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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Yes! Boardwalk Entertainment is the same company formerly known as Boardwalk Photo Booth Company. As our services grew beyond photo booths, the name evolved to better reflect everything we offer today.
What started with a single Model 14 vintage-style photo booth has grown into a collection of vintage and modern photo booth experiences, professional DJ services, and event lighting.
While the name has changed, the people behind it haven't. Shawn and Carolyn are still the team behind Boardwalk, and you'll find the same personal service that's been part of the company since 2010.
Boardwalk Entertainment has always been an owner-operated company. When you reach out, you'll be working directly with Shawn and Carolyn from your first inquiry through your celebration.
Our photo booths aren't just different in appearance. They're completely different experiences. From our original vintage-style Model 14 booths to The Coney and the modern Beacon, each booth has its own personality, features, and style.
Shawn has been entertaining audiences since 1989, while Carolyn's experience as a wedding coordinator helps shape every Boardwalk event behind the scenes.
That approach has earned Boardwalk hundreds of five-star reviews on The Knot, WeddingWire, Google, and Facebook over the years.
Shawn has been entertaining audiences throughout Hampton Roads since 1989. He got his start in local radio at just 15 years old, working behind the microphone at Z104 and 2WD while also performing at weddings, school dances, corporate events, and private celebrations.
Today, Shawn is known for reading the room, blending music across generations, and keeping celebrations moving without making the night about himself.
When he’s not behind the DJ booth, he’s usually answering inquiries, designing photo booth graphics, or preparing for the next Boardwalk event.
When Shawn stepped away from DJing back in 2010, he and Carolyn focused on building a dedicated photo booth company from the ground up. That meant designing custom booths, selecting professional-grade gear, dialing in the lighting, and personally training a small, trusted team to deliver the kind of experience clients and guests actually remember.
A few years later, after building a fleet of photo booths and a business running at full speed, Shawn returned to DJing at the request of our clients, bringing decades of experience to a photo booth company that had already earned a reputation of its own.
It wasn’t about offering more. It was about doing both things the right way.
Boardwalk Entertainment began with a single Model 14 photo booth. We opened our doors in 2010 as Hampton Roads' first dedicated photo booth company, bringing the classic enclosed photo booth experience to weddings and events throughout the area. Before long, couples were booking the Model 14 for weddings as far away as Philadelphia because they couldn't find the same experience closer to home. As interest grew, that one booth became two, then three, and eventually a full fleet.
We designed and built our Model 14 booths as faithful reproductions inspired by iconic vintage photo booths. From the wood-grain exterior and velvet curtains to the sit-down, enclosed experience inside, they capture the look and feel of a traditional photo booth while being practical for modern events.
As the industry shifted toward smaller, less expensive, and more portable photo booth setups, we chose to stay the course. The Model 14 was designed to feel substantial and intentional. Part of the appeal has always been that moment when guests see it and wonder how it even made it into the room.
More than 15 years later, the Model 14 remains one of our most requested photo booths. In many ways, we've come full circle. Once again, the Model 14 is traveling up and down the East Coast. It isn't the latest photo booth trend. Guests just love the look, feel, and experience of a real enclosed photo booth.
We came across The Coney in Chicago, a city with deep roots in the history of vintage photo booths, and it immediately stood out. We knew it belonged in Hampton Roads.
Built using authentic parts from vintage photo booths, The Coney blends original components with newly crafted ones so naturally that it's difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins. From its original styling and vintage hardware to the spinning pan seat and checkered floor, it captures the charm of the classic enclosed photo booths once found in amusement parks, five-and-dime stores, and shopping malls. Its name pays tribute to Coney Island, where generations of visitors stepped inside photo booths to capture a memory before heading back out onto the boardwalk.
From the outside, The Coney looks more like a piece of décor than a piece of equipment. Inside, the experience feels authentic. Guests step in, adjust the spinning pan seat, pull the curtain, catch their reflection in the glass in front of the camera, and wait for the flash. They don't see their photos until the strips print, and that moment of anticipation is part of the experience.
