The past few months have been so much about photos, albums and basically capturing beautiful memories! With our wedding album in the works, it's now coming full circle. Indeed, from bouquet to baby.
So why is this album getting settled nearly three years from our wedding? The long-running task in our to-do list. Oh believe me, our parents have been reminding us non-stop about it too! And even our photographer, Jeri of Reality Box would send us reminders now and then. Now let me make it clear, the delay is in no way the fault of our photographers. In fact, they sent us the photo DVD's in less than a month from the wedding. Photo-finish!
The short answer is this: it isn't easy to choose just 150 photos from over a thousand images! I guess photographers know this too so they also offer to do it (the choosing) for their clients. BUT, we still wanted that personal touch so we stuck with choosing for ourselves. Plus, life happens. I mean, 'married life' happens...so many changes and just so many new things to do and deal with!
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| Our Wedding Album Lay-out Proof from Reality Box |
Of course, of course, because we want you to enjoy your albums much earlier than us, I'll be sharing some tips to help you with your own journey.
How to choose photos for your Wedding Album:
1. Proper allocation is key
A thousand photos...my, my, how do we even start? Siyempre I consulted with my hubby on this and we agreed to have some measure per 'event' that happened during the wedding. It also helped a lot that our photo team was able to segregate the photos; hence, it was easier for us to choose.
Each couple will have their own preference as to the percentages assigned but it might be useful to know which to include. Or which aspect to focus on. Or just to ensure equity in exposure. For us, we made sure to have the following:
Each couple will have their own preference as to the percentages assigned but it might be useful to know which to include. Or which aspect to focus on. Or just to ensure equity in exposure. For us, we made sure to have the following:
A. Preparations
- Details (like the gown, bouquet, rings, etc.)
- Bride's preps
- Groom's preps
- Family & Entourage
B. Church
- Details (floral arrangement, altar, other details unique to your ceremony venue)
- Wedding March
- Actual Ceremony
- Guests
- Portraits
C. Reception
- Details
- Food! Hahahaha :)
- Program
- Guests
D. Post-nup
- Portraits etc.
- After Party
2. Choose photos that best capture the memory you had that day
Each wedding is unique. Well most of the time, it doesn't even end up being the one that you planned. And that's okay. If I wanted to, I could name a number of things that 'went wrong' on our wedding day. But I choose not to focus on those anymore.
I had that in my mind when choosing our photos. I wanted it to be real - and not a photoshop version of events just so I could conform to what I considered as 'normal'. And so if you happen to view our photos you'd see there my muddied gown and shoes...yep, very much real!! Besides, the story of (at least) the wedding would not be complete without details and other happenings such as these :)
However, there is always a possibility that not every moment you consider as important will be captured by the team. Sometimes, a lot of things are happening all at once. So I guess prior discussion is important to at least let your team know which moments they absolutely have to document.
Did you DIY a lot of pretty details for your wedding? Let them know! Did you want a photo of you struggling to pee while wearing your gown? By all means let them know too! It's important to have that agreement so that you will not be left wanting after the event.
3. Spice it up!
Depending on your taste you could ask them to photoshop or process the photos further. But, it will take more time and might cost more.
As for us, we just requested for them to add wedding/marriage quotations (we submitted it already!! hehehe) as accompanying text to the photo collage. So we added these romantic quotes from movies, poetry and we also included a few Bible verses. As my hubby and I agreed, it would be a nice touch to the photos, to further evoke the feelings we had that day, and the feelings we still hold till now. Besides, there would be mini-albums for our parents and we're guessing it'd be a constant display in both living rooms. It would be a nice token for them and their guests to read of our love story and to hopefully help pray for our happily ever after..
Cheesy quotes such as: “I fell in love with you because of a million tiny things you never knew you were doing.” to Bible verses such as: “Love is patient. Love is kind. Love does not envy. Love does not boast. Love is not proud. Love is not rude. Love is not self-seeking. Love is not easily angered. Love keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil. Love rejoices with the truth. Love always protects. Love always trusts. Love always hopes. Love always perseveres. Love never fails.” are all accounted for.
I love that even our wedding album is wrapped in prayer :)
4. Just do it!
Total number of days it took to choose photos: 2-3 days
Total number of days it took to choose quotations: 1/2 day
Total number of days it took thinking about this task: 2 and 1/2 years!!!
Imagine that! This had been such a huge mental burden for the past few years. Guilt would sweep over us whenever our parents would follow up about it. We were similarly embarrassed whenever our photographer brings up the topic. Regardless of the things that happened in between, we'd like to apologize for the delay and the inconvenience.
I'm just glad we're now about to finish with this so we can move forward to other things. So dear readers, just do it! I know it's really "painful" to have to choose just 100-150 photos from a ton of gorgeous ones but think about it this way: the sooner you finish and get it out of the way, the sooner you can breathe easy.
So...which ones actually tell your story? You can segregate them already like I mentioned above. OR just choose the ones you like best - no categories, no numbers, no percentages. Purely based on what makes you feel great or what looks very pleasing. And then go through your choices and eliminate the others in any number of ways...as you process your feelings about it (including what happened during your wedding; or, just the pictures themselves). Believe me, it's such a cathartic activity. Ohm.
Mentally belaboring about it is difficult enough; the thought of another unfinished business, it would just keep holding you back! So I say just roll up your sleeves, get your feet wet and start sorting and choosing. And if you decide to showcase more photos than what your photographer offers, then maybe you could negotiate with them for more pages (of course at an added cost), or you could DIY an album yourself. Problem solved! :)
Best of luck to all of us! We're sooo excited for our album! :)
Photo and video coverage by: Reality Box
So...which ones actually tell your story? You can segregate them already like I mentioned above. OR just choose the ones you like best - no categories, no numbers, no percentages. Purely based on what makes you feel great or what looks very pleasing. And then go through your choices and eliminate the others in any number of ways...as you process your feelings about it (including what happened during your wedding; or, just the pictures themselves). Believe me, it's such a cathartic activity. Ohm.
Mentally belaboring about it is difficult enough; the thought of another unfinished business, it would just keep holding you back! So I say just roll up your sleeves, get your feet wet and start sorting and choosing. And if you decide to showcase more photos than what your photographer offers, then maybe you could negotiate with them for more pages (of course at an added cost), or you could DIY an album yourself. Problem solved! :)
Best of luck to all of us! We're sooo excited for our album! :)
Photo and video coverage by: Reality Box
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