The view from the other side - we didn’t have them, and I haven’t felt any lack in my life. We had an official photographer and an amateur (but very good) photographer, and between the two of them, I got all the shots I wanted (and a whole lot more). We didn’t videotape the wedding, either, and I’m glad as hell about that, too.
We had them at my wedding 6 years ago.
I don’t recall if we got them all back or not, but I love the pictures that we did get. It was a chance for the guests to take photos of the others guests, so we got to see what everybody else was doing – and from the look of things, they were all having a great time!
I have two favorites – one of a kid fast asleep at the table, her face planted firmly on her plate; the other of a face made out of food (potato eyes, rosemary sprig mouth), but no evidence to show us who took this picture or why.
The best part was that my uncle collected all the cameras and had them developed for us. The pictures were there waiting when we got back from our honeymoon, long before the photographer had anything to show us.
We had 'em, all the film got used, we would definitely do 'em again.
The highlight: when we came back from our honeymoon, we picked up the developed prints and told my father-in-law “Hey, we got the disposable camera pictures in; do you want to check them out after dinner?” He did, so we went out and came home afterward to look at the pictures. My wife and I were seeing them for the first time along with father-in-law. Lots of “Awww” and “Great shot!” and other positive comments.
Then we came to the pictures that my younger brother (and best man) shot.
Unbeknownst to me, he had rounded up four of my childhood friends who were in attendance and headed outside for some candid shots.
The first showed them standing in front of the gazebo, arns around shoulders, smiling for the camera.
The second showed them facing away from the camera, bent over, pants around ankles.
Father-in-law got see the naked asses of my five best friends in the world.
So yes, I’d definitely do them again!
I’ve seen them at many weddings. Talking to the couples afterwords I learned they did get some good photos out of them but got many many bad ones. A few felt it wasn’t worth the cost of developing all the film. Asking people to e-mail pictures they took with their digital cameras produced much better results.
We didn’t do it at our wedding, but we know several couples who did. NONE of them got any good pictures out of it.
The expense wasn’t huge, and it was entertaining for the guests, so they didn’t have any serious regrets. So, if you’re hoping to get a handful (tops!) of good pictures as a bonus, go ahead and provide disposable cameras at the reception tables. But do not do that INSTEAD of hiring a photographer, if good pictures are important to you.
I didn’t have any, but I know a couple people who did. No major complaints, except for one who complained about a couple people getting rowdy with the cameras, getting into people’s faces, that kind of thing.
Robin
We had some. We also had a photographer, though.
Our photographer was the best - pictures were in our hands by the next day (which was a national holiday even). The pictures she took were wonderful.
We were going to skip the disposable cameras, but one of my aunts brought a dozen or so and I have to say I’m really glad she did. We got some great pictures (which were a nice supplement to the pro’s pictures) and the guests had a good time with the cameras. Especially since we had a horde of kids at our wedding.
My sister did this.
A nice idea, sorta.
Especially since the paid photographer never showed up.
They just rushed out & bought a bunch.
First class “last minute wedding save” idea, though.
Did you have them?
Yes, and I got married two years ago.
Did you get any good pics from them?
Absolutely, though we could tell who had taken advantage of the open bar by some of the pictures.
In general was all the film used?
Most of the film was used. The cameras that weren’t used we took on our honeymoon.
If you had it to do over, would you have 'em again?
Definitely.
Like a few others have said, it’s a good idea to have a nicely worded note on each table telling people to leave the cameras when they go. We still lost a few, but for the most part, people read the notes and left the cameras.
They didn’t exist in my day but I would be more inclined to tell people to bring their digital camera and have someone with a laptop to download all the images. Why pay to process crap photos?
My brother did this at his over-the-top bash wedding a few years ago. His bride was/is a major control freak and was wound up tight over every last fricken detail that had to be just so. Every table had a camera on it and the guests knew what to do and were having a nice, if somewhat stiff, time.
So, other brother and I borrow each table’s camera in turn and sneak off with various bridesmaids and other “fun” oriented guests to inject some anonymous nudity into the middle of each roll. We knew this would be entertaining to baby brother and disconcerting to new sister-in-law.
Mission accomplished, and the party really got going as a result of the “little surprises” planted by many of the guests.
I highly recommend this.
We had them for my sisters wedding a few years ago and it turned out great. She saved the few cameras that hadn’t gotten fully used for when her baby was born later that year, so getting those developed was fun for the “oooh, the baby, and wow lookit Aunt Ethel doing the hustle!”
I was sis’s MOH and had a big old wardrobe malfunction. The seamstress doing the dress alterations was a friend of sis’s and accidentally cut way too much material out of the neckline of my dress, leading to no end of joking about my cleavage having a starring role on the big night. Each and every camera seemed to include at least two shots of me bending to adjust sis’s train, stooping to talk to a little kid or other boobage exposing things, embarassing for me but endlessly amusing to the family at large and you can bet a professional photographer wouldn’t have taken all of those.
Speaking as a former one-hour photo place employee, I can verify this. It’s a great ice-breaker for the guests, and you do get the occasional good shot. But usually the pics ranged from OK to bad. And if you have a bunch of cameras, it can really get pricey for the developing, even at cheap places.
Yes, we had them, and most of the pictures on them were used, and it was great, and we’d do it again, yada yada.
The only thing I’d change: keep an eye on that weirdo religious freak lady who went around and stole half a dozen of the cameras, not to mention a box of champagne out of the garage.
(No knock on weirdo religious freaks, it’s just what she was. The whole family calls her the weirdo religious freak. Now she’s the weirdo religious freak thief.)
For those concerned about the cost of developing the dud pics, Walmart has a policy that few folks take advantage of: if you go through your pics there at the Walmart counter and remove the duds before you pay they will not charge you for the rejected pics that you turn back in to them.
I worked for a few different drugstore chains and they had the same policy, worth checking into. It’s usually a flat fee per returned pic that doesn’t quite add up to the total cost of the roll since you’re just returning prints and not getting the developing itself refunded, but for all the blurry ones you’re just going to throw away, go ahead and save some money.