Wedding Books | Preserving your wedding memories!

You’ve seen your wedding images, you are sharing them with friends and family and reliving your day through them. Now comes the time to decide or move forward with your custom wedding book.  Many photographers offer wedding books as an added product for couples.

I love wedding books, they allow couples to experience their day through their images telling the story.  I work one on one with all my couples to design and create a 100% custom book.  I know it can be very overwhelming to have hundreds of images and trying to narrow it down usually to less than 100 images, that’s where I help guide the couple. The most important part of the book in my eyes to tell your story, and each wedding is so special, each with their own unique moments and story to be told. My books come with 15 pages/30 sides, with the ability to add more spreads if couples wish.

I always start with the initial design to my couples, this takes the pressure of them to make the decisions on which images to include or not include. That doesn’t mean these are the final images in their book, it just provides them with a guide on how it will begin to come together. My first goal is to include the most important moment of the day.

I usually start my design with ‘pre-ceremony’ time, the ‘getting ready’ photos, this starts the book off in a way that shows the moments before the ceremony or the first look. The moments that they usually don’t see the other for.

From there I move on to the First Look if the couple did one, if not we go into the ceremony, really depending on the order that events took place.

Next is the ceremony, I’ve noticed I tend to do 2-3 full spreads of the ceremony, showing the processional, ceremony, first kiss, exchange of rings and then recessional.

 

As the wedding progresses, next I include family formals, wedding party, couples portraits.

 

I like to have a transition spread leading into the reception. For this I usually do details, rings, flowers, centerpieces, reception room etc.

Then on to the celebrations – including a spread on the first dance, then on to father/daughter, mother/son dance. Depending on the amount of moments and photos this could be 1 – 2 spreads.  The cake cutting usually gets its own spread highlighting the cake and the actual cutting, feeding! Which many times are great images with lots of smiles!

I don’t like to overcrowd a spread. Sometimes when it comes to full reception, party time, I do include more images as there is so much going on but always allow for room around the page to add ‘white space.’ Reception spreads I focus on 1 or 2 of them, depending on how the book is coming along.

 

For the end of the book I like to either do the couples exit (if they are having one) or one spread with 2-3 images of the couple. It’s a good way to round off the book and close off the story.

 

For me it’s important that as you turn the pages you relive the progression of the wedding story. I want to be sure to reflect the feelings and moments of the couples day.

Once the book is completed I prepare the files to send to couples for their review. I use a great online system called Album Draft that allows clients to log in, click in any image and send notes and comments on the image. They can provide image numbers that they want to use or photos they want to replace. When they are done they simply submit the album and I’m able to see all the requests and changes. Once this takes place we go through it again. At the end the couples have the ability to do 2 full round of changes before finalizing their book and going to print.

Sometimes I get super lucky and couples love the first version and go straight to print! That’s always excited. But in all honesty, it’s a simple process to communication back and forth that we edits can be made easily and quickly.

Books come in many sizes. My couples have the option of different sizes, including 6×6, 8×8, 11×8, 10×10, 12×12 or 11×14 – plus they can upgrade their covers to include a cameo cover or leather with engraving.   I always get excited when the books arrive and I get to view their story before sending it off to them to cherish!