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Photo booths are all the rage right now for a very good reason… they get people up and interacting, they provide great memories from the event, and well, they are just plain fun. I wanted to incorporate a photo booth in our 10th Anniversary Party and I also wanted to somehow include photos of our friends and family from over the past ten years. I contemplated a variety of different ways to do those items seperately before realizing that I should just combine the two which is how this photo memory black and white photo booth backdrop was born. Getting it put together was quite a feat and there are things that I didn’t like about the finished project which I’ll add in my tips below to avoid those issues. Overall, the photo memory backdrop and photo booth ended up being one of my favorite projects from the day. A big shoutout to Mary Boyden Photography for all of the event images.

DIY Photo Memory Black and White Photo Booth Backdrop

When designing this backdrop I knew that I would want to have a few things right off the bat:

  1. An impressive sized backdrop featuring images from over the past 10 years.
  2. Black and white images that would end up being a fun photo backdrop.

I debated a couple of different ways to create this backdrop.  My first thought was to use a few photos blown up and printed as engineering prints for a big bold backdrop. I decided against this option because I wanted to use photos of our guests and us and there were just too many to narrow it down to just a few larger images. My second thought was to use a ton of images printed as 4X6 images in black and white. Because it was going to be photographed I wanted it to not have a big shine factor so I knew I wanted matte prints. I guess I could have gotten 5X7 images or 8X10 images but the cost of that seemed to be a lot more than the 4X6 prints. Finally, I decided to put a white border around each of the prints so that there was some uniformity and white space in the backdrop.

DIY Black and White Photo Backdrop

DIY Black and White Photo Backdrop

 

Putting the backdrop together took some time, patience, and a big open space on the floor. The backdrop was approximately 10 feet across and 7 feet tall. I did the math and found that I needed approximately 420 4X6 images to create my backdrop. I purchased the images using Shutterfly. I saved a ton of money using coupons and ended up spending approximately $35 on the whole thing. If you paid full prize at Shutterfly it would only cost around $63 (before shipping) which is amazing for a project this large. (Note: This post is not sponsored in any way… just sharing the company I used for this project.)

When planning my 10 Year Anniversary party at a local Peruvian restaurant I knew I wanted to decor to nod to the amazing food that Andina serves. I wanted it to be bright, bold, and a lot of fun. After selecting the color scheme I got completely stuck on what to do for the escort table. In the end, I let my spirit party animal lead the way and I created this fun Party Animal Escort Table as well as some great event table decor.

Read on to see just how I created these elements…

 

Party Animal Escort Table from A Well Crafted Party with photos by Mary Boyden

Party Animal Escort Table from A Well Crafted Party with photos by Mary Boyden

DIY Party Animal Escort Table

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You’ll need:

  • Plain or decorative cards to write the names of your guests
  • Hot glue
  • Plastic animal figurines* – Purchased the set of 60 from the set by Jungle Resources on Amazon.
  • Large animal figurines* – Purchsed the set of Jumbo animals from Jungle Resources on Amazon.
  • Spray Paint in chosen color(s) and a clear coat of polyetherlene
  • Paper, ribbon, glue for making tiny party hats and the like

 

Party Animal Escort Table from A Well Crafted Party with photos by Mary Boyden

 

Party Animal Escort Table from A Well Crafted Party with photos by Mary Boyden

 

Note: I chose to do multi-colored animals matching type of animal and the color. But, you could also do these all the same color. Just make sure your small animals match the animals that you use as your table markers. For instance, everyone at the table with the gorilla got an escort card with a gorilla on it as well.

Directions: 

  1. Spray paint the figurines. I chose have the animals and colors match for each individual table. For instance, all the elephants were painted yellow. This may take several coats and should be done over the course of a few days.
  2. Spray dry figurines with the clear coat spray.
  3. While you are waiting for those to dry, write or type and print your escort cards on decorative card stock.
  4. Hot glue the little figurines to the appropriate escort card. You will need to hold the animal to the card until the glue is dry.
  5. Add hats, bows, and decorations to the larger animals as you see fit. Attached with hot glue. We chose a variety of cut out decorations for our animals. My sister in law created them all on her own with some paper, glue, scissors, and ribbon!

 

Party Animal Escort Table from A Well Crafted Party with photos by Mary Boyden


 

Seriously Awesome Vendors and Resources

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My husband and I got married right after I graduated college in 2006. We didn’t have much of a budget or really any clue what we would really want in a wedding or large party. It was pre-Pinterest after all. We had a beautiful low-budget wedding with our friends and family that sparked my interest in throwing events. This party was ten years in the making and I am so excited to share the photos by Mary Boyden of our 10th Anniversary Party Decor! 

