to the final price of the Photobooth but for a few months more we are offering the Megabooth as the same price as the Photobooth. The Megabooth has gone down a storm at the two Mitzvahs that we have now done with it. Bear in mind that it does take up quite a bit more room at your venue.

Lisa & Craig’s wedding was a very local wedding for us and I have known many of the guests for many, many years.

Here’s Lisa and Craig with their son, Sean.

This is Amy & Alex. Amy is Lisa’s sister and rapidly became addicted to the Photobooth…

Amy & Lisa with mum, Karen and stepsister, Holly.

Stephen with Amy and Lisa his two daughters. He was the smartest I have ever seen him and probably the first time I’ve seen him in front of a camera looking vaguely relaxed. A few beers may have had something to with that…

Craig with his bestman.

Last but not least is the Pixels and Rentabooth crowd for the very first time. Stephen, Kung, myself and Terri. Probably one of the first times that most of us have been in one place on a single job. There are two of us missing of course as Dominic and Debbie were covering Sally and Andrew’s wedding in Richmond Park…

More to follow…

Yet another very busy, very interesting and fun weekend. Saturday night we traveled to Hayling Island for Sharon and Daniel’s wedding reception, Sunday in the afternoon we were at the Landmark Hotel in Marylbone for Eli’s Batmitsvah and Sunday evening we were at a private address in Pinner for Ruby’s Batmitzvah.

Here are Sharon and Daniel getting into the spirit of the Photobooth occasion.

And one of the bridesmaids bursting in on the scene…

Are these two cool, or what?…

I love to see such a mix of ages using the Photobooth.

This guy looks as if he was having fun…

This is five minutes after the witching hour of 10.30 pm. What is about the guys having the need to strip as soon as a small drop of booze has been introduced into the mix with the Photobooth? ) It’s never the girls…

Onto Ruby.

I promised Sam, Ruby’s mum, that I would take a few slightly more formal portraits of her daughter. This is not one of them…

Or this.

Dad with Ruby.

Mum with Ruby.

Onto the Megabooth. Staying ahead of the pack of newbie Photobooth companies is something that has to be done. We have always been proud of the customer service and the image quality that we offer along with our personalised Guestbooks but we have always wanted to be one step ahead of everybody else and I hope that is what we are doing by constantly offering new products. The Megabooth will be the next big thing for us as you can theme it to any idea that you can come up with. The booth is quite a lot bigger and it will evolve, just as our “normal” Photobooths have over the last 16 months. We have a newer lighting system going into our normal size Photobooths this weekend for the first time so we are not leaving them the same as they have been. Just better.

Here are some examples from the Megabooth at Eli’s Batmitzvah at the Landmark. The Photobooth itself is physically bigger. The images are bigger and you can theme the Photobooth along with the prints that come out of the Photobooth. A corporate client can add their company logos into the prints, or, as we have done here, personalise the prints themselves for a party host or hostess. Strong colours work very, very well.

We will need a bit more time to get the backgrounds designed and made in advance of a booking but currently, the only extra cost involved, is the creation of the background.

Our plasma stand has arrived, by the way, and from this weekend, we will be able to display images from your Photobooth on the big screen. It can be added to an existing booking. Give us a call for a quote.

For those of you who have no idea what a B’nei Mitzvah is, (and I have to admit I had no idea), it is a multiple Mitzvah where there are boys and girls at the same time. In this case Chana, Miriam and Daniel. A set of triplets and they wanted a Guestbook each. A fuschia pink one for Chana, a mauve one for Miriam and a blue one for Daniel.

The thing was that there were youngsters and adults that only knew one of two of the triplets so there was no point placing a print in a book, where the individual youngster didn’t know the people in the shot. With family they were having to sign and leave an individual message in three books! I won’t even begin to describe the administrative fun that we had making sure that we placed the right prints with the correct book but we took enough people along to handle the whole thing and it worked well. )

We almost broke the record for the number of prints made on a single job. That particular record was achieved at the MTV party that we covered last year. I love the Photobooth! Loads of fun week after week.

We have a huge weekend coming up next weekend with three Photobooths over Saturday and Sunday and a very new product to tell you about that we will be doing for the first time, next Sunday afternoon.

Here are the three triplets. We managed to get them together!

As an addendum to this weeks entry I have added the latest thank you from Viv and Matt. Remember them? They were married up in Derbyshire on the 31st January 2009 and they’ve been away for a long honeymoon. this is what they had to say about their experience with the PHotobooth at their wedding reception.

