Class Reunion Photo Magnets: The "Then and Now" Keepsake Everyone Takes Home

Class reunion photo magnets are custom magnets printed on-site at your reunion, made from a photo your classmates take that night — finished in under five minutes and carried home the same evening. Instead of another tote bag with the school name on it, everyone leaves with a picture of themselves and the people they came to see, in a form they'll actually put somewhere. Every Moment Magnets brings this live magnet station to reunions, and the whole thing starts at $750 for two hours and includes everything you need to create a mobile magnet cart experience your guests will never forget.

Here's the thing about a reunion that nobody says out loud: everyone shows up wondering whether it will be worth the drive. The night usually is. The problem is what's left the next morning — a few blurry phone photos, a name tag, and a favor bag that goes into a drawer.

A photo magnet fixes the smallest, most fixable part of that.

Why Reunions Are Different From Every Other Event

At a wedding, the couple is the story. At a corporate party, the company is. At a reunion, the story is the room — twenty or thirty or forty years of people, standing in one place for four hours, and then scattering again.

That changes what a good keepsake has to do:

• It has to include the guest, not the host. There is no host. A magnet with the school mascot on it is a souvenir. A magnet with your face and your two best friends' faces on it is a memory.
• It has to happen on the night. Nobody follows up on a shared photo album after a reunion. The photos that get kept are the ones that were physically in someone's hand before they left.
• It has to survive the trip home. People fly in for reunions. A keepsake has to go in a purse or a jacket pocket and come out intact.

The "Then and Now" Moment

The best thing that happens at a live magnet station at a reunion is something we didn't design and can't take credit for. People bring their old photos.

Someone pulls up a picture from a yearbook, or a photo of the four of them at seventeen, and holds it next to the group as they take the new one. Then both go on the fridge — the 1998 version and the 2026 version, side by side.

Because guests upload their own photo from their own phone, that's completely possible. Nobody has to pose for a photographer or accept whatever shot they get. They pick the picture. Sometimes it's from that night. Sometimes it's from thirty years ago. Often it's both.

That flexibility is the whole reason the self-upload model works better at a reunion than a traditional booth does. If you're weighing the two formats, we wrote a full side-by-side in Photo Magnet Station vs. Photo Booth — most of it applies directly to a reunion.

How a Live Magnet Station Works at a Reunion

The mechanics are simple enough that they don't need explaining twice at the door:

1. A guest scans a QR code at the station with their phone.
2. They upload the photo they want — one taken that night, or an old one they've been saving.
3. We print and finish the magnet on-site, usually in under five minutes.
4. They pick it up and put it in their pocket. No email, no download link, no "we'll send it later."

Magnets come in 2x2 inches and 2.5x2.5 inches. Both are fridge-sized without being fridge-hogging, which matters when a family of four all bring one home.

What's Included (and What Other Vendors Charge Extra For)

Two things come standard with an Every Moment Magnets station that are commonly sold as upgrades elsewhere:

A custom overlay, designed for your reunion. Your school name, your class year, your colors, your mascot — layered onto every single magnet printed that night. If a local business or an alumni association is sponsoring the reunion, their logo can go on the overlay too, which is often the easiest sponsorship perk a committee can offer. It's included, not a tier.

A backdrop, if you want one. Reunion venues are frequently a banquet room, a gym, or a country club ballroom, and none of them photograph particularly well. A clean backdrop solves that. Also included.

A word about magnet quality

This is the part that separates a keepsake from a giveaway. Some vendors quote lower because they print on thin, flexible magnet sheeting — the kind that curls at the corners after a few months, fades in a sunny kitchen, and slowly slides down the fridge door under its own weight.

Ours are sturdy, quality magnets built to last. That's not a small distinction for an event that only happens once every five or ten years. If a magnet is still on the fridge at the next reunion, it did its job.

What a Live Photo Magnet Station Costs for a Reunion

The live station starts at $750 for two hours and includes everything you need to create a mobile magnet cart experience your guests will never forget — the cart, the setup, the on-site printing, the custom overlay, and a backdrop if you'd like one.

For smaller or shorter gatherings, we also book by the hour at $350 an hour, which works well for a Friday-night welcome mixer the evening before a bigger Saturday event.

