The Retro Booth We Built Because We Try Not to Say No Three Times
At Snaptique, we have an unofficial rule. We try not to tell clients "no, we can't do that" more than three times.
One request may be unusual. A second might be a coincidence. But when several clients begin asking for the same thing, we pay attention. That is how our Retro Enclosed Booth began.
Clients liked the intimate experience of our round Classic Booth, but some were looking for a square version with an even stronger vintage mall-photo-booth feel. It was not one client commissioning a custom build. It was a pattern appearing across several conversations.
By then, Snaptique had operated its own fabrication shop for years. We had a talented team, the equipment to produce custom structures and the experience of building everything from photo booths to large branded environments. This time, we did not need to find an existing booth that was close to what our clients wanted. We could build the answer ourselves.
The short answer
The Retro is a square, enclosed photo booth with a curtain that we designed and built entirely in our own fabrication shop in 2025, after clients kept asking for a square version of our round Classic Booth with a stronger old-school, vintage mall-photo-booth feel. It seats up to three guests, works as a miniature studio inside with professional camera and lighting, and prints 2 by 6 strips or 4 by 6 photos. It comes in a cream-and-white finish for weddings or a sleek all-black finish, and its large flat surfaces make it one of our most brandable booths for corporate activations across Toronto and the GTA.
From fabrication shop to photo booth
The Retro was designed and fabricated entirely by our team. That would have been a very different undertaking in Snaptique's earlier years. By 2025, however, we had a skilled fabrication team accustomed to turning ideas into physical structures.
The finished booth needed to feel substantial at an event while still being practical to transport into venues. It had to hold the interior photography equipment, assemble securely and provide exterior surfaces that could be kept in excellent condition or transformed for a client.
We created the main shell from wood and used flexible exterior panels similar to those on our Classic Booth. Those panels can be rolled for transportation rather than moved as large, rigid walls. They are also easy to replace or wrap, which gives us much more flexibility for events.
Unlike the Classic's twist-and-lock frame, the Retro assembles more like a piece of flat-pack furniture. Its individual components fit together onsite to create the complete enclosure. It requires a two-person team to transport and assemble, but once it is built, guests see a finished, self-contained photo booth rather than all the pieces that travelled to the venue.
Bringing Snaptique back to its vintage side
The name Retro was chosen partly to distinguish it from the rest of our collection. We already had the rounded Classic Booth, our oval wooden Vintage Booth and several newer experiences that did not share Snaptique's original vintage-inspired appearance. The Retro name made the square booth's visual direction clear. At least, that was the plan. People still occasionally mix up the Classic and the Retro.
But the name also reflects what the booth brought back to the collection. The 360, Digital Booth and Modern Booth had helped expand what a Snaptique experience could look like. The Retro returned to the visual world where the company began: nostalgic photo booth shapes, thoughtful physical details and a structure that becomes part of the atmosphere around it.
It does not reproduce one specific historic booth. Instead, it captures the familiar feeling of stepping into a private mall-style photo booth and presents it in a form designed for current events. That balance is what makes it retro rather than simply old-fashioned.
The first event: Burt's Bees
The Retro made its first event appearance for Burt's Bees in May 2025. The structure was new, but the experience inside it was built around the photography, lighting, printing and artwork systems we had refined over years of operating other print booths. By the time it arrived onsite, it had been assembled, tested and prepared by a team that understood both fabrication and professional photo booth operation.
The first Retro we built for that event is still the version we operate today. We have not needed to redesign it because the original structure did what we intended it to do.
A miniature studio inside
The Retro's appeal begins with its exterior, but the photographs still need to meet the same standard as every other Snaptique print booth. Inside, it functions as a miniature studio.
We use professional photography and lighting equipment to create clean, flattering images rather than relying on the appearance of the booth to carry the experience. Clients can choose 4 by 6 photographs or traditional 2 by 6 strips, with the print artwork customized for the event.
The enclosure is intended for smaller groups of up to three people. That limitation is also part of its character. The Retro is not designed to fit an entire wedding party into one photograph. It creates a more intimate space where two or three guests can step away from the larger event, arrange themselves in front of the camera and have a few moments together.
The Classic provides a similar sense of privacy and accommodates the same group size. The choice between them is usually not about which one can do more. It is about which structure belongs in the room.
From weddings to full brand activations
For weddings, we offer the Retro in a cream-and-white finish. This version softens the booth's strong shape and allows it to sit naturally within light, romantic and neutral event designs.
We also offer a sleek all-black version. In black, the Retro feels more dramatic and editorial. It can work within a modern event just as easily as a vintage-inspired one, particularly when paired with black-and-white photography or a minimal design.
For corporate events, the booth can become something else entirely. The Retro has considerably more exterior branding space than many of our booths. Its square format provides large, flat surfaces that can carry custom graphics clearly. The flexible panels can be wrapped so that the enclosure becomes part of a campaign rather than an unrelated piece of equipment positioned inside it.
