I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that I love books, how old ones feel with yellowing pages, and the smell of a used book store. Wedding albums should have a feel too, and this one does. It is substantial. When I picked it up for the first time I was surprised by it’s weight. It’s 44 page sides, where most of my albums are 30. This book makes me want to design them all as 40 to 50! It really tells the story of Tiff & Adam’s day.

Inside the pages are designed as full spreads.  This means when you open your album, the page lays flat with just a tiny seam in the middle, and the design goes all the way from left to right.  This book is 12×12, so each design is 24 inches wide by 12 inches high.

The leather is super luxurious, and there is something about the black. My sample album is dark brown, and I must admit I strongly prefer the black seeing them side by side. These albums come in funky black and white patterned slip cover cases. They are thick weave and I just think kind of neat.

I think a lot about the idea of a heirloom. Brides invest into their wedding photography because it is a day to remember forever, and the photos are to be passed down to children for generations.

Which leads me to the thought of tradition. Flushmounts and coffee table books are modern, which is great for some brides, but I’ve realized that personally I’d want something classic with a little touch of modern. (And one day I will get around to making my own wedding album!)

When I first started designing wedding albums,

I thought of matted albums as something dated. I recently started researching what today’s manufacturers sell, and there are some amazing matted albums that can be as classic as you want, or have lots of modern touches. I’ve narrowed my search down to three album companies, and can’t wait to decide so I can get a sample created.

Cypress Albums
These are beautiful, hand-crafted fine art albums. The covers are made of Japanese bookbinding fabrics. I have an adorable little box filled with the cover materials and ribbons. They are luxurious. Cypress makes boxes that I currently use for printed proofs. They make folios and dvd cases too, all out of the same fabrics. The books come either bound with ribbon or library style, and have real photos mounted in high end papers.

Photo Courtesy of Cypress Albums

Leather Craftsmen
Their 8500 series of albums won Professional Photographers Hot One award for this album. It’s minimalism is what draws me to the style. Where Cypress is a beautiful book that is a work of art in itself, the 8500 is about the photos that are in it. It’s a hard cover, board mounted prints, and can be designed with many options. As with all the options I’m considering you can add in panoramic pages printed edge to edge.

Albums Australia
I do not know a lot of United States photographers that use this Australian manufacturer, but the ones who do rave about them. Their Matrix album is the one I am considering. It is a very traditional matted album known to have impeccable quality. I am still researching the details on these.

I’ll weigh the business side of this decision of course (numbers and other aspects that I prefer not to think about but have to), but your thoughts (photographers, friends and brides) are always welcome too.

It comes in a variety of colors, all super soft leather. This one is smoldering brown. It’s pages are thick. It’s 12×12 leaving plenty of room for really big photos, or designs with lots of images. I designed this sample album using Kayla & Skyler’s wedding photos in Salem, Oregon.

And then there are Little Kisses… You can get 4×4 duplicates of these books that are fun to toss in your purse or give to your bridal party. They come with the same covers, thick pages, and photographic prints. Linen versions have just come out too. I need to get my hands on one of these.

If you read my blog often, you probably realize I get excited about albums. I photograph plenty of weddings where the bride and groom receive a high resolution dvd as their end product, without a book, but I just love when the couple wants a wedding album. Designing the pages and having something tangible to hold onto just makes me feel like the wedding photography is truly complete.

I almost forgot. They come in these fun pretty flowered linen bags!