How to Create Your Picture-Perfect Wedding Album, Including Tips and Ideas
Now that you’ve had your wonderful wedding, it’s time to start immortalizing the incredible moments of your special day in print. We want to help you relive those heartfelt memories for years to come with a time capsule that highlights all your stunning photos. This guide lays out all the best advice for what to include and how to lay out the perfect wedding album photo book.
Picking the Right Album Features
There are loads of different directions you can go with for your wedding album, from paper and cover type to templates, colors, and tones.
Cover Types
sleek hardcover glossy
silky scuff-resistant matte
leather with a personalized dust jacket
Paper Types
magazine-like vibrant semi gloss
heavy “no-crease” matte lay-flat
lustre silky smooth lay-flat
Templates
The template you choose for your album will help determine the style of your book. Pick one that reflects your aesthetic as a couple, but that also fits with the theme of your wedding. You want the template you are working with to amplify the wonderful photos you’re filling it with.
You can find loads of inspiration for fun and unique layouts from our Wedding Photo Book templates.
Structuring Your Wedding Album
Your wedding photo book is a proud display of the commitment you and your partner made to each other. You have one simple main goal: showcase every moment of your milestone life event that you want to remember forever.
How to do that? The truth is, that is entirely up to you. Your wedding album should be a reflection of your unique style as a couple. Do make a general outline, but don’t be afraid to change things up as you go through the creative process.
Your focus in terms of structure can be in on either:
telling the story of your distinctive relationship and wedding.
making a chronological photo narrative.
You don’t want to throw a bunch of photos in chaotic random order throughout the book. Make sure there is a beginning, middle, and end that encompasses every memorable moment of the event.
Your wedding album is meant to immortalize your special day in photos and style. Make sure the general aesthetic of the wedding ceremony itself is present in your wedding album through backgrounds and embellishments. For example, a wedding album commemorating a backyard wedding should include rustic and floral stickers and backgrounds to highlight the natural beauty of the outdoors.
Take the time to decide what you want the direction of your album to be. You’ll be looking at it and sharing it for a lifetime, so you want to make sure it will be interesting to look at for years to come.
Making an Outline
Whether you are making a storybook or photo narrative wedding album, make an outline for yourself that categorizes all of the pivotal moments you want to capture in your book. An example of a good wedding album outline is:
Front Cover
Set the Stage with the Venue– 1 Spread
Leading up to the Wedding Day – 1 Spread
Getting Ready – 2 to 3 Spreads
Bridal and Couple Portraits – 5 to 6 Spreads
Break up Portraits with Wedding Details – 1 Spread
Family, Friends, and Wedding Party Photos - 2-3 Spreads
The Ceremony – 4 to 8 Spreads
Cocktail Hour - 1 to 2 Spreads
Wedding Reception - 6 to 10 Spreads
Leave Some Space for the Extras - 2-3 Spreads
Say Farewell to Your Special Day - 1 Spread
Back Cover
Determining the Length and Number of Photos to Include in Your Album
We have come to find that the length of the album is actually less important than the quality of content you are filling it with. Over the last year we have seen wonderful wedding albums ranging from 50 to 1000 photos, with the average falling in the 200-300 range.
You might choose to filter down to a limited number of pages showcasing a select few great photos, or you may have several hundreds, if not thousand, great pictures from your special day that you can’t pick favorites from. Just make sure you are not senselessly overcrowding the pages, and let the number of photos you choose dictate the length of the album.
Picking Your Album Cover Photo
Your cover photo should be one really great photo of you and your partner. It is your special day you’re telling the story of. Get creative with the font of your names and the date highlighting that extra-special photo.
Deciding Which Photos to Include in Your Wedding Photo Book
When narrowing down which photos to include in your wedding album, be sure to showcase all of the moments worth remembering at your wedding, such as the:
Proposal
Venue, Flowers, and Decor
Bride and Groom Getting Ready
Individual and Couple Portraits
Family Portraits
Wedding Party and Friends
First Moments Seeing Each Other
Ceremony
First Kiss
Cocktail Hour
Reception Details
First Dance(s)
Toasts
Wedding Band/Entertainment/Events
Dancing and Partying
Throwing of the Bouquet
Cake
Exit
The photos you choose to emphasize in your wedding album should be reflective of the special event.
Laying Out Your Wedding Album Pages
Some great tips for creating the layout of your wedding photo book are:
Group all the photos that represent the pivotal moments you included in your outline.
Check your image size and quality, and filter out any blurry or unflattering photos.
Include candid and scenic photos to break up blocks of portraits.
Highlight sentimental photos, but also funny ones that put a smile on your face.
Vary the size and shape of photos, alternating between full page photo spreads and multiple photos on one.
Make sure you don’t put faces in the page creases.
Break up your photo spreads with text and quotes.
Utilize white space to break up your images.
Play with the crop and tilt of your photos to add dramatic effect to your album.
Consider the flow of the pages of your album, and make sure there are meaningful transitions between key moments.
Our free photo book editor will help navigate you through the layout process while allowing you to customize the album exactly how you want it. To hone your photo book editing skills, check out some advanced tips and tricks.
Don’t Agonize Over the Photos You Didn’t Get
Many brides fret about the photos they didn’t take, but the truth is you can’t get every picture of every minute of your wedding, no matter how much you try. Pirate & 60s Bride says, “I try to just focus on the photos we did get, especially the fact that while waiting for them I was worried I wouldn't like any of us together and there are a few that truly make my heart melt.”
Remember that you can also plan bridal portraits before the wedding, to take some stress away and allow you to be more present on your special day. If all else fails, pick a day to get dressed up again and have a redo photo shoot. You won’t be the first to do after wedding photos!
Highlighting Memories with Titles and Captions
You don’t want your wedding photo album to end up being one continuous blob of photos. While the pictures are important, so are the captions and titles.
Get creative with fonts and use titles and captions to break up the different aspects of your wedding.
You can also emphasize special moments with quotes from readings or words of advice. Happy Wedding App has some great ideas for wedding album quotes. For even more inspiration, check out our own curated collection of wedding quotes.
Things You Can Include Beside Great Photos
Break up the photo stream of your amazing wedding album with some text documents, like a scanned version of:
Vows
Copies of Speeches
Wedding Invitations
Wedding Certificate
Reception Menu
Love Letters
Guest List
Get an Extra Set of Eyes
Creating a wedding album is a time intensive project that you will hopefully cherish and share with loved ones for generations. You want to make sure you get it right, like not leaving blank pages or accidentally misspelling your spouse's name. Pick someone you trust with an eye for details to look over your creation before you send it to the printer.