While the experience stays true to the original, the technology doesn't. Traditional photo booths relied on a chemical developing process that simply isn't practical for today's weddings and events. The Coney preserves the look, feel, and anticipation of a classic photo booth while using the same digital photography, professional lighting, instant printing, and digital sharing as every other Boardwalk photo booth.
For those who appreciate authenticity, The Coney captures the experience of stepping inside a true vintage photo booth.
While vintage-style photo booths have always been at the heart of what we do, we also recognized that not every event calls for an enclosed booth. Some celebrations are simply better suited to a more open design. So we built the Beacon photo booths to meet that need without compromising the image quality, lighting, or guest experience we're known for.
Ringo, Pixie, and Halo are our open-style photo booths. While our enclosed vintage-style booths bring a more private, sit-down feel, the open format creates a different kind of energy, working especially well for larger groups and allowing everyone to enjoy the action as it happens.
While many open-style photo booths rely on tablets or consumer cameras, every Beacon is built around a professional Canon DSLR camera and studio-grade lighting. It's a difference you can see in every photo. A built-in glam filter, ring light, customizable LED accent glow, and clean touchscreen interface complete the experience. Guests walk away with gorgeous printed photo strips and instant digital downloads.
These open-style booths are often chosen by clients who want a sleek, contemporary look or simply need room for more friends in the frame, all without sacrificing photo quality or the overall experience.
The Model 14 is vintage-inspired. The Coney is vintage-obsessed.
Both photo booths deliver the same exceptional image quality, instant prints, digital sharing, and attention to detail that define every Boardwalk photo booth.
The difference isn't in the photos. It's in the experience.
The Model 14 is our interpretation of the classic enclosed photo booth. Its wood-grain exterior, velvet curtains, and fully enclosed design create the familiar experience guests recognize and love. Inside, a preview screen lets guests see themselves before and after each photo, making it easy to adjust a pose, squeeze one more friend into the frame, or simply enjoy watching the strip come together.
The Coney takes a different approach. Inspired by the iconic Auto-Photo booths of the mid-century, it incorporates authentic vintage components and recreates many of the details that made the originals so memorable. There are no preview screens, no do-overs, and no retakes. Your preview is your reflection in the glass before the flash fires, and you don't see your photos until the strip prints. The experience preserves the anticipation that made classic photo booths so special. For some, those details are everything. That's exactly why The Coney exists.
Whichever booth you choose, you're getting the same exceptional image quality and attention to detail. The decision simply comes down to how vintage you'd like the experience to be.
The choice comes down to the kind of experience you'd like your guests to have.
Our enclosed photo booths create a more private, nostalgic experience. Guests step inside, pull the curtain, and enjoy a few moments away from the crowd. The result is the classic photo booth experience people have loved for generations.
Our Beacon photo booths offer a more open experience. Their contemporary design accommodates larger groups and lets everyone enjoy the fun as it happens, making them a great fit for celebrations where interaction is part of the atmosphere.
Both styles are equally at home at weddings, corporate events, military balls, and private celebrations. The best choice is simply the one that feels right for your event.
Absolutely! Guests can email their photos directly from the sharing station, making it easy to save them to their phones or share them on social media.
The sharing system is located outside the booth, so guests can send their photos without holding up the next group. While one group is sharing, the next can step inside and start taking pictures.
Yes! Our Model 14 and Beacon photo booths allow guests to choose color or black & white before each session. We can also program the booth to use one style throughout the event for a more consistent look.
The Coney is programmed in advance to shoot and print entirely in either color or black & white for the duration of the event.
Additional effects such as sepia and pencil sketch are available, although color and black & white remain the most popular choices.
Absolutely! Our Boardwalk Scrapbook Guest Book Service is complimentary with every wedding photo booth booking. We provide the scrapbook and supplies, and our attendant helps guests add their photo strips along with personal messages throughout the reception.
By the end of the night, you’ll have a finished guest book filled with photos, notes, and plenty of personality to take home with you.
We believe everyone should get in on the fun! Our photo booths print two copies of each photo strip by default—one for your guests to keep and one for your scrapbook (if included). If guests want extra copies, we’re happy to print them for free on the spot. And with instant digital sharing, they can also download and share their photos right away!
We certainly do! Every photo booth rental includes a complimentary prop trunk filled with high-quality hats, glasses, signs, and other fun accessories. Many of our props come from the same supplier that provides props for Universal Studios and Walt Disney theme parks.
From quirky hats and oversized glasses to themed accessories, our collection adds a touch of personality and creativity to every photo booth session. Guests can keep it classic, get a little silly, or go completely over the top—it’s entirely up to them!
Absolutely! We’ll create a custom graphic for your photo strips at no additional charge. The design can coordinate with your wedding invitations, event theme, colors, or company branding so the finished prints feel like they were made specifically for your celebration.
Already have a logo or design you’d like us to use? Send it our way. You can also choose from our collection of ready-made designs if you’d rather keep things simple.
Whether you choose a fully custom design or one of our ready-made options, your photo strips will look great and fit right in with your event.
Always! Every photo booth booking includes a dedicated host from our small, trusted Boardwalk Entertainment team. We never drop off a booth and leave your guests to figure it out.
Your host stays with the booth throughout the event to welcome guests, help with sessions, adjust lighting, provide additional prints when requested, assist with the scrapbook at weddings, and keep everything running as it should.
You sure can! After your event, we’ll upload every photo strip, individual image, and animated GIF to a password-protected online gallery.
You and your guests can view, download, and share the high-resolution files at no additional charge. There are no watermarks or hidden fees.
Click here to check out all of our past events. Yours could be next!
We do! Boardwalk Entertainment regularly serves weddings and events throughout Hampton Roads, Williamsburg, Cape Charles, the Outer Banks, and destinations well beyond.
For events outside our normal service area, travel and lodging costs vary by location. We’ll always discuss those details upfront so there are no surprises.
Our work has taken us to celebrations throughout Virginia and along the East Coast. One of our favorite destinations is Mountain Lake Lodge in Pembroke, Virginia, one of the primary filming locations for Dirty Dancing. What began with a single trip grew into an ongoing relationship, and today we’re proud to be one of the venue’s preferred vendors. We return several times each year with our photo booths and DJ services, including ceremonies at the iconic gazebo.
The photo below shows one of the original Boardwalk Photo Booth Company vans parked outside Mountain Lake Lodge during one of our first visits. It really did feel like stepping into the movie.
We've always believed a great celebration is worth the trip.
Because we’re consumers too. We know how frustrating it is when a reasonable price turns into a pile of add-ons.
We’d rather include the things that make the experience work, like a dedicated host, quality lighting, props, prints, digital sharing, and access to your online gallery, rather than treating them as upgrades.
Our quotes reflect the service you’re actually booking, not a stripped-down “starting at” price designed to get your attention. If travel or anything outside the standard package affects the cost, we’ll explain it upfront.
No surprises and no scavenger hunt through an upgrade menu. Just clear pricing and a photo booth experience that arrives ready to go.
Nope! Every event is a little different, so we don’t believe in one-size-fits-all pricing. Your quote will reflect your date, venue, length of service, travel requirements, and the services you’re interested in.
To get started, click the red Get a Quote button below and tell us a little about your event. We’ll send personalized pricing along with any recommendations that may be helpful.
Ready to make it official? We’ll prepare a simple electronic agreement for you to review and sign. Once the agreement and retainer are received, your date is officially reserved.
We accept all major credit cards, Venmo, and Zelle, so you can choose whichever payment method works best for you.