How to make your own photo booth wedding announcements

Many couples send announcements to share their exciting news with friends and family, but conventional announcements, with their formal wording and flowery patterns, don't match every couple's style. For an announcement that will let people know your wedding is going to be a celebration they don't want to miss, try making photo booth announcements. You can use this method for wedding announcements, save the dates, invitations or thank-you cards.

Take the Photos

• 1

  Write a short message in large, very legible, dark print, with each word on its own separate piece of paper. The message should be four words or shorter, so try something like "We're getting hitched!" "Taking the plunge!" or simply, "We're getting married!" The words can be a little decorative, but the key is readability, so the letters should be several inches tall and written in a thick marker. Alternatively, you can cut the letters out of construction paper or contact paper and adhere them to white card stock for a cleaner look.

• 2

  Go to your local mall or wherever the nearest photo booth is located. The photos won't show much of your clothing, but wear an outfit you wouldn't mind having all of your family and friends see you in. Remember to bring your dollars and quarters.

• 3

  Hold up the first word in your phrase when the first picture is taken, then hold up the second sign when the second picture is taken. Proceed the same way for the third and fourth pictures. Go through this process as many times as it takes for you to get one picture of each word that you really like. Or, you can take one strip of photos for each word. For instance, if your message is "Finally tying the knot," sit through one session of four photos holding up the word "Finally" and then one session holding "tying," one holding "the" and another holding "knot." Then you will be able to choose the best photo for each strip. Try different poses and expressions, like kissing on the cheek, putting your heads together, sitting nose to nose or looking surprised.

Making the Announcements

• 1

  Cut the best photos out and tape them together in a column or row, unless you happened to get all four best shots in the same sitting, in which case, you're already set. Put the tape on the backs of the photos, even if you're using completely translucent tape, because adding anything to the front increases the chance of a smudge or mark on them when you scan.

• 2

  Glue or tape the column of photo booth pictures onto a plain piece of paper. Add any further message or decorations to the piece of paper at this point, before you scan it, since scanning everything simultaneously will increase the clarity of the image. Use your imagination to create the perfect photo booth announcement.

• 3

  Scan the page.

• 4

  Put the scanned image into a document. For a more professional finish, use a postcard template in Microsoft Word or any similar software to design the back of your announcement, where you can put lines for the recipient's address, a stamp and any additional information not already on the front.

  If you don't have software to create a postcard, simply enlarge the image to take up half a page, then print as many as you want to send to friends and family. You can fold them and put a message inside rather than on the back. Be sure to type the message in the correct quadrant of the page so when you fold the paper, it will be on the inside of the card. This is easily accomplished by making the inside on a separate page and printing double-sided. Scanning everything simultaneously will increase the clarity of the image.