Photo Booth History

Author: Darin Owen

Photo Booths maybe a relatively new addition to weddings and parties for the past few years but they have been apart of American culture for over a century.

According patent records, a man by the name of Mathew Stiffens filed a patent for an automatic photography machine in 1883. However, that same year Monsieur Enjalbert developed a similar machine at the Exposition Universelle in Paris producing melainotypes and tintypes for use as photographic keepsakes, this type of machine sprung up everywhere until after World War 1. The drawbacks to these machines were never totally self-sufficient and ultimately failed because of coin jams and their need for constant chemical changes and repairs. Even with the machines operational problems and their second rate photo quality by comparison to the more costly albumin and platinum prints of the day, thousands and thousands were produced. And much like the modern photo booths of today, they were an easy means to produce an inexpensive, albeit poor quality, photo for the masses.

As photography progressed, technological advances continued, and in 1925 Anatol Josepho, patented a machine called a ‘Photomaton.’ An automatic photography machine, the Photomaton produced a strip of 8 photographs of good quality in 8 minutes. The inventor had drawn up his plans for the machine while traveling across China as a traveling photographer, refined his technical ability while working in Hollywood, built the prototype in a Harlem loft produced his first modern photo booth studio at Broadway and 51st Street in New York City.

Today, things are changing. There are still a handful of traditional chemical booth photo booths around, producing the original photo strips of four black and white pictures. but many machines are being converted or replaced with modern technologies utilizing digital photography with options like email, facebook or abandoning traditional photography all together with video recordings. No matter what the format people love the photo booth for its immediacy and its element of nostalgia and holding on to a personal keepsake no matter what the quality or process.

Images provided by Capital Photo Booth Co.

View more information at Wedding Compass Featured Photo Booth Page

It’s Not Your Grandma’s Wedding Bouquet….Or Is It?

Author Marcia Johnson

Ever take a look at your Grandmother’s wedding portrait? Allot of us do and laugh at the old fashioned look of her bridal bouquet.

50 years ago most American bridal bouquets were comprised of locally grown flowers such as carnations, mums, baby’s breath, roses and if you splurged, orchids!

Back then trade agreements for agricultural imports and cost of transportation limited imported flowers that are standard flowers to us today.

Other popular wedding flowers of today such as hydrangea and peonies grew so prolifically in our colder climate states in private gardens that people thought of them almost as weeds and would never think of using them in a bridal bouquet! … Continue Reading

Details of a Rehearsal Dinner

Author: Kevin Covey

The Rehearsal Dinner truly sets the tone for your Wedding Day!  Whatever you are planning you always want to remember to take care of your guests.  Picking out the right venue, selecting the right meal that won’t compete with the wedding and doing your best to show your appreciation to your family and wedding party.   The rehearsal dinner is thought of as an evening to really splurge on those special people in your life that have helped so much with the big wedding.  Most couples also include out of town guests that are coming to the wedding.  Traditionally paid for by the grooms family, couples these days even have been known to pitch in a little  to perfect the evening the way they see it!   These functions are becoming more and more detailed.  As an event planner we normally plan the rehearsal dinner about 3 months prior to the wedding day since the date and time is pretty much based upon when couples can schedule their ceremony rehearsal.  With the rehearsal dinner you can really have a lot of fun with colors and décor and even style.  Let’s say you are having your wedding at a very sophisticated elegant affair at posh hotel then maybe for your rehearsal you may want to do something a little more casual like a stylish Mexican Restaurant with flamenco dancers or a fabulous Greek cuisine accompanied by belly dancers.  I always suggest  doing assigned seating for the rehearsal using place cards, this way your guests can really be guests and don’t have to worry about where to sit.  It will also guarantee not having any seating fiascos because most of the time the couple is the last to enter!

Images provided by: Jim Kennedy Photographers