We’ve been away on honeymoon for 3 weeks then mad time back at work and reality!
But a huge thank you, to you and Terri, for our photobooth, for keeping everything flowing so smoothly and for such great fun. The guestbook is great to keep looking at!
Everybody loved it, of all ages, and are still talking about it now!
Many are considering booking you and passing word to others – and we think some may have made bookings already!
Thanks again – and may see you at one of our mates events in the future!!

They will see us pretty soon. Some friends of theirs have just booked in the last few days…

Saturday night found us down in Folkstone in Kent for Jules and Drew’s wedding reception at the Grand Hotel right on the seafront and I don’t think many people in that area have experienced a Photobooth at a wedding before. They absolutely loved it!

It’s always good to get nice emails from satisfied clients but I do love it when the emails arrive so quickly after an event. This is the email that appeared in my Inbox on Sunday night.

We both just want to say a huge huge thank you to you for all your hard work last night – the photobooth was the surefire hit of the night. Everyone loved it – which is clear as the guest book shows how many times people seemed to go back in. So so glad we booked you – you were both wonderful keeping things organised and getting the book ready for us on the night. After partying back at our hotel until the not so early hours we curled up in bed to go through the book. We love it – such a great momento of the day.

Will be recommending you left, right and centre and sure most of the guests will be too. Can’t wait to see them tomorrow night on the internet in case there’s any we’ve missed.

Once again, big big thanks..
A very happy Drew and Jules x

Here are Jules and Drew. We took a bunch of props and halfway through the evening they brought out a box of their own!

Here we have Jules and Drew’s photographer and videographer getting into the fun…

We now have almost 150 Photobooth events under our belts since we started back in 2007 and the experience that we have gained means that our service improves with almost every Photobooth that we cover. We have a couple of new additions to the service that we offer that will be started in the second week in March. Watch this space!

On to Joshua’s Barmitzvah on Sunday night. We were at Quaglinos, one of our favourite Central London venues, where, if the two security guys hadn’t been Jobsworths, it would have been absolutely perfect…

The youngsters and adults enjoyed the Photobooth equally and the Guestbook was one of the largest that we have ever made. There were a couple of clients at the party that have already booked so as always, we were on our best behaviour too. )

Here is Josh. We don’t often get to listen to speeches but we were in the main hall. Interesting how much we find out about our clients when we are in a position to listen and Josh turns out to be a very confident young man as well as being a voice over artist! I hope I’m allowed to let you know about this… Here he is.

You may recognise this family from late last year.

Another week over and looking forward to a very special function next weekend. A Bnei Mitzvah! For those of you who don’t have a clue what I am talking about and I may have spelt it wrong, a
Bnei Mitzvah is more than one and of different sexes. In this case we have a set of triplets! Two girls and a boy. Watch this space next week for some images.

Well it had to happen. Rentabooth has been doing so well over the last 16 months that we have had to register for VAT… Of course it will mean that our prices will have to go up slightly which is a pain but for bookings for 2009 we will be paying half of it. 2010 will be our current prices plus 15% VAT.

On to fun things…

We covered Angharad’s 30th Birthday on Saturday night and had a blast. It was a fancy dress party and there were lots of people around with not too much on. Absolutely crazy as the Photobooth was outside and most of the guests started to arrive around 10.00 pm! The temperature on the dash of my car was saying that it was -2 outside but it didn’t seem it bother the crowd of people who used the Photobooth. We did cheat a litte by “borrowing” one of those tall gas heaters and put it near the booth so that all of the smokers who wanted to have a puff nipped out for a smoke and used the Photobooth at the same time.

By the way. It wasn’t a wedding as far as I know. This lady decided to turn up dressed as a bride. Why not? It was Valentine Day!

Sunday night found us at a football club in Finchley for Zoe’s Batmitzvah party and it has to be one of my favourite parties of the year so far. Here is Zoe having fun with a friend and the second image is her sister, Liane. One of many throughout the evening… Hope I’ve spelt her name correctly, by the way. If not, sorry Liane!

Here is Daniel, Zoe’s dad, camping it up…

Here’s a little competition for you to see how many emails I receive with the answer. Amongst the images posted this week there is somebody who is very famous in the UK. See if you can recognise them and, let me know who that person is. I’ll let you know next week.

Saturday night found us at Anna’s Batmitzvah at the Marriott Hotel in Regents Park and at Sam’s Barmitzvah at his family home in Hendon.

Great crowds both of them and as always, lots of piccies.

