How We Built Canada's First Boler Photo Booth Trailer
Every booth in our collection has a story, but the Boler might be our favourite. It started as a tired vintage trailer and became one of the most unusual photo booths in Canada, a booth guests actually climb inside, and one that has since travelled from backyard weddings to the national Canada Day stage in Ottawa. Here is how it happened, and why we did it the hard way.
The short answer
A Boler is a small, round, molded-fibreglass camper trailer, a Canadian classic first built in Winnipeg in 1968. In 2017 we bought a 1987 Boler and rebuilt it by hand into a photo booth you step right inside. We gutted it, repainted and rewired it ourselves, and engineered new structural support so we could open up the interior. Today it seats up to twelve for a group shot, runs indoors or off-grid outdoors, arrives fully styled with our own lit PHOTOS sign, and is one of our most-requested booths for photo booth rental in Toronto and beyond. Heritage Canada has even booked it for the Canada Day celebration in Ottawa two years running.
It started with an Airstream
The Boler was not our first vintage trailer. A few years before, we had taken a 1957 22-foot Airstream and turned it into Canada's first Airstream photo booth. That project taught us what it takes to convert a decades-old trailer into a working booth without losing the character that made people fall in love with it in the first place. So when we found a Boler in 2017, we already knew what we were getting into. We just did not yet know it would become the booth people ask for by name.
Why a Boler, of all things
If you grew up in Canada, you know the shape. The Boler is a little molded-fibreglass trailer first built in Winnipeg in 1968, the kind of thing families towed to the lake every summer. It is unmistakably Canadian, and it is small and round and charming in a way nothing else on the road is. We loved that it carried a story before we ever touched it. When one rolls up to an event, people stop what they are doing and go look at it, and that reaction is exactly what a great photo booth should create.
The teardown
We gutted the whole trailer. Every original fitting came out. We repainted it ourselves, rewired it from scratch, and redid all the upholstery in our own shop. There were no shortcuts and nothing was farmed out. If you have ever restored an old vehicle, you know the moment when it is stripped to nothing and you have to trust that it will come back better than it was. This was that, for months.
The hard part nobody sees
Here is the part we are proudest of, and the reason ours is different from every imitation that came after.
We wanted guests to be able to gather inside the trailer, rather than squeeze past cabinets. But to open up a Boler, you have to remove the original kitchen, the upper cabinet, and the closet wall. On a Boler, those are not just fittings. They are load-bearing. Take them out and the roof has nothing holding it up.
So before we removed anything, we engineered and built in new structural support to carry the roof. Only then did we take the old structure out. The result is a clean, open interior with a U-shaped bench that seats six to eight comfortably, and that we have crammed as many as twelve into for one unforgettable group shot. As far as we know, ours was the first Boler photo booth in Canada rebuilt this way, and it has been imitated since.
We removed the kitchen, cabinet, and closet, then built in new structural support so the roof would hold. That single step is what lets guests actually gather inside.
Making it a real booth, not a gimmick
A beautiful trailer is not enough. Inside, we built a proper photo booth: a Canon DSLR, studio flash, and a dye-sublimation printer, so the prints come out in seconds and look like real photography, not phone snaps. Guests get their photos by text and email too. And on the roof sits our lit marquee PHOTOS sign, which we fabricated ourselves. At dusk it turns the whole trailer into a beacon that pulls people across the room.
It also arrives fully styled. Vintage props, greenery, crate shelving, the whole look, so it lands as a designed corner of the event rather than a rental parked on the grass. For weddings we set up a guestbook station just outside, where guests drop a copy of their strip and write a message beside it, so the couple goes home with a keepsake album, not a stack of loose prints.
Then Canada came calling
The moment that told us we had built something special came from Heritage Canada. They organize the Canada Day celebration at LeBreton Flats in Ottawa, the largest in the country, and they specifically asked for our Boler. They wanted it because it is a Canadian-made trailer that embodies the Canadian spirit, and they loved that we had turned one into a photo booth. They brought us down for July 1, 2025, and invited us back again for 2026, our second year running the Boler at Canada Day in the capital.
Closer to home, it has become a fixture at weddings and community events across Toronto and the GTA, from Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto, Cranberry Creek Gardens, and Whistle Bear Golf Club to Ancaster Mill, plus Mother's Day in downtown Oakville, the Port Credit street festival, and Streetsville.
Why we did it the hard way
We could have wrapped a trailer in vinyl and called it vintage. Plenty of companies do. But the whole point of the Boler is that it is real: a genuine Canadian classic, restored by hand, engineered so guests can gather inside, and built to be the centrepiece of your day rather than a booth tucked in a corner. That is the difference guests feel the moment they step inside, even if they could never explain why.
FAQ
What is a Boler photo booth?
It is a restored vintage Boler trailer, a small round Canadian camper, converted into a fully working photo booth that guests step inside to take their photos. Ours is a 1987 Boler we rebuilt by hand.
How many people fit inside the Boler?
The U-shaped bench seats six to eight comfortably, and we have fit up to twelve for a single group shot.
Does the Boler photo booth work outdoors?
Yes. It runs off a standard outlet where one is available, and off a generator or battery pack where there is none, so it works for barns, fields, and wineries as well as indoor venues.
Where can I rent the Boler photo booth?
We offer the Boler for photo booth rental in Toronto and across the GTA, and it is certified to run at events across Canada. Send us your date and venue and we will confirm.
Does the Boler come with an attendant and styling?
Yes. Every booking includes a dedicated attendant, full vintage styling, our lit PHOTOS sign, unlimited prints, and a guestbook station for weddings.
Want the Boler at your event?
The Boler is one of a kind, which means it books up fast for peak wedding season. You can see full details, pricing, and availability on our Boler photo booth rental page, or reach out for a quick quote and we will confirm your date.
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.
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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 its restored vintage vehicle booths. 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: July 27, 2026
Last reviewed: July 27, 2026
Experience note: Based on Chantalle, Dominic, and the Snaptique team's firsthand experience restoring and operating our vintage trailer photo booths since 2014.
