Guide
Valentine’s Day photo booth: frames, wording and ideas
By La Cabine Bretonne · published
Valentine’s Day lends itself to a photo booth: people dress up, go out and want a lasting keepsake of the evening they spent together, something better than a phone photo. Whether you are throwing a party with friends, an evening for the couples you know, or an event in a restaurant, bar or hotel, here is how to choose the frame and the wording, and how to organise it all.
Why a photo booth works on Valentine’s Day
Date-night photos often come down to a blurry selfie over a table. A photo booth does better: proper lighting, a polished frame and a print each couple takes home. Among friends it becomes a game, and the poses keep coming: even the shyest guests often end up going back several times during the evening.
For a restaurant, bar or hotel hosting a Valentine’s evening, it is also a thoughtful touch guests keep: a print bearing the venue’s name, dated 14 February, which often ends up on a fridge or in an album.
Romantic frames
Our catalogue has no design made specifically for Valentine’s Day, but several romantic frames suit it naturally. Calligraphy & Heart places a solid heart between two names in calligraphy on a white background. Petal Shower scatters petals diagonally with a sense of gentle movement, and Blush Peonies features soft pink watercolour peonies.
For a more graphic style, Blush Pink Gingham pairs a pink check with scalloped borders. All these shades are gathered in the dusty pink collection. In the editor, the background and each of the design’s colours can be changed freely: a bolder red or a burgundy can easily replace the pink.
What to write on the frame
A Valentine’s frame needs only a few words. A few ideas:
- “Valentine’s Day”, followed by the year;
- the couple’s names and the date, 14 February;
- “You & me” or “Love”, for something short;
- the name of the restaurant, bar or hotel, with the date of the evening;
- a hashtag to gather the shared photos.
On a design made for two names, the name line works just as well for the venue’s name. Our guide to customising a photo booth template explains how to move or enlarge a text box.
For a restaurant, bar or hotel
A Valentine’s evening at a venue calls for a discreet photo booth: a quiet corner away from the tables, with a simple backdrop and soft light. A few tips:
- choose an understated frame and replace the names with the venue’s name;
- match the design’s colours to your decor or branding;
- make sure there is enough paper so every couple leaves with a print;
- put a member of staff in charge of the booth, checking the paper between services.
For a livelier mood, Raspberry Celebration combines a disco ball, rosé champagne and raspberry ribbons, and Champagne looks like a raised glass. Our corporate event photo booth guide also covers running an event open to the public.
A party with friends
At home, a few candles, some flowers and a string of fairy lights in front of a plain curtain are enough to set a warm and flattering scene. Add simple props: heart-shaped glasses, signs to hold up, flower crowns. Our guide to photo booth props and backdrops has more ideas.
For an evening with several couples, plan a few group photos as well as the portraits for two. And if someone is planning a proposal, our engagement party photo booth guide explains how to keep the surprise with two versions of the frame.
Preparing in time, and starting a tradition
Valentine’s Day falls on a fixed date every year, and February weekends book up early: if you are hiring a booth, get in touch in January, and prepare the frame a week or two ahead so there is time for a test print. At a venue, mention the photo booth on the menu or in the booking confirmation: couples then arrive knowing they will leave with a photo.
A lovely tradition for a couple: keep the same frame from one year to the next and only change the date. The text of your design can still be edited from your account, and the prints, kept side by side, tell your story better than any speech.
Print size, files and printing
A 4×6 print holds a lovely couple portrait and readable text; a 2×6 strip lines up three poses, perfect for a sequence of kisses or fits of laughter. Our guide to choosing a photo booth print size compares the options.
Once the design is personalised, you download a high-resolution PNG overlay, transparent where the photos go, ready for your software; our guide to installing a template in dslrBooth covers the setup. Print a test copy before the evening, at 100% scale, with no fit-to-page option. Customising Petal Shower takes a few minutes, with no account needed.