We’re in the middle of our wedding season, and the pace is a bit intense. However, I wanted to pause for a few minutes to let this year’s clients know how we design our albums. If you are one of our current clients (or a client from last year who hasn’t begun the album process yet), this post is for you!
This is the pre-designed album we just completed for Megan and Luke who were married on June 13th of this year. We decided on Megan and Luke because Steve and I felt so welcome at their wedding, and because Megan and Luke’s family seemed to play an extra special part in their wedding day. From Luke’s mom helping to plan the wedding, to Megan throwing a surprise baby shower the morning of the wedding for her new sister-in-law. The day was just full of heart-warming emotions and family.
This is the opening page of Megan and Luke’s album. I always pick out an image that I am particularly fond of regardless of when it took place during the day. Usually it is somewhat abstract, like this one of Megan and Luke sneaking a peek at each other right in the middle of their ceremony.
The rest of the album is designed in strict chronological order. Here are some images of Megan getting ready in her hotel room. Some of these images won’t make any sense to someone who wasn’t there, but they have meaning to Megan and Luke. For example, the family member who just happened to be walking by Megan’s hotel room and noticed that it was Megan’s room, then stopped to tap on the window to say hello to Megan (upper right photo of the spread). I never knew who she was, but she was important to Megan.
We always try to capture a least a handful of photos of the guys getting ready in order to suggest putting a few in the album design. Usually….after the bride sees ALL of the photos, the “guys getting ready” photos are 86′d in favor of other photos. Sorry guys….that’s the way it be.
Here we see Megan putting the finishing touches on the getting ready phase. On the right side of the spread, we took a few moments before heading off to the ceremony to not only get a shot of Megan and her ladies (including her mom), but also to capture a glimpse of the location, which is a constant goal of our photography.
Again…this spread might seem strange to the casual observer with the beer used as a background, but again it has meaning to Megan and Luke. Luke imported this specialty beer especially for his wedding day.
Now we move onto the story of the ceremony. This spread is dedicated to the processional.
An entire spread (left and right side of the album when it’s opened) is usually dedicated to the Father walking his daughter down the aisle.
This spread is unique to Megan and Luke’s album, as they greeted their family members with roses and hugs during the ceremony.
Then of course, lots of images of the ceremony are included into the design. We loved Megan’s expressions during the ceremony.
Here is an entire spread dedicated to Megan and Luke being proclaimed man and wife, their first kiss, the guests clapping at the announcement, and Megan and Luke walking back the aisle hand-in-hand.
The group shot on the right is of everybody at Megan and Luke’s wedding. I stood on the balcony of the venue to get the shot.
An entire spread dedicated to just Megan and Luke.
The number of formal photos varies greatly between albums depending on the Bride and Groom’s taste, so we usually showcase the most important formal photos in a spread. This spread is of Megan and Luke’s parents, and close family members. Of course Megan and Luke will have final say as to how many and which formal photos will be in the final album design.
Then we move on to some creative photos with either just the Bride and Groom, or the entire Bridal party. In this case, we took the Bridal party downtown for some fun shots.
This spread marks the beginning of the reception. Notice that the background color changes to black to signify the change not only in the time of day, but also the change from ceremony to
reception in the timeline.
This spread consists of a detail shot of the cake and Megan and Luke cutting their cake.
Of course no wedding album would be a complete story without a full spread of the important dances. Here you see Megan and Luke enjoying their first dance (left side of the spread). On the right side, you see Megan dancing with her father, and Luke dancing with his mother.
Almost all of our albums showcase another entire spread of guests dancing and enjoying themselves.
To end the story, we end the album with a shot of the Bride and Groom leaving their reception.
At this point, we upload the album design to a password protected private gallery for the Bride and Groom to approve or make changes to. More often than not, they ask for changes to about 10-20% of the album. We then make those requested changes and re-upload the changed album design for them to approve or make more changes to. Our clients have complete control over what their final album looks like.
Thanks Megan and Luke for allowing us to showcase your album design. Steve and I really enjoyed your wedding!
Brad
