Wedding albums & printing your photographs

I want to ask you an important question: what will stand the test of time? Your photographs. Especially printed photographs. What could be better than pouring through your wedding photos in a beautiful album that will last for years to come? Or stopping to take a moment to look at a framed photograph on the wall.

Preserve the memories

Have you ever looked at your parents’ wedding photos? Remember the emotions you felt seeing them? The memories that can be shared and passed on through generations. Thinking back through the years, how wonderful is it to sit and look at the memories. The hairstyles and outfits that show exactly what era you are looking at, of relatives when they were small children in cute outfits, and of older relatives who are no longer with us. When you’re planning your wedding, you’re sure you’ll never forget every detail and whilst you’ll always remember the heightened emotions of the day, the photographs are the only tangible evidence that you can treasure. The only thing that really reminds you of one of the happiest and most fun days of your lives. You may not know, but the traditional gift for a first wedding anniversary is ‘Paper’. Handy, eh!? What a wonderful present to each other to celebrate year one as a married couple?

Technology moves quickly

Posting on social media is all very well, but it’s so fleeting and doesn’t truly stand the test of time. Very quickly your USB could become outdated, so you’ll have to continue to transfer the digital copies onto the latest technology. That same USB may sit in the drawer, somewhat forgotten, as your list of priorities becomes ever bigger. Wouldn’t it be lovely to have a printed album to treasure? Something tangible that you can reach for whenever the mood takes you and instantly be transported back to your wedding day.

Share your story with loved ones

In the months following your wedding, your loved ones will want to see photographs from the big day. An online slideshow is a brilliant way to share photos with loved ones. But this still has it’s limitations and looking at a screen doesn’t really have the sense of occasion! Having a gorgeous leather or hardcover bound book to slowly browse through with a piece of cake and a glass of bubbly is much more of an occasion. It offers the full story of your special day, carefully designed to make the most of the photos.

The books

All my albums are from one amazing company, Folio. Before I go any further, I apologise if it sounds like I’m doing a sales pitch but I really love these albums! It has taken me years to find albums I would proudly own myself and I have found them in these products. My background in Graphic Design has made me very picky about papers, print and quality of finish when it comes to books. But it does also mean that I can design the layouts for each of my albums personally, and offer a truly bespoke service.

Back to the actual albums. They are beautiful, timeless yet contemporary albums which are printed using archival quality inks on tactile luxury paper. They are then hand-bound for a perfect finish.

Folio

• UK based

• Eco friendly, reducing the impact on the environment

• Paper from sustainable sources

• Leather sourced from suppliers committed to sustainability and the ethical treatment of animals

Choosing the photos for your album

This is where it might seem like the most daunting task in the world. You have a USB and online gallery filled with hundreds of amazing images, covering all aspects of your wedding day from the smallest detail to show-stopping portraits. What do you pick for the album? Where do you start with your wedding photography? Which ones to put in and which ones to leave out? Your wedding album should reflect the day and tell the story of your day from start to finish. You want to have a mix of the natural, candid images, the portraits, the details and the group shots. Its also important to make sure the album looks right and flows well, part of this is the balance of image types. Too many or too few of each type of image and the album just won’t work. I love to create some pace by mixing busy montage style layouts with gorgeous stopper pages with just one image.

This is where the album design becomes a team effort. I like to work with you to make sure the album that is designed and created is just perfect. The starting point is to choose approximately 30-40 must-have images. These should cover the range of the day, some from the getting ready bits, some from the ceremony, some from the reception, speeches and guest photos and finally a few from the first dance and evening. I like to get choices which include people (after all, you know the guests at your wedding much better than I do) and I will then choose some of the detail shots to add. It’s so important when choosing images that you choose the ones you completely love. Don’t feel obliged to add in particular people or lots of groups if you don’t want them. This is your album and it has to be something you want to look at for the rest of your lives. So, take the time out from your day, just the two of you, get a cup of tea and sit down and look through the photos.  From putting on the dress to toasting with the bridal party, to ‘I do’, to the toasts, to the just married portrait shots, your beautiful story belongs in a beautiful book.

What happens next? Once you have given me your chosen images I get to work designing the layouts that will tell your wedding day story. You get to view the designs via an online viewing gallery, which allows you to make comments on each page. I include as many amendments as needed until you are 100% happy, so if you wish any images to be changed or you want to tweak the design a little that’s fine. After all, it’s your album and you have to be completely happy before it goes to be printed and bound. I want you to have a luxurious tactile memory of your day as I believe the quality is second to none and that’s worth an investment.

Other printing options

Getting a wedding album isn’t for everyone. If you like the idea of having something printed but a full album isn’t right for you I can help with prints and other gorgeous printed options. Get in touch to find out more about the printed products I offer.

I hope this has given you a bit more of an idea about wedding albums and whether you might want one. There is no rush and no time limit on getting an album from me. Whether it’s six months or two years after the wedding I’m happy to help you create the most wonderful everlasting investment.

Thanks for popping by.

Fiona x