The vows have been said, the champagne popped. You met the love of your life at the altar and by now, you’re well into the “happily ever after” portion of your love story. Cheers! You’re finally married. The day you’ve been planning for has come and gone and odds are, it was jampacked full of memories you’ll cherish for the rest of your life.
At this point you’ve gotten hundreds—possibly even thousands—of wedding photos to help you remember each and every lovely little detail of your wedding day. I, your favorite Jacksonville Wedding Photographer, have catered them to fit your vision, and you’ve fallen in love all over again. Not just with your new spouse, but with the memories of an absolutely amazing day, frozen pieces of time perfectly preserved by your wedding photos.
So how do you decide which pictures encapsulate it best, which ones provide the clearest glimpse back in time and tell the story of your wedding day? They’re all great, right? So how do you choose the cream of the crop, the ones that should earn the special honor of being included in your wedding album? When you’re in love with hundreds of photos, it can seem like a tricky and overwhelming task. Take a deep breath. You’re picking from the best of the best. This is the fun part.
And there are a few tips and tricks to make it seem a little less impossible. You don’t want anything to disrupt your newlywed bliss, after all! As you endeavor to compile the wedding album of your dreams, you might want to keep these things in mind:
MAKE IT YOURS
This is a lesson you probably learned while planning your wedding, but it’s an important one and it’s more relevant than ever. This is your wedding album. Not your mom’s, not the officiant’s, not your in-laws’ and not your Great Aunt Ruth’s. A lot of people are going to see this thing, so choose the wedding photos you like best. Your absolute favorites. Choose that one that makes you feel drop-dead gorgeous. That saucy one that captures just how hot your new spouse looked on your wedding day. Choose the one that shows how goofy your dad can be, or how hard you cracked up when the flower girl chose to have a meltdown minutes before the ceremony. Choose the ones you like, not the ones you think you’re supposed to like.
THINK CHRONOLOGICALLY
Your wedding album is telling a story—your story, the story of one of the happiest days of your life! Stories tend to read best when they start at the beginning and end at the end. Keep this in mind when you design your album. Start with the details. Every moment leading up to the moment. This helps build the anticipation. You have your venue details and your getting ready photos— those are always good to start with. Sweet moments shared with family members come next. Did mom give her son a priceless family heirloom? Definitely include that. Did dad burst
into tears at the sight of his baby dressed in white? This is the place to share these special pre-ceremony moments, and they melt seamlessly into pre-ceremony moments of you and your partner. Be it a first look, prayer or letter swap. Then, fade into the wedding processional, the ceremony itself and your favorite moments tucked within it. Show that lifechanging kiss. That triumphant march back down the aisle as a newly married couple.
After that, show cocktail hour,
reception and send-off. You get the idea. Your wedding album should tell the story of your wedding day as it happened. This will help it flow naturally and bring back the rollercoaster of emotions you got to experience on your wedding day.
USE BOOKENDING PORTRAITS
Yes, it’s important to think chronologically. However, starting and ending your wedding album with portraits helps give it a definitive beginning and ending. It can also set the tone for your wedding album. Find your favorite couple portraits and fill the page with them to start off strong and end with a bang!
FIND THE MOOD
How would you define the mood of your wedding day? It’s a question you likely considered quite a few times while planning. Did you want the big day to feel dreamy? Romantic? Maybe you were going for elegant, or causal, maybe even chic. Maybe you eloped and it was a laidback, private affair. The list goes on and on. Suffice it to say this: the mood of your wedding day plays a big role in shaping your memories of it. Choose photos for your wedding album that match the mood of the day. This helps others get an idea of how your wedding day felt to you, and what could be better than that?
HIT THE BIG MOMENTS
When you’re designing your wedding album, there are a couple of big moments you just don’t want to miss: The bride’s entrance, the exchanging of rings and the first kiss immediately come to mind. If you chose to light a unity candle or if you performed a sand ceremony, you’re definitely going to want to include photos of that, as well. Not only are these moments important for you and your partner, they also create visually compelling spreads and tell stories all on their own.
