Are Photo Books The Perfect Wedding Gift?
Although it may seem like a piece of cake (with a bride and groom on top), choosing a good wedding gift is not as easy as you might think.
Think about it. If you struggle to work out what to get your mom for Christmas, then why do you think a wedding gift for your friend’s special day is going to be any easier?
“Of course, it will be easier; I’ll just go online and get the answer there. Duh.”
Ah yes, the online answer. We’re sorry to tell you that a quick search online is going to lead you to articles like “the 20 best wedding gifts”, “30 best wedding gifts” or even “the 50 best wedding gifts”. That’s hardly an answer. Wherever you look, it seems like no one actually knows what the perfect wedding gift actually is.
Well, we think we do. What you have to remember is that weddings are purely emotional affairs. It is an expression of love between one person and another, and every guest has come together to celebrate that. In this way, a good wedding gift should be something purely emotional, mirroring the special day to celebrate the love which makes it special in the first place.
The Perfect Wedding Gift
Photo books perfectly fit that bill. Not only are they emotionally poignant, but they can also last forever. The happy couple can place it in their house and come back to it whenever they want, revelling in the memories of their special day and the events which led up to it.
But how do you make a good photo book for a wedding? Of course, an Instagram and Facebook photo book can gather pictures straight from your social media pages, but it’s not simply a case of slapping together these photos and hoping for the best. There is a knack to the process which you have to get right. To help you out a bit, here are a few key ways you can make your perfect wedding gift even more perfect:
How You Should Start
It can be tempting to simply jump straight into it and start with a whole load of pictures of the happy couple. But photo books should tell a story. As with any romantic fairy-tale they should start at the beginning and capture the magic of that first meeting.
Add A Sense Of Humour
Another trap to avoid is making your photo book too serious. You want photos that will not only melt the heart but also induce a bit of a chuckle every now and then. Think about their story as more of a rom-com. Include some photographs to lighten the mood and try to cause a couple of red cheeks.
Don’t Forget The Blockbuster Picture
It’s important to remember that you are in control of how this photo book looks. In this way, it is your responsibility to give the special photographs some special treatment.
There will be a few blockbuster pictures you should do this for, but the most important has to be the engagement photo. They’ve probably gone to a lot of effort to take a beautiful engagement photo, so try to fill out the whole page with it. Give it the space and spotlight that it deserves and make sure it’s a blockbuster photograph in the grand scheme of the book.
Include The Wedding Invitation
Remember, it doesn’t just have to be photos of the happy couple in this photo book. It’s become a bit of a tradition amongst many couples to have their wedding invitations framed, so it can be a good idea to integrate it into the photo book too. Give it the same sort of treatment as the engagement photo, letting it fill out the page and really grab the attention.
The Grand Finale
If you really want to get the tears flowing then, towards the end of the book, try to get as many people in on the action as possible. Mock up a sign with the words, “congratulations”, “we love you” or “good luck on your next chapter”, pass it around to as many friends and family as possible and snap a photo.
Then, once this is done, ask each person to write a little note for the couple, as if this were a wