We got married back in 2022. And, slightly embarrassingly for someone who runs a photo book company, I only made our wedding album last year. Not because I didn’t care about the photos, quite the opposite in fact. They were some of the best photos we’d ever had taken.

But they just sat there on a hard drive, then in a cloud folder. Occasionally opened, quickly scrolled through, and closed again. And from what I’ve seen, this isn’t unusual. It’s basically what everyone does.

The Thing No One Tells You About Your Wedding Photos

You spend thousands on a photographer and then get back hundreds (sometimes over a thousand!) beautifully edited images. Everyone says “These are incredible” but then… nothing happens.

The photos don’t get printed. OK maybe one gets printed and framed… but the rest don’t live anywhere except on your computer or maybe as a pinned Instagram post. They just live in a digital space, being amazing, but never really getting seen.

Why This Happens

After doing this for years, and falling into the same trap myself, it usually comes down to three things:

There are too many photos
We had 1,390. That’s very overwhelming.

You think it needs to be perfect
So you wait until you “have time” go to through them properly, but you never do.

There’s no obvious starting point
You open the folder, scroll for a bit, close it again. That’s how two years goes by!

But here’s the real secret – your wedding album doesn’t actually have to be perfect. An imperfect album you actually look through is so much better than hidden photos that never even get glanced at.

How to Create Your Wedding Album

This is exactly what I did, and it’s not at all nothing complicated!

Start with the story
Don’t try to pick just the “best” photos, select the ones that tell the chronological story of your day. Break the day into moments – getting ready, the ceremony, after the ceremony, the reception, the speeches, the dance floor etc. Then pick your favourite photos within each part.

Remember you’re not building a portfolio here; you’re simply telling the story of the day.

Cull ruthlessly
I went from 1,390 photos down to about 120. If two photos feel similar, one of them has to go.

Mix the polished with the messy
The perfect portraits are great but the real moments are what make it yours. Include photos that show the nerves, the laughs and the slightly unhinged bits.

Don’t try to design everything from scratch
This is where people get really stuck. You don’t need to manually design every page. Start with a template, adjust a few spreads if you want, then move on. Keep the layouts simple, its about letting the photos shine, not having a really complicated design.

Place the order before you start “perfecting” it
At some point you just have to stop tweaking and commit, otherwise it never happens. Once you like what you’ve done, add to cart!

The Real Risk Isn’t Getting It “Wrong”

This is not an exam you can pass or fail. The worst thing you can do with your photos is nothing at all! Once you’ve got your wedding album back and it lives on your coffee table, people will actually pick it up and go through it. You’ll probably look at your photos more too – you’ll go through it without thinking about it. It becomes part of your life and your home, which is kind of the whole point of taking the photos in the first place.

So, if you’ve been putting off creating your wedding album, this is your sign to just start!

About the Author

Paul Mosley is the founder of Inkifi, which has produced premium-quality wedding albums for thousands of customers. Printing in the UK and USA with a focus on quality, sustainability and design.