A few reference points, because reunion budgets are usually built from a spreadsheet:

• Per-guest math. At a 120-person reunion, a two-hour station works out to a little over $6 a head — less than most catered dessert stations, and roughly what a decent branded tumbler costs before shipping.
• It replaces two line items. Committees often budget separately for entertainment and favors. This is both, which is usually the argument that gets it approved.
• You'll want to compare inclusions, not just numbers. Several vendors advertise a lower starting price but cap you at one magnet per guest, or tier the backdrop and the custom design as add-ons. Ask what happens when a group of six wants six copies of the same photo.

There's also a magnet arch rental for $150, which comes with 14 custom magnets. At a reunion it makes a natural "class through the years" display near the entrance — a decade of photos, arranged where people walk in and immediately start pointing.

How to Fit It Into the Reunion Timeline

A station doesn't need its own slot on the program. It works best as something running alongside everything else:

• The first hour, during check-in and cocktails. This is the highest-traffic window and the moment people are actively looking for something to do with their hands while they figure out who's who.
• Right after dinner, before the dance floor fills. The second natural lull.
• Not during speeches or the memorial slideshow. Reunions almost always have one, and a printer running in the corner is the wrong sound for it.

Two hours placed thoughtfully covers a four-hour reunion comfortably.

Planning Timeline for a Fall or Thanksgiving Reunion

Reunions cluster around homecoming weekend and Thanksgiving weekend, when people are home anyway. If you're planning one of those:

• 10–12 weeks out: lock the venue and the date, then book anything that only one vendor in your area does.
• 8 weeks out: send the real invitation, with the RSVP link.
• 6 weeks out: confirm your headcount range with vendors and share your overlay details — school name, class year, colors, any sponsor logos.
• 2 weeks out: confirm the room layout and where the station will live. Near the bar or near check-in, never in a back corner.

One practical note: we cap bookings to a few events per month, on purpose, so that every event actually gets our attention. Fall Saturdays go first, and Thanksgiving weekend goes earliest of all.

Other Reunion Keepsake Ideas Worth Considering

For balance — a magnet station isn't the only good option, and a few of these pair well with one:

• A memory wall. Old photos, printed large, hung where people gather. Free if the committee has a scanner.
• A curated era playlist. Costs nothing, does an enormous amount of work.
• Custom name tags with senior yearbook photos. Genuinely the highest-impact five dollars a reunion committee ever spends.
• A group photo, professionally taken. Different job than a magnet — that one goes in a frame, the magnet goes on the fridge.
• Branded drinkware or apparel. Fine, and some people do wear the shirt. Just know it's the category most likely to end up in a donation bag.

If you're weighing keepsakes generally, we broke down what actually survives past the first month in Custom Photo Magnets That Actually Get Kept.

Booking a Station for Your Reunion

If a live magnet station sounds like a fit, the Weddings and Events page has the inquiry form and the details. Tell us your date, your venue, your expected headcount, and your class year — that last one because the overlay design starts there.

Every Moment Magnets exists for a fairly simple reason: meaningful moments made visible. A reunion is four hours of them, and then everyone drives home. A magnet is a small way to make sure one of those hours ends up somewhere you'll see it on a Tuesday morning in February.

FAQ

How much does a photo magnet station cost for a class reunion?

Every Moment Magnets' live station starts at $750 for two hours and includes everything you need to create a mobile magnet cart experience your guests will never forget — setup, on-site printing, a custom overlay designed for your reunion, and a backdrop if you'd like one. Smaller or shorter events are booked at $350 an hour. A magnet arch rental with 14 custom magnets is $150.

How long does each magnet take to make?

Under five minutes from the time a guest uploads their photo. Guests scan a QR code, choose their own picture, and pick up the finished magnet a few minutes later — no email link, no waiting until the next day.

Can classmates use old photos instead of ones taken at the reunion?

Yes, and many do. Because guests upload from their own phone, a photo from 1998 works exactly as well as one taken that night. The "then and now" pairing is one of the most popular things that happens at a reunion station.

What size are the magnets?

Two sizes: 2x2 inches and 2.5x2.5 inches. Both are printed on sturdy, quality magnets built to last — not the thin, flexible sheeting that curls and slides down the fridge after a few months.

Can we put our school name, class year, or a sponsor's logo on the magnets?

Yes. A custom overlay designed to match your reunion — school name, class year, colors, mascot, or a sponsoring business's logo — is layered onto every magnet printed that night, and it's included rather than being an upgrade.

How far in advance should we book a reunion?

For a homecoming-weekend or Thanksgiving-weekend reunion, 10–12 weeks out is a reasonable target, and earlier is safer. Every Moment Magnets takes a few events per month by design, and fall dates fill first.