Magazine Wedding Albums

Magazine wedding albums are the hottest new thing in wedding photography. The suave and the stylish are choosing to have their wedding memories preserved in elegant, coffee-book format. It's like a spread in Hello, but classier, and for a select audience.

But this means that, once you've chosen your photographer, another tricky decision awaits you. Do you opt for glamorous magazine wedding albums, with reprint options for family and friends, or do you choose an old-fashioned scrapbook album?

To save you time, we've weighed up the pros and cons for magazine wedding albums… so you can make up your own mind.

Photography style

Magazine wedding albums typically demand a mixture of informal and formal wedding shots (see our feature on creative wedding photography). The magazine format, done well, is a great way of combining these pictures – a formal portrait and behind-the-scenes shots can be displayed side by side, creating a witty ‘story'. Traditional wedding albums don't really facilitate this layout; but you can choose the photography style and decide how best to arrange it in your book.

Look and feel

Magazine wedding albums are digitally laid out by a designer and usually printed on glossy paper, then bound like a book. The design and photographs are unique to you; pictures feature artistic effects with close-ups and insets. The designer will probably include some close-ups of your dress, invitations, the cake and flowers – to provide a vivid and evocative memory of your big day. By contrast, the traditional album normally features one or more picture per page. Of course, if you're putting together your album yourselves, you can exercise some creativity – consider a scrapbook album, with prints, memorabilia and guest snaps all combined. This will give you the same feeling of life and energy – without the price tag. Which brings us to an important con…

Price

Magazine wedding albums don't come cheap. They will add at least 10% to your photography quotation. Because of all the work involved in creating the layout, printing and binding the pages, it becomes a significant design/print project. Choose a traditional wedding album and you have more control over the price. You can buy and assemble the album yourself, saving a hefty chunk of your budget.

Reprints

Magazine wedding albums are usually reproduced in a selection of sizes, so relatives and friends can have their own miniature copy of your album. This is unique to the magazine format – and, once you've had the book commissioned, it is a cheaper way for wedding guests to order reprints. Traditionally, your wedding album is a one-off: family and friends will order a selection of reprints or a large print to frame, but the cost of this can mount up.

Wow factor

Magazine wedding albums are undeniably more glamorous than the traditional album. If you've always wanted to see your names in print, this is your chance… and what better than your wedding day? Magazine wedding albums are designed with the appearance of an uber-stylish magazine shoot – with you and your spouse as the models. Your hard-bound, glossy album will keep better over the years and you'll be able to order extras whenever you like. They're unusual and guaranteed to wow friends and family – making your wedding a talking-point long after the event!

Still not sure?

If you're undecided, order a traditional album package. Why? Because once you have access to the prints (and hopefully the negatives), you can have a magazine wedding album designed and printed at a later date. You can select your own shots, perhaps including pictures taken by friends, and have the book created for a special anniversary – you can even include some of your own words. This way, it doesn't take a cut from your wedding budget, and you still get the photograph album immediately after the event. There are plenty of sites offering to design your magazine wedding album, any time after your wedding.

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