The colours, exterior graphics, print artwork and guest experience can all be developed together. When those elements are coordinated, the booth becomes both a photography experience and a physical part of the activation environment. Because we built it ourselves, wrapability did not need to be added later as a workaround. It was considered from the beginning.
When the prints become part of the event
One memorable Retro activation was for Levi's. Alongside the booth, the event included a small corkboard where guests could pin their printed photographs.
It was a simple addition, but it changed the role of the prints. Instead of every photograph immediately leaving with the person who created it, some became part of a shared display that grew throughout the event. Guests could see the personalities, poses and moments created by the people who had used the booth before them. The printed photographs became part of the decor, and part of the energy around the experience.
That activation captured what we enjoy about physical photo booths. Digital sharing is valuable, but a print can also live in the room: it can be held, pinned up, written on, taken home or added to something larger. The Retro's nostalgic shape and the growing wall of prints worked naturally together. Both brought the experience back to something tangible.
Style is a valid reason to choose a booth
Clients sometimes ask what the Retro does differently from the Classic. Functionally, the two booths share several qualities. Both are enclosed. Both are designed for groups of up to three. Both use professional equipment and can produce 4 by 6 photographs or 2 by 6 strips. Both can be customized for weddings and corporate events.
The clearest difference is the design. The Classic is rounded, timeless and slightly softer in its appearance. The Retro is square, more architectural and more directly connected to the familiar silhouette of a vintage mall photo booth. It also offers more flat exterior space for branding.
Choosing one over the other is often similar to choosing furniture, lighting or decor. The practical requirements matter, but so does the way the piece affects the room. A photo booth does not have to disappear into the corner to be successful. It can contribute to the style of the event before anyone even steps inside.
What happens when we stop saying no
The Retro did not begin with one dramatic idea or a single client commissioning something extraordinary. It began with several people describing a gap in our collection, and a team capable of filling it.
The result was a booth designed and built completely in our own shop. It gave clients the nostalgic square enclosure they had been requesting, gave brands more room to transform the exterior and brought Snaptique back toward the vintage photo booth world where it began.
Sometimes growth comes from inventing an experience before anyone knows to ask for it. And sometimes it comes from listening carefully when people keep asking for the same thing.
FAQ
What is a Retro enclosed photo booth?
It is a square, fully enclosed photo booth with a curtain and a nostalgic, old-school mall-photo-booth feel, designed and built in-house by Snaptique. Guests step inside for a private, studio-quality photo experience.
What is the difference between the Retro and the Classic booth?
Both are enclosed, seat up to three, and print 2 by 6 strips or 4 by 6 photos. The Classic is rounded and softer in appearance, while the Retro is square, more architectural, closer to a vintage mall booth, and offers more flat exterior space for branding. The choice usually comes down to which style suits your event.
How many people fit in the Retro booth?
It is designed for smaller groups of up to three people, which gives it a more intimate, private feel.
Can the Retro booth be branded for corporate events?
Yes, it is one of our most brandable booths. Its square format gives large flat surfaces, and the flexible panels can be fully wrapped so the whole enclosure becomes part of your activation.
Where can I rent the Retro booth?
We offer the Retro enclosed booth for weddings, corporate events, and celebrations across Toronto and the GTA, in a cream-and-white or all-black finish. Send us your date and venue and we will confirm.
Explore the Snaptique Retro Booth
The Retro Enclosed Booth is available for weddings, corporate events, brand activations, and celebrations in Toronto and across the GTA. Choose the cream-and-white or all-black finish, or transform its exterior with custom event branding. Inside, guests can create studio-quality 2 by 6 photo strips or 4 by 6 prints with artwork designed specifically for the event.
About the author
Chantalle Gallego
Co-Founder, Snaptique Photo Booths
Chantalle co-founded Snaptique in 2014 with her husband Dominic, after the two of them built their first photo booth for their own wedding. Since then, Snaptique has grown to a collection of 25 booths across 12 styles and has produced more than 1,600 events across Toronto and the GTA, from weddings to brand activations for Google, Meta, TIFF, Lamborghini, and Sephora. Chantalle leads the creative direction of Snaptique's booths and writes about photo booth experiences, event design, and helping clients choose the right booth for their event.
Website · Instagram · LinkedIn
Reviewed by
Dominic Gallego
Co-Founder, Snaptique Photo Booths
Dominic co-founded Snaptique in 2014 and leads its production side, designing and building the company's booths in-house, including the Retro enclosed booth. He reviewed this article for technical and factual accuracy.
Our editorial standards
Every Snaptique article is written from our own firsthand experience running real events since 2014, reviewed by a Snaptique co-founder for accuracy, and kept current. We only publish details we can stand behind from booths we operate and events we have actually worked.
First published: August 5, 2026
Last reviewed: August 5, 2026
Experience note: Based on Chantalle, Dominic, and the Snaptique team's firsthand experience designing, building, and operating Snaptique's Retro Enclosed Booth since 2025.