Here are a few other big moments you’ll not want to forget about:
- First dance
- First Look
- Father/daughter dance
- Mother/son dance
- Speeches and toasts
- Cake cutting
- Games and competitions
- Garter/bouquet toss
- Last dance
- Send off
HIT THE LITTLE MOMENTS TOO
It’s easy to get lost in the big moments of the celebration, but try to remember the little moments that made your wedding day extra special. Include shots of your guests arriving and reacting to the milestones of your big day. No, these shots shouldn’t make up the majority of the album— but a few sprinkled in here and there help give the reader a gist for the emotional impact of each event. Was a tear-streaked Aunt Ruth dabbing at her mascara during the candle lighting? Was little cousin Timmy grossing out during the garter toss? These types of reaction shots fill the pages of your wedding album with emotion and life. Here are a few more little moments you might want to hit:
- Reception entry
- Guests dancing/interacting
- Families mingling
- DJ/band dancing
DON’T FORGET THE DETAILS
You spent months planning every detail of your wedding—here is your chance to show those details off! Set the scene by exhibiting your venue. You chose it for a reason, after all. Then, you can really get into it. Those handmade centerpieces you arranged yourself? It’s their time to shine. Also, try to make some room for the fun, random things you did that reflect your personality. You got pictures of yourself plastered on M&M’s? That’s awesome! Add it to the
album. Photos like these add a touch of uniqueness to your day and they’re one of those things you’ll enjoy remembering later on down the line. You’ll likely always remember the big moments, but one day you might forget that you once made an appearance on your favorite candy product. Don’t let that happen! Show off your wedding shoes, the special tiara your grandma gave you to wear during the ceremony. Show off the cute slippers you gave to your wedding party, the flowers you put in your hair, the inscription on the inside of the rings.
Nothing is off the table, here. These details took time and effort to arrange, but at the end of the day they made your wedding even more special. It’s only right to show them off.
QUALITY VS QUANTITY
Avoid cluttering your wedding album. Remember, sometimes the simplest pages have the biggest impact. You want to tell the story of your wedding day, it’s as simple as that. You don’t need dozens of photos on each page, you just need the right ones in the right places. Your wedding album should flow naturally, at a steady pace. Making pages too overwhelming can detract from the photos themselves.
TRUST YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
Making your dream wedding album come to life is an important task. It’s special, and it carries a lot of weight. That in itself can be stressful … but it doesn’t have to be. You know I always have your back! As your expert Jacksonville Wedding Photographer I’ve put hundreds of albums together and know exactly how to build your story. I will have a mock up of your wedding album done for our reveal session so all you have to do is make small adjustments if needed.
Your wedding album is important to me, and if you’re feeling confused or stressed, I want to help. Talk to them. Tell them what you want your wedding album to look like. Tell them what you’re feeling confused or concerned about. They will help walk you through the process.
At the end of the day, this is your wedding album. There is no set-in-stone way to do it.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, that’s okay. It’s natural. Just take a deep breath. Take a moment and think back to the day of your wedding. Remember the butterflies, the nerves, the little moments of joy, the excitement and the overwhelming happiness. Try to remember what it felt like when you met the love of your life at the altar in front of your closest family and friends. If you had a smaller ceremony or an elopement, try to remember how it felt looking into your partner’s eyes after saying “I do”—did it feel like you were the only two people in the world?
Every wedding is different. And everyone who gets married experiences a totally unique rush of emotions. Your wedding album should capture those moments, those emotions—the joy, the laughter, the tears, and, above all, the love.
That’s it. That’s all. Choose the photos that you love the most. There’s really not a wrong way to do it. As long as you love it, it will be perfect.
Want to see more amazing photographs and learn more about how to work with our dream team? Just go to www.nsphotobook.com
