In their heyday, photo booths dotted the landscape in five and dime stores, bus stations, and amusement parks from coast to coast. These days, they are fast becoming the most popular additions to weddings, anniversary parties, school dances, and Bar Mitzvahs as well as corporate promotional and charity events.

For most of us, photo booths bring back instant memories of giggling. preteen girls blowing “kisses” at a camera lens or entire football squads mashed together, fingers thrust into corners of mouths amid miscellaneous arms and legs. For event planners, these relics of American folklore have become the key to stellar success.

The ability to rent photo booths by the four-hour event has given event planners across the country the ability to capture Hollywood's latest trend in their own hometowns. Over recent years, photo booths have become major attractions at star-studded weddings and birthday parties. Some celebrities, like Brett Ratner, Quentin Tarantino, Dave Navarro, and Hugh Hefner have even installed them in their homes as permanent party gimmicks. You may have noticed that celebrities who visit MTV's shows are invited into the MTV Photo Booth. The Golden Globe Awards and Sports Illustrated have also used photo booths as major attractions.

These booths virtually guarantee everybody at your event a good time. They are instantly recognizable, immediately accessible, and eternally entertaining. They spontaneously tap into guests' creativity and sense of humor, while immortalizing the intimate, hilarious, and unexpected. More important, they create an instant photo album for the host and party favors for guests. Many corporate event planners add a customized border to the photos to include a message, tag line, or logo.

Depending on the company you use, the cost of renting a photo booth may range from $1000 to $2000 per four-hour event. However, many companies offer deep discounts for longer rentals. The fees normally include delivery, installation, and an attendant to ensure the booth works smoothly and your guests are well taken care of. Many booths also come with “extra” features, including a variety of backgrounds, photo styles, or “add-ons” like hairstyles etc. To make your occasion even more festive, you can add a box of “props,” such as an array of hats, wigs, and over-sized glass, to really add flair to the old-fashioned fun.

Albeit, a favorite of yesteryear, today's photo booth rentals offer a distinctive way to add entertainment to your event in a way that will make it truly fun and unforgettable. Best of all, many photo booth companies include the ability to create CDs and Web site photo galleries that you and your guests can revisit time and time again. Schools, corporations, and charities have been able to leverage these Web sites to create a permanent “buzz” among their followers and a platform for further communications, promotions, and fund-raising efforts.