 

10th Anniversary Party Decor

 

 

10th Anniversary Party Decor

Why we decided to throw a 10th Anniversary Party…

Over the course of the years we grew our family and became close with new friends who didn’t know us back when we got married. We knew that when our ten year anniversary came along that we’d like to take a moment to not only celebrate us, but to celebrate our friends and family a bit. We wanted to say thank you to those who had helped us make it the past few years as we have experienced the ins and outs of life. We believe in love and romance. But, we also believe in working on a relationship and the importance of a great support system. This 10th anniversary party was really our way of getting to say thank you. 

The look of the party has changed in my head over time, and didn’t really get solidified until I chose our venue, but I couldn’t be more thrilled with the way that it turned out. It was everything I had dreamed it would be and so much more. I still sit and dream about this day at times! 

 

10th Anniversary Party Decor at Andina Restaurant in Portland, Oregon from A Well Crafted Party

Chosen venue for our 10th Anniversary Party in Portland, Oregon

 

We picked Andina for our party venue for a variety of reasons, one of which was that we LOVE the food and the other being that the Tupai room is a gorgeous space that fit our party perfectly. Once we chose Andina, with their clean modern venue space and bright dishes, I knew that we wanted to have a bold, clean and whimsical design.

 

Bright and Cheerful 10th Anniversary Party Decor from A Well Crafted Party, photo by Mary Boyden

Bright and Cheerful 10th Anniversary Party Decor from A Well Crafted Party, photo by Mary Boyden

 

Favorite 10th Anniversary Party Decor Details

Paper goods.

 I LOVE paper goods. Designing digital goods for events has been a huge passion of mine. It honestly was the most exciting part of the event for me as well as the most difficult. Once I finally nailed down the invitation designs that got me excited everything else fell into place seamlessly. I designed all the paper items and printed and trimmed them through a local print shop. I then put together the details by hand. It helps that this was a party for 35 rather than 300!

Colorful Wedding or Anniversary Party from A Well Crafted Party, photos by Mary Boyden

 

Flowers. 

My second favorite detail were the flowers. I knew I wanted to order some bright, slightly whimsical arrangements, but hadn’t landed on a style until I found these fun geometric terrariums at Target. I then found the perfect mix of blooms through FiftyFlowers.com and built my arrangements using floral foam to help keep them sturdy. The larger arrangements featured blooms inside and outside of the terrarium. (Post coming soon!)

Colorful Wedding or Anniversary Party from A Well Crafted Party, photos by Mary Boyden

Colorful Wedding or Anniversary Party from A Well Crafted Party, photos by Mary Boyden

 

Programs.

 At our wedding I had created newspaper programs about the two of us since I had gone to school for journalism. For this party I created small magazines featuring our story, photos, order of events and our vows. We featured the newspaper on one of the tables so that guests could look through the past a bit. (Post coming soon!)

 

Colorful Wedding or Anniversary Party from A Well Crafted Party, photos by Mary Boyden

 

 

Escort Table.

 We wanted the party to be fun for our guests so we chose a “party animal” theme to help guide guests to their tables. We spray painted toy animals and gave the centerpiece animals a bit of a party upgrade with hats and bows. Each table had a different animal and the escort cards had the corresponding animal on them to let guests know where to go as they entered. We also had a fun photo backdrop created by using black and white 4X6 photos. Guests used an Instax camera to take pictures of themselves in front of the wall of photos from the past ten years. (Post coming soon!)

 

Colorful Wedding or Anniversary Party from A Well Crafted Party, photos by Mary Boyden

 

Favors. 

Our favors were bright yellow tote bags that read, “By the way, I’m wearing the smile that you gave me.” They had a tag that read, “Enjoy a midnight snack. Salty and sweet, just like your friendship, an absolute treat!” We included a LaCroix flavored water along with a bag of chips and homemade sugar cookies. (Post coming soon!)

 

Memory Photobooth Backdrop

 

Photo Booth. 

I knew from the beginning that I wanted to have a photo booth. I also knew that I wanted to commemorate the many memories and people in our lives somehow. I decided to pull the two together and create a photo-wall photo booth. It is perhaps my favorite backdrop I’ve done yet. I can’t wait to share more… post coming soon!

 

 

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Seriously Awesome Vendors and Resources

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