(Newswire.net — July 25, 2022) — Wedding photos can be incredibly pricey. According to Wedding Wire’s photographer cost guide, the average couple spends between $1,150 to $3,000 on vendor expenses. Hiring a budget photographer or none at all is more than possible, but your photographs may suffer as a result.
Still, there are ways to save on your photos without losing out on image quality. An inexpensive photo album can still look incredible at half the cost of a premium album. Here’s how.
How to Find the Perfect Album on a Budget
As your wedding photos will be one of your biggest wedding investments, it’s essential to keep these memories in a beautiful album that you and your family can look at for years to come.
1. Purchase a Photo + Album Package From Your Photographer
Some wedding photographers are also designers, and they may have a package that combines your wedding photos and a wedding album. It’s important to ask about these packages ahead of time, as they may not have the time to put together a gorgeous album for you if you ask later.
Keep in mind that these packages may be more or less expensive than the other options on this list. It depends on the photographer and how much their photos initially cost to take. You also may be limited on your customization options. However, this method can be super convenient.
2. Design Your Own Album From Scratch (If You’re a Designer)
If you know your way around Photoshop and you’re able to create stunning wedding album spreads from the comfort of your home, a DIY wedding album is a perfect option. If you want to print your wedding photo album at home, you will need a decent printer and photo paper.
To top it off, you will need to bind your album if you’re using traditional bookbinding styles, like hardcover or saddle stitch. If you have the equipment, binding can be inexpensive, but it won’t be otherwise. Either way, you’ll still save on designing the spreads and custom spreads.
3. Go For Less Premium Options (Like Hardcover Over Leather)
Whether you decide to make your own or hire a designer, you can minimize the cost of your album by opting for fewer premium options, like hardcover over leather. There are plenty of ways to save on your album and still make something so stunning, that your friends will want a copy.
Or, you could save on your wedding photos in advance by doing staged wedding exits or setting a strict cut-off time with your photographer. If you plan ahead, you can still take gorgeous photos and have some room in your budget to get a few premium options for your wedding album.
4. Use a Custom Wedding Album Website to Create a Photo Book
Designing a wedding album on custom wedding album websites is the perfect way to save time and money on your album. Not only will you be able to pick from hundreds of templates, but you can choose how you want your album to look or what photos to use.
You can create a custom album in an hour or less and get a finished product sent to you in under a week. Some websites will even send you a digital backup of your album, so you can reprint it if it gets damaged or lost. Plus, you’ll save money on expensive printing equipment.
5. Buy an Empty Photo Book and Glue Images Into the Album
While this option will take a bit of forward planning, you can easily create a scrapbook-like album without spending a lot of money. That’s because you can purchase some decent-looking scrapbooks, drawing books, glue sticks, and scrapbooking items at a dollar store or craft store.
The best part about this method is how versatile it can be, especially if you’re creative and know how to draw or paint. You can include items from your wedding, like party favors, invitations, menus, and decorations in your album, as long as they can be placed flat inside the book.
6. Go Completely DIY and Make a Paper/Cardstock Album
Instead of buying a photo book from a store, you could purchase cardstock, paper, and a binding comb from a craft store and create your own book. Or, you could tie the book together with string or burlap and use stained or painted wood as a cover for a more rustic look.
To put the paper inside your book, simply hole-punch them. It’s up to you if you want to print your photos on photo paper or use regular office cardstock. If you use the right materials, you can make your wedding album completely eco-friendly, sturdy, and mold/water-resistant.
7. Consider Taking the Traditional “Family Photo Album” Route
Remember when wedding albums used to consist of loose photos that couples would place in plastic casings? Or when family photo albums used plastic photo sleeves? While these albums aren’t common anymore, they can beautifully store your photos if you can’t get a printed album.
If you don’t want this album to act as your main photo book, consider putting some of the images that couldn’t make it in your photo album inside plastic sleeves. That way, you’ll be able to look at every photo you took of your wedding without having to store them on your computer.
8. Turn an Old Wooden or Jewelry Box Into a Wedding Photo Album
If you have an old wooden or jewelry box lying around the house or you live close to an antique store, you could repurpose these items into a wedding album. While they won’t look like albums in the traditional sense, they can still store and preserve photos like a traditional photo box.
To make the most out of this option, try to print your photos in the same size (minus 3-5cm) so they sit perfectly inside. Put your pictures in the order you want to view them. To dress up your images, add gold lines or a baroque border around the edges of each of your photographers.
Conclusion
You spend a lot of money on the ceremony and your wedding photographs, so it would be a shame to keep your memories in an album you aren’t proud of. But we think the suggestions in this article will help you find the perfect wedding photo album if you’re on a strict budget.