How Many Instax Film Packs Do You Need for a Wedding?

Instax film for your wedding

If you’re planning to use an Instax camera at your wedding, you’re probably wondering how much film you’ll actually need. Instax film is usually sold in twin packs - two cartridges per box, with 10 shots on each. That means a single box gets you 20 photos. So how do you work out how many boxes to buy for the big day? Let’s break it down.

Buy or rent?

Before you can settle on how much film to buy, you need to decide how you’re getting the camera in the first place. Generally speaking, you have two options: buy a camera to keep, or rent one just for the day. Why does that matter? If you buy your own camera and plan to keep using it afterward - for trips, everyday moments, whatever comes up - there’s no real downside to buying a bit more film than you strictly need. Any leftover packs will simply come in handy down the road.

If you’re renting instead, it’s better not to end up with leftover film, since you won’t get much use out of it afterward (you can resell unused packs, but you’ll likely lose a bit of money on the deal). Rental companies also price things differently from one another - some charge by the camera, others by the number of photos taken during the event - so read the fine print on your rental before you buy any film.

What will you actually use it for?

Next, think about how you want to use the Instax camera on the day - there’s more than one way to put it to work. You might simply want to give guests a keepsake photo to take home. Or you could ask everyone to stick their photos straight into a guest book. Guests can also use it to capture key moments of the celebration, like the first dance or the oczepiny (the traditional veil-removing ceremony).

How much film you’ll need depends heavily on which of these you’re going for. If you’re mainly filling a guest book, the math is simple: count the empty photo slots in the book, multiply by how many photos fit on each page, and you’ve got your number. It’s also worth factoring in any other attractions you’re planning. If you’re setting up a photo booth alongside the Instax, for example, guests’ attention will naturally split between the two, so you’ll likely need less film overall than you would with Instax as the only option.

So, how many Instax film packs should you buy?

Given everything above, there’s no single, clear-cut answer - some guests will happily snap away several times, while others may not take a single photo. Still, here’s a simple way to land on a reasonable estimate: start by assuming you’ll want one photo per invited guest. So if you’re inviting 160 people, you’ll want to enable 160 photos, which works out to 8 boxes of film (each containing two cartridges of 10 shots). Treat that as your starting point, then adjust based on how you actually plan to use the camera and whether you’re buying or renting your equipment.

Curious what all of this will actually cost? We’ve broken down Instax wedding pricing - camera, film, and all - in a separate post on our blog: Instax wedding cost.

Instax cameras are great! But we also have a pretty cool app

Have you heard about our wedding app? Collect photos and videos your loved ones capture on their phones throughout your wedding, and turn them into a unique keepsake video! We’ll start by preparing personalized poster graphics with a QR code and instructions, matched to your venue. At any point during the wedding, or even after everyone’s gone home, guests can scan the QR code and easily upload hundreds of their photos and videos. You’ll be able to download every file that’s collected, plus a professionally edited highlight video set to the music of your choice. Want to learn more? Head over to our app page: JustFilm.it wedding QR code.

We also have a special discount for our blog readers! Send us a message on social media or at [email protected] with your wedding date and the code BLOG10, and we’ll check whether your date is still available - if it is, you’ll be able to purchase access at a discount.