Here’s Anna on the right in the green dress getting into the spirit of the Photobooth very early on.

This is one of the real meanings of the Photobooth. Four generations of a family in one shot. I’m still not sure why the youngsters think it’s so cool to pose with parents and grandparents etc in the Photobooth but they do. If a photographer tries to get the same shot with those same people it is done under sufferance, if at all. The Photobooth is totally different.

Here are Anna’s three brothers. Mum loved this shot.

On to Sam’s a few miles up the road. Here he is with Ali G.

It sounds like a movie title…

That’s what we covered over the weekend between Derby, Ealing and Finchley and as always it doesn’t seem like work. Far too much fun! I went off with Terri to Castle Donnington on Saturday night, Stephen and Maria went to Warwickshire and Dominic and Debbie covered Judith’s 40th party at a hotel in Park Royal.

Viv and Matt were married at the Priest House Hotel. It is a beautiful venue in the Derbyshire countryside and like many of the venues that we cover it’s a little off the beaten track. Viv’s mum broke the record for the number of times that anybody has used the Photobooth in three hours.

One of the things that always fascinates me about the Photobooth phenomenon is the mixture of ages that use it together. To get a 13 year old to have shots taken with Mum or Dad is probably considered uncool for the youngster. For some reason it’s hard to keep them out of it!

Here Viv’s mum on the right. She was great fun and the latest props went down well. Loads of 1980s stuff!

Here’s are the newly weds.

The glasses were not not ours. Part of Viv’s accessories.

And even more laid back towards the end of the evening.

Off to Warwickshire and Anando and Alison’s wedding.

Judith’s 40th party ended up creating one of the biggest guestbooks that we have ever made and that’s despite there only being 40-50 guests. Many of them turned up with their own props…

On Sunday night we covered Yehude’s Barmitzvah in Finchley.

One of the more sedate Mitzvahs that we have covered and made a lot less sedate as we were in the main room with the party. Loads of fun!

The snow was falling just after we arrived and when we finally packed the Photobooth away at the end of the evening there was a major blizzard to make life interesting…

We covered a Photobooth and photographed the Batmizvah of a client back early in December that was missed on here with the enforced stopover in Oz etc and it’s time to tell you a little about it.

Georgia had her Batmitzvah in Borehamwood and we covered the Photobooth and the photography. Seeing the two services gel so well together really means that you need to know about it and we are now offering both services as a package or as a separate items. The two services are a little cheaper if you have both together of course!

I have posted quite a few shots, that give you an idea of how well that they do work together. We were allowed to shoot the Batmitzvah at the college in Borehamwood which is pretty unusual. I will keep those private for the family. We did manage to get the Rabbi and his wife in the Photobooth though…

Bear in mind, if we do cover the photography that our approach and style is to shoot everything in a natural way. You’ll see what I mean in the images below. That doesn’t mean that we are not happy to shoot family groups etc. We just don’t set up studio backgrounds and lighting but use the natural surroundings of your venue. Clients pay enough for the venues for their celebrations and we like to utilise them and show their beauty off.

The first four shots are from the Photobooth of course! The last of the four being the Rabbi and his wife.

The next shot on the left of Georgia was taken almost at the end of the meal just using the candlight from the table. I took a fistful of shots with a longish lens that she wasn’t even aware of and then posed her for a few.

The following three were taken between the service and the restaurant area as the family and guests walked between the two areas of the venue. The others are of the rest of the celebrations including the chair dancing and the father and daughter dance.

Here is what Suzanne had to say in an email on the Monday following the Photobooth.

Just wanted to thank you and your wonderful team for Saturday night – The photobooth and keyrings were a roaring success and loved by everyone – I absolutely love the album – it is fabulous and i can not thank you enough for suggesting this to me.

You were fantastic on the night and i am really looking forward to seeing the photos –

Thank you once again for helping to make Saturday such a success – the photobooth was a real highlight!

Because of our ridiculously busy Christmas I delivered the DVD just before Christmas. It was a good time to drop it off as Hannukuh fell around Christmas time last year and the whole of the family were able to see the DVD that we prepared for them.

The following was transcribed from my ansaphone a couple of hours after I delivered the disc…

Thank you so much. They are just lovely. A couple of them brought tears to my eyes. Absolutely beautiful. You captured the day so beautifully. Thank you very, very much. Suzanne Lever, December 2008

There you have it. I can tell you how good the servce is that we offer until I am blue in the face. When a satisfied client does it, it’s a million times better. )