Although the average wedding takes months for the engaged couple to plan, it seems to be over in a flash, especially for the bride and groom, who spend most of their time smiling, kissing for photographs, dancing and chatting politely to friends and family. So, the photographs taken by the professional photographer as well as by your wedding guests are integral in making that day come alive for years to come. In fact, it is often only when viewing the photographs for the first time that many newlywed couples are even aware of certain events taking place at their own wedding (“ah, that’s why granny had the punch bowl on her head!”).

Therefore, creating a memory book is a great way to preserve the fun and romance of your special day. But, a memory book is more than simply a photo album. Rather, it contains a host of other elements that build the story around your love and lifelong union.

So, start it off with mementoes and reminders from when you first met. These could include movie ticket stubs, a card he or she wrote to you, dried flowers, and so on. For the period around your engagement, add cards of congratulations from friends, the slip for your ring (if applicable), the menu from the restaurant in which he proposed (for example), engagement notices in the newspaper, and so on.

Then, for the main body of the memory book, which deals with the actual wedding, include items like:

• Save the Date cards
• An invitation for the bridal shower
• The sash or silly badge you were forced to wear for your Hen’s Night party
• Notes and cards from family and friends during the time leading up to the big day
• The wedding invitation
• The wedding programme / order of events
• A menu and place setting from the wedding
• A copy of your vows
• A copy of each of the speeches
• Photographs of your wedding guests
• The song list given to your band or DJ
• Pressed flowers from your bouquet
• Your garter

Combine the photographs and memorabilia in a scrapbook fashion so that, when put together, it tells the tale of how your new life began. This is not only for you, as a couple, to treasure, but will no doubt delight family, friends and the future children you might have as a couple.

Photo Credit: Jo Issa

The presentation of the photos is just as important as the wedding day itself. With the digital age photo presentations have become a lot more creative than the traditional photo presentations. With the traditional method photographs are mounted into albums that can accommodate either two horizontal or two vertical photo layouts with an option of using a greater number of smaller photographs to complete the album. This sort of layout would follow a chronological order from the beginning of the wedding to the end. One can create beautiful layouts accompanied by a beautiful album design to create a memorable presentation of your wedding day.

Breaking away from the traditional approach opens up new avenues that are far more creative. Take your favourite magazine and have a page through it, make sure it is a quality magazine. Take a look at the layout of the pictures and note how there are a lot more design elements that lead your eye. The storybook wedding album breaks away from the treatment of pictures as individual entities and groups them together with similar images bound by a theme rather than a chronological order.

The photographer is doing a lot more than just recording an event, he is creating a story. The storybook wedding album compliments the images of a wedding photojournalist perfectly. The page design is endless and there is no limit to the number of images that can be put on a single page. In some cases text is used sparingly to enhance the overall feel. The storybook allows the photographer to tailor each album to meet the specific requirements of each wedding. Albums will vary in style and design as they can be tailored to fit the individual needs of the bride.

Let’s go back to your favourite magazine. This time picture it as your very own wedding album. To create a scenario I am going to use someone who is getting married on the beach. In the traditional method all the photos would focus solely on your wedding as it unfolds on the day. In the story book or wedding photojournalist style a lot more is recorded than just the wedding day. Think about the beach. Sea shells, waves crashing against the rocks, dolphins swimming in the wake, soft sand between your toes and the picturesque sunset with a glass of wine. These featured pictures can be incorporated into the wedding album design making your wedding something a little more special.

The traditional layout is more like an essay that narrates the story and the storybook layout is more like a novel that illuminates the story with a plot.