A bit of a morbid way to start a blog, but when asked "What would you go back in for if your house was on fire?", the top answer has always been "The Wedding Album". Luckily with the digital age of cloud storage, we don't have to choose between risking your life and losing one your most precious memories; but it just goes to show you how important a wedding album is held to be.
Speaking of the digital age, it really has changed the world, hasn't it? Our images are now stored in online clouds and uploaded as Instagram posts - but what do you get at the end of your journey with your wedding photographer? A password-protected gallery and a cute, engraved wooden USB to be used twice and then tossed in a drawer to collect dust. We're here to share our top 5 reasons of why you need to get a wedding album.
1. THE WEDDING DAY IS GONE BEFORE YOU KNOW IT.
Months and months and a ton of money goes into planning your wedding day. You pore over every last detail, attend all of the wedding shows, and pin photos to boards until your index finger gets carpal tunnel... then the day comes and goes in the blink of an eye. The cake has been eaten, the flowers have wilted, and the gown has been vacuum sealed for storage - photos are all you have after your wedding is done. But does it make sense to spend all of that time and money on the wedding, only to tap through the photos a couple times and then never again? Serve justice to the day by making sure that you have invested in a high quality art album.
2. PEOPLE LOVE ALBUMS!
The best thing about having an album is that you will actually look at your photos more than if you just have it in an online gallery because it's less of a commitment to pick up the well curated, stunning art book off your coffee table than it is to mindlessly click through thousands of photos. It's also a great conversation piece for when friends and family come over! They love flipping through an album because your wedding is one of few times in your life where everyone in your family comes together. Best friends who've moved across the country and family from overseas all hop on a plane to come for your special day, and guests love seeing people they know as they go through a book. I've seen a stark difference between people who aimlessly swipe through wedding images on a tablet than when they look at an album - they really pay attention to the photos and love the storytelling that happens when going through a wedding book. It's just a different experience, especially now with the swiping, clicking, tapping of digital devices - people love actually being able to flip through albums! We are partners with the world's BEST album company, VisionArt, whose books have LayFlat technology which allows your book to lay completely flat so your whole family to look at your album at once without the pages flipping up!
3. TECHNOLOGY CHANGES QUICKLY.
I had a family shoot done by the resort photographer while in Jamaica this past April and expected to get a weblink to access and download my images. Instead, I got a DVD. Nowadays, computers don't even come with DVD drives but luckily I actually had a portable one (collecting dust) that I could hook up to my laptop. It's only a matter of time before USBs follow suit and become obsolete. Save your grandkids the trouble, get the album.
4. IT'S A FAMILY HEIRLOOM TO LAST FOR GENERATIONS.
Wedding albums should not be made to only last you until your 5 year anniversary, it is your first family heirloom. You want them to last so that you can pass this precious piece of history down to your children and their children; you can show them the day that your family began. Printing through your photographer ensures that your photos, memories, and legacy get the justice they deserve. So this is not really the time to be making online photobooks on Shutterfly because you bought a Groupon and haven't used it. Most high-end album vendors do not work with the general public, only with professionally vetted wedding photographers - and we work with the best . VisionArt Album offers top-of-the-line product museum quality print with Archival ink on fine art paper. The books are built to last for generations (and yes, this is definitely possible if your album is properly cared for), and they have multiple case and display box options (for added protection) which is exactly why we partner with them.
Getting an amazing photographer to document your wedding is just about the best thing you can do when making decisions for your big day... and getting an album ensures that you serve justice to those photos.
Annuj & Tanya
