When I was a kid my favorite “boring” Sunday activity was to look through my parents old photo albums… with their sticky pages and bent corners filled with Polaroids… No matter how many times my tiny hands flipped through the same images, I felt at ease flipping on our living room floor! These memories are what I want for all of my couples!

Imagine sitting down on your anniversary and having only a screen to scroll through your wedding day…you are constantly interrupted by notifications and distractions instead of a quiet moment to reflect. You can transform the way that you share these memories with family and friends. Having an album to pass around creates a conversation, It’s your first Heirloom as a married couple.

There are so many details going on behind the scenes you might never get to see or appreciate during your wedding. The laughter and toasts during cocktail hour you might miss while you are busy visiting with family, or the reception details with beautiful floral decor…The look on your dads face while he walks you down the aisle or your tearful bridesmaid standing next to you as you marry your best friend! These moments are worth cherishing beyond an online gallery! Your day deserves that!

I am so excited to share a few takeaways from printing dozens of photos over the years and my favorite recommendations and features when it comes to investing in a keepsake album!

 

 

Album Sizes:
I recommend 10×10 for all of my couples, they are large enough to fully showcase those beautiful sunset spreads but still a manageable size that fit on standard bookshelves or to be displayed as a statement piece sitting on your coffee table!

For gifting albums to your family or friends I recommend the 8×8 size. This is perfect for capturing the essence of your wedding day, in an easy to transport size, while saving on cost! Your family will be blown away by the quality and thoughtfulness that they are able to cherish a piece of your wedding day forever!

 

Customizing your Album:
I absolutely love working with Kiss Books to deliver the highest quality albums for my couples, they offer tons of variety to customize a wedding album to perfectly fit your style! Here are a few features you can choose from:

COVER MATERIAL: My biggest recommendation when choosing your album cover is to think about how you want to display your images, if you plan to keep your album living on a popular coffee table where it might be flipped through by visiting guests or your kids you will want a sturdy cover material that can hold up some ware and tear! I love the leather options for this! You can see a few of these examples below! The distressed leather is my all time favorite, it is the smoothest texture and full of character! A few other cover styles I love are the Linen, Suede, and Japanese silk, which come in dozens of color options to fully match your wedding vibe!

PERSONALIZED COVER: I am a huge fan of classic albums with simple elegant names on the front! Kiss Books allows you to customize your covers with engraving, debossing, or a cameo picture window on the front! These hand crafted finished are just begging to be touched.

Thick vs Thin Pages:
Paper quality is a huge factor in how well your wedding album will age over time! Printing your images on these thick archival pages create an incredible seamless look that will live for generations, without fading or ripping. Every albums binding is flush with the spine so there are no folds or lost images in the gutter! This allows for your spread to fully lay flat and showcase your wedding images!

Both of  the thin and thick paper options create a seamless look, however the thin pages have a slight bend and a little less weight so they will show for a little more flexibility when turning pages. The thick pages are my top choice when designing albums for my couples, but the thin pages are a great alternative to save on the cost and width of your album.

How to care for your album:
After you invest in creating a beautiful keepsake album, you will want it to last for generations to come! The following directions are taken directly from Kiss Books site, but are great guidelines to follow when caring for any photo album:

• Store it flat to protect the spine.
• Don’t rest anything heavy on the book.
• Don’t get the pages wet. If you do, dry them quickly and let the book dry before closing it.
• Extreme heat and humidity will affect the book. Store it in a dry, moderately cool place.
• If you get something on the pages, you can try to get it off with water or Goo-Gone, then let it dry before closing.
• The leather or linen covers can be cleaned with a damp, clean rag. 

Album Design Process:
Your images are the one investment that will grow in value over time, which is why I highly recommend investing in a quality album to showcase the joy of your wedding day! For most couples going through to try to narrow down their favorite images from a gallery of hundreds can be overwhelming and tedious! I am a designer at heart and being able to tell the visual story of your wedding day brings me so much joy! I love to include my couples in the process by having them choose a handful of favorites and family formals to showcase!

Most couples receive their album within 3 months following their wedding date. Since Kiss Book albums are crafted by hand the production process can take a little longer than traditional amazon prime shipping! Especially if you plan to gift your album during the holidays I recommend finalizing your design and placing your album order by mid November to ensure you have the perfect gifts in hand by Christmas!

I hope that this album guide was helpful for you, I absolutely love Kiss Books for printing my couples albums, but definitely understand that you might be looking for a simple alternative that you can create on your own. I also recommend Artifact Uprising for affordable printing and album gifts!

Here is another post you might enjoy, all about the benefits of adding a second shooter to your wedding day coverage: CLICK HERE