An Argument for Wedding Albums

It's true that the times they are a-changin'. This world is getting increasingly digital, and with the development of the ipad and Kindle, books and magazines are becoming less...well, necessary. It's interesting to think how this will affect the world of wedding albums. A while back, I was asked if instead of printing the layouts and getting them bound into an album, if I would just give the couple the jpgs so they could show it to others on their computer or iphone. I had no problem with this, and they did save money on the printing, but I couldn't help thinking how sad it would be for the couple 20 years down the road when they don't have anything physical to hold and show the kids. I made sure to mention that they could hold on to their files and contact me at any point if they wanted an album printed.

The other day I stumbled upon this photographer's blog post detailing how his daughter recently discovered her parents wedding album and how much fun they had looking through it with her. Dave writes:


"I think the most striking thing about our daughter discovering this wonderful time capsule is that she could discover it. If it were a DVD, she would have read the title, found it boring and moved on. Also, after several moves and boxing and unboxings, I doubt it would ever be found and if it were, we certainly wouldn’t have been able to share the warmth of a family moment on the couch, turning the pages and sharing part of our past with our little girl. An album is so much more than the 1′s and 0′s so many of us photographers burn down to a DVD. An album is immune to advances in technology. If the DVD format changes and drives are updated and the jpg format becomes a thing of the past, your album doesn’t care. An album is unaffected by power outages. Light’s go out, it still works. Brides are often referred to as princesses, what self-respecting princess doesn’t have a book to tell the story of her wedding!

I realize that so often the issue with buying an album is price. I would rebut with the simple fact that if a bride is going to pay $25,000 for her wedding, she should trust her photographer to put together the best !#@%$ book they can to show off their big day! Forever! In a medium where, should their daughter (who, by the way, believes in true love, fairy tales and princess stories) find it on the bookshelf, she can bring it to her mom and dad and ask them who every person was at their wedding."

Wonderfully written and so TRUE! There are many brides today who walk away with just a CD of their images, intending to get an album made later but never do. Well, let me tell you, it's not too late! I've done plenty of albums for people who have been married for several years and are finally ready to get an album. In fact, this Christmas I designed a wedding album for my husband's sister and brother-in-law who had just celebrated their five year anniversary. And because I hate having a blog post without pictures, I might as well sneak in some favorites from their album!

It's even sweeter to remember this special day five years down the road. And now Lorren and Cole have two precious girls that will LOVE to look through the book about their princess mommy and prince daddy!