The Wedding Photo Album. Do you really need one?

I suppose if you are reading this article, you have been browsing through different wedding photographers, seeing what they all have to offer, what is included in their packages, and last but not least, do they offer a wedding album and do I really need one?

The answer is to this important question is simple: if you are spending what most couples are (average 10% of your total wedding budget) on your photographer and your budget is over $15K - the answer is ABSOLUTELY.

Most couples have every intention of ordering an album in the future or trying to design one themselves to cut down cost. Unfortunately it usually remains undone.

For the few that do follow through, one of two things may possibly go wrong - they order the album from an online consumer company like "Snapfish", "Ophoto" or "walmart" which is not to say they are bad companies - they target a particular market and are great for point and shoot camera keepsakes, or Christmas gifts. However, they do not specialize in wedding albums and are not meant to be used for professional printing. Basically, they are not calibrated to your photographer's monitor or equipment, which will affect the overall quality of the photographs and the color balance. They also do not offer the high-end albums which are very important to the wedding couple and their families.

Designing the album yourself is not an easy task - not to say there are not a long list of available avenues you can take to accomplish this (buying an album design template or using an album designer online). But again - do you really want to take this on? It is quite convenient to leave this up to someone who does this for a living and has it mastered without making a costly mistake.

If you have decided that it is a necessity to include an album in your wedding package and have justified the fact that you are going to spend more than you originally planned on (we have all gone through this), there are a few things to consider.

First, is to make sure that your photographer offers albums from a reputable "wedding album" company such as "Graphi Studio", "Leathercraftsmen", or "Finao" just to name a few of the larger outfits.

Next, ask to see samples of their albums in order to choose a style that fits you, and make sure you love the layout (as they will be doing something similar with your photos). Make sure and ask to be educated on the different styles of layouts such as "Jounalistic", "Traditional", "Contemporary", or "Modern". These are all key factors in how much you will love your finished product and will enable you to make an educated decision on what you are paying for.

There will be a few other key elements to this process such as how many images you get to pick (this can range anywhere between 50-150). Depending on how many pages you want your album to include - the number of pages is also the main factor in the final cost of your album and can take you from a $500 album to a $3000 album in no time. This is also a good reason to go with a package as it is usually substantially discounted in comparison to buying later ala carte.

You can also customize everything from paper type (metallic, linen like, photographic), thick or thin page types, cover types (leather, metal, acrylic), the choices are endless and it should be included in who you are considering to be your wedding photographer. At the end of the day it is the last thing standing from your wedding day.