Was the clambake on the beach the most memorable moment of that last charity benefit, or watching the sunset? Was it the way the hosts welcomed you, or dancing after dinner under a twinkling night sky?
No, we know: It was the photo booth.
Summer parties, especially in superrich resorts such as the Hamptons or Martha’s Vineyard, are full of beauty at every turn—as well as perpetual one-upmanship. This season, hosts are plying more money and thought than ever into the all-important social media takeaway.
Call it a photo booth, except it’s underwater in the pool, something the L.A.- and New York-based Hypno did for the nonprofit +Pool. Or perhaps it was among pink clouds of hydrangeas, which event designer David Monn orchestrated for an East End wedding.
Booths aren’t just for the blowout bashes like a Coachella-themed 50th birthday party in Water Mill that Hypno has been hired for. “We’ve done it for the little barbecue on a Sunday afternoon,” says Monn, who has planned events for billionaires and President Trump. Holly Peterson, author of social satire It’s Hot in the Hamptons, bought a photo booth for her home in Southampton, with a “tacky silver curtain and metal seat.” With so many people coming over so often for pizza on the outdoor grill, “I decided to relax, sip my rosé, and let someone else worry about the photos,” she says.
Smilebooth, which does business all around the U.S., has more than 30 events booked in the Hamptons in the next month, including the Parrish Art Museum benefit, says Josh Ratner, president of business development and partnerships. He’s mum on the scenario this year; last year’s lured guests into a mini-hall of infinity mirrors.
Budgets for photo booths can range from $2,000 to $2 million, depending on the technology, scenic elements, and output—from photo strips to Horst-style portraits to cinematic-quality video from many angles, like those celebrity-filled music videos at the Met Gala. This is a far cry from that crazy wig you donned during your last wedding reception snap.
“It works because everyone’s a narcissist,” says Marcy Blum, an event designer who works for a jet-set client roster in locations from Positano to Aman, Bridgehampton to Aspen. “People can’t get enough of it. We’ve had to close it off sometimes during dinner or speeches, or if someone is singing.”
Resort towns offer natural light, gardens, sandy beaches, ocean waves, and gorgeous homes to serve as backdrops. Last summer, Blum planned a party for a couple at their historic white farmhouse straight out of Grant Wood’s American Gothic painting, with guests posing in front of the house with hoes and overalls.
For a Bollyhamptons party, Blum brought in a life-size elephant statue from Behind the Fence Gallery in Southampton. It can be rented for about $500 plus delivery charges, said gallery director Alison Jennerich, who has also sent baby elephants to baby showers and unicorns to weddings. At the Southampton Arts Center opening of a National Geographic photo exhibit, EventsTag, which has offices in L.A., London, and New York, posed guests virtually with hippos and pandas, using green-screen technology.