Colorado couple’s vintage photo bus brings nostalgia and memories to life

Ashley Russell wants to spread happiness and she’s using a vintage VW bus to do it. Russell has retrofitted a 1973 Volkswagen camper van into a photo bus that can bring the memory-capturing capabilities to you at your venue, be it a wedding, reunion, corporate event or special occasion like an anniversary or birthday.

“I’ve always envisioned using a bus as a prop for photos, but I struggled to figure out how to turn that idea into a business. Then it struck me: why not install a photo booth inside the bus? This way, people can rent the bus for their events,” Russell said.  

The exterior and interior of the bus are decorated with fun, vintage details and props to elevate your guest’s experience and make your photos pop. Enjoy photo strip prints featuring custom logos or perhaps your wedding date for a memento your guests can take with them. The high-resolution images are downloadable and there’s an online gallery for quick access to conveniently share the shots.

“I love doing weddings! So far it’s my favorite type of event,” Russell said.

For Russell, it’s a family affair. The Vail native was born in the Vail hospital in 1982 and her 11-year-old twins were born in the same hospital.

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“The same doctor delivered our twins 32 years later, talk about a small town,” Russell said.

Russell’s sister lives In Maui, Hawaii, and helps her with business tasks. Her husband helps take care of the bus.

“Lucky for me, I have a supportive husband who has helped me keep the bus in excellent condition. This project required a lot of cleaning and fine-tuning. Being an old VW, she takes a lot of work, but unfortunately, that’s just part of the game,” Russell said.

The bus’s top still pops up into a bed, but the kitchen unit, sink, refrigerator and stove were removed to add the photo booth. One thing that Russell said makes the bus unique is that it came over from Germany, so all the plaques are in German.

“My mom, Valerie O’Neil Kesler, bought the bus for me off eBay when I was 20 for $3,000,” Russell said.

There’s an old school snowboard that acts as the rear bumper and that’s a nod to her dad, Ted Martin.

“We have the snowboard bumper because snowboarding has been a huge part of my life. My dad was a massive part of the early snowboarding industry, and his contributions are listed in the history of snowboarding at the Colorado Snowsports Museum,” Russell said. 

The VW bus has a name, which is Sally, short for Sally Forth.

“Sally Forth comes from an old military slang meaning ‘to leave for a journey with confidence,’ but the name of my business came from a bumper sticker when I got the bus that said ‘Be Happy.’ It’s hard to be inside a VW bus and be anything but happy!” Russell said.

Russell has only been in business for six months but is excited to expand Sally’s horizons.

“What I love most about my job is I absolutely love the people! I meet the best kind of people and my favorites are the clients who remember what it was like when these VW buses were first famous,” Russell said.

For more information or to book the Be Happy Photo Bus give Russell a call at 970-401-0852 or learn more at BeHappyPhotoBusOfVail.com. As we enter into “engagement season” from Thanksgiving to Valentine’s Day, you may find you need a mobile photo booth to capture the special events coming up.