As exciting as it is to plan a wedding reception and then actually have the reception, when you are recalling it later, it often just seems like a huge blur. Even the best professional wedding photographers can only capture so many moments, and their focus is understandably going to be on the wedding party. That’s why a lot of couples choose to have disposable cameras at the reception, placed on the tables, so their friends and family can capture their own fun moments and share those (sometimes missed) moments with the newlyweds later.
If you’d like to have disposable cameras at your reception, a good rule of thumb is to have one camera at each table, or one camera per ten guests. You’ll want to get cameras that will take reasonably good pictures in a variety of settings, so 400 speed color film with flash is a good choice. Like just about anything else associated with weddings, you have a lot of design options to choose from, as well as monogramming and custom designs.
You may also want to put some printed instructions next to each camera, letting people know what kind of pictures you might like and how to work the camera (good for the more complicated digital wedding cameras). More importantly, you’ll want people to know that you will take care of the developing, so they can just leave the cameras on the table, or deposit them in a basket by the exit when they are done. (And don’t be too dismayed if a few of the cameras disappear. It happens.)
Afterward, you’ll probably want to get the pictures transferred to a digital format so you can discard the blurry too-close photos of chairs or feet (though, sometimes those can be funny), and also so you can easily post the best pictures online, maybe on your personal wedding website. And of course, you’ll probably want to print out the best ones and put them in your wedding album or even enclose copies in each wedding thank you note!
Have a great idea you used to include disposable wedding cameras at the wedding reception? Post them below.