By LIN ELLIS
DavidsonNews.net

You are deep in the midst of planning for your party or event ~ you have developed your theme, the invitations have been sent & you are working on your decorations, flowers, menu, beverages, music/entertainment. You want to capture images of this special day ~ the options range from diy with your digital or disposable camera, enlisting a talented friend, hiring a professional photographer, to:

Renting a photo booth for a day can run in excess of $700-, but there is a viable alternative ~ make your own, which is exactly what we did for our events:

We took pvc pipe & draped it with some cool fabric from Ikea for about $8- a yard ~

& added these ~

We’ve used a photo booth at several events (available to rent for a nominal fee) & have learned that the key to making it a success in capturing those precious memories is to have someone man the booth during the entire party & encourage everyone to jump into the fun. Actually, this is usually quite easy after everyone has had some liquid courage!

And, finally, here are some tips for the big day:

Allow extra time ~ things take longer than you envision, so avoid the 11th hour stress by starting earlier than you think you should

Plan for the early bird & very fashionably late guest

If you are drawing together guests who may not know each other, have a few ice-breakers up your sleeve

Consider hiring help ~ this will enable you to actually enjoy your own party & not be stuck with all the clean-up

Relax, put on your party clothes & smile!!!

Lin Ellis is one of the principals of Running in Stilettos, a full-service property care, personal concierge & lifestyle management firm covering the southern Lake Norman area. Lin is passionate about art & design & started a design blog, Style is in the Details, two years ago & also writes all of the blog posts for Running in Stilettos.