Engineering school could be intense. Between lectures, assignments, projects, midterms and seemingly endless hours spent studying, there weren't always many opportunities to dress up and do something completely different for an evening.
Dinner dances were that break.
A Night That Felt Completely Different From Campus Life
There was something exciting about seeing the same people you normally saw rushing to lectures suddenly dressed in suits and dresses.
Instead of grabbing food between classes, we were sitting down together for a fancy plated dinner. There were drinks, music, dancing, school spirit and an entire evening where nobody had to think about the assignment due next week.
For an international student, it also felt like getting to experience a little piece of the university culture I had seen in movies but never really had growing up.
It was probably the closest thing I had to a prom experience.
And maybe that's part of why I remember those nights so fondly.
The Photos Became Part of the Experience
One thing I especially loved about dinner dances was taking photos.
You spent all that time getting ready. Your friends looked amazing. Everyone was finally together somewhere that wasn't a lecture hall, library or study room.
Of course you wanted pictures.
And that's why having a photo booth at these kinds of events makes so much sense to me.
It wasn't just about taking a nice photo. It was about grabbing your friends and saying, come on, let's take one.
Then taking another.
And another.
The first photo might be the nice one where everyone is actually looking at the camera. The next one gets a little sillier. By the end of the night, you have a collection of photos that somehow captures your friendships better than the perfectly posed ones ever could.
Photo Booths Give Everyone a Reason to Come Together
At a dinner dance, people naturally separate into their own tables and friend groups.
A photo booth becomes one of those places where everyone crosses paths.
You take one with your closest friends. Then someone from another table joins. Then your whole program tries to squeeze into the frame.
It becomes an activity without really feeling like an activity.
There's no schedule or instructions. You simply walk over, gather your people and make a memory.
The Printed Photos Mean More After University
At the time, a photo strip might just feel like a fun souvenir from the night.
Years later, it becomes something completely different.
University goes by incredibly quickly. Eventually, the people you saw almost every day graduate. Some move to different cities. International students may move to entirely different countries. Careers start, schedules get busier, and getting the same group of people together becomes harder.
But you still have the photo.
A tiny strip of everyone dressed up, laughing and being ridiculous together on one random night during university.
That's what makes printed photos particularly special to me. They're physical reminders of a very specific version of your life.
A Much-Needed Break From Studying
I think this is also why dinner dances matter more than they might seem.
University isn't only the degree you leave with. It's the people you meet, the traditions you participate in and the random nights you remember years later.
For me, dinner dances were a chance to put engineering aside for a few hours, dress up, eat good food, have a drink, take far too many photos with my friends and just enjoy being a student.
And those little breaks from studying became some of the memories I kept.
Why This Matters to Us at 88 Photobooth
Now that we're on the other side of university, it's part of the reason student events have a special place for us at 88 Photobooth.
We know a photo booth can look like a small part of a much bigger event.
But we've also been the students keeping those photo strips.
For dinner dances, grad balls, formals and other campus celebrations across Toronto and the GTA, we want to create the kind of photo booth experience that feels easy, fun and genuinely part of the night — with custom designs, instant prints and plenty of chances to come back for another photo.
Because one day, that little photo strip from your dinner dance might be the thing that takes you right back to university.
