DIY: Photobooth

My friend Nicole, master of the DIY wedding, created this fun photobooth wall for the reception.  Here’s what you’ll need:

  • One 4 ft. x 8 ft. piece plywood or other scrap wood large enough for 2-4 people to stand behind
  • Various frames 8″ x 10″ or larger
  • Scrap wallpaper
  • Sawhorse
  • Handheld jigsaw
  • Handheld drill
  • Hammer and nails or hot glue
  • Mod Podge
  • Paintbrush
  • Ruler
  • Exacto knife/scissors

Nicole hunted around at some garage sales for the frames. A few still had old pictures in them and we kept a random fruit still life in its frame to complete the “pictures on the wall” illusion. Ask friends and relatives if they have any wallpaper scraps lying around. Purchasing new paper can be expensive and anyone who has wallpapered is bound to have some bits leftover that they’ve shoved in the attic. You can also find scraps for sale on Etsy or eBay. This one’s really pretty and wedding white. Just make sure you get enough to cover your plywood! I love Nicole’s choice because it’s so old-fashioned and tacky. I absolutely giggle every time I imagine the hypothetical house this existed in (and the hypothetical owners who clearly have an unhealthy obsession with fruit).

Plywood generally comes in 4 x 8 feet sheets, but you really only need 4 x 6 1/2 (unless your wedding guests are really tall), so, wearing protective eyewear, cut off the top 1 1/2 feet with your jigsaw (or ask the hardware store to do this!).  Choose two or more empty frames and mark the plywood where you’ll need to cut using the frame interiors as guides. You’ll want to cut slightly outside this guide so that there’s no chance the wood will show through at the edge, but not too far so that the frame will still easily attach. Use the drill bit to make a hole at each corner of the frame outline, then cut out the rectangles with the jigsaw.

Next, you’ll need to attach the wallpaper! Use ModPodge or wallpaper paste and be sure to smooth down with your ruler to eliminate bumps. For a clean edge around the frames, either use an exacto knife or wrap and secure onto the back of the board.

Let the wallpaper dry overnight (or a few hours if you are doing this the day of the wedding like us), then hang the frames with hammer and nail, or if they are really light you can use a glue gun. Ta-da! Hours of fun for the guests throughout the night.