Thursday's Thoughts | Album Design
When it comes to a blog post series, I try my hardest to be diligent in my task, but because I am a one woman show it takes a back seat to shooting, editing, bookkeeping, having a life, pulling my hair out, etc. So I'm excited for another post in the series Thursday's Thoughts. Ironically, today is not Thursday, but I had a few spare minutes before the next editing block - so why not.
I want to talk a little bit about albums. As a side note, this blog post is not going to be about wedding albums in general and why you should order one (okay, I might force you to listen to a few sentences about that), but instead the design and story of albums. So I've mentioned it several times and it's plastered all over my website and wedding collection sheet, but I believe a wedding album is one of the most important purchases you will make on your wedding day. A wedding album serves as a tangible product to carry around with you and share your wedding day with everyone who cares to see. But, more importantly, you will have this to show your children (and their children) for generations to come. For me personally, I remember sitting on the floor leafing through my parents' album. It wasn't fancy, it wasn't big, and they weren't a lot of images, but to see my Mom and Dad on the happiest day of their life (next to me being born, of course!) was extremely fulfilling and interesting to me. The best part was that the pages were not jam packed full of photos; there were 1-2 per page making those images all that more poignant. Of course, my favorite ones were of my parents. I remember analyzing my Dad's silly looking tux from the early 70s and my Mom's gorgeous long hair, her choice of bouquet, and of course her gown. It made me wonder if she painstakingly planned her wedding just as I had. Either way, I was so happy to be able to have a small view of this important day in their lives.
Now. You know what's coming next. I don't judge anyone for only wanting the digital files of their wedding day. Of course you want them, so did I. But. I beg you to PLEASE make an album. It doesn't matter what type of album and it doesn't even matter if you print the photos out and slide them in an album. At least generations after you can see your love, your choices, and your day. When I design an album, I give my couples the option of choosing their own images or allowing me to. Ninety-eight percent of my couples choose their own images. But the one thing I want to stress is that less is more. Less is more in every aspect of life, but when it comes to your wedding album you want to make sure you're not filling the pages with clutter. It's important to only use the images that truly make up your wedding day story in every form: the people who stood next to you, your parents, what you wore, your ceremony, and of course the bride and groom. Everything else is fluff and can be printed out and stored in a box for safe keeping.
I just designed a new sample album and want to share what my idea of a perfect wedding album design looks like. I decided to use Laura and Nick's beautiful wedding from earlier this year in Philadelphia. Each image is 1 spread. One spread=2 pages. This is a 10 spread/20 page album, which I include in my first collection.
To see each spread larger, click on the image.
As you can see, if covers the main parts of their wedding day; the meat and potatoes, if you will. Of course they have hundreds of additional photos, but these are the ones that tell the story of their day. It shows what they wore, who stood by them on their day, and how happy they are.
A wedding album is a family heirloom and should be treated as one. It's more important than any piece of furniture or jewelry that my be passed down because an album is the legacy of a family and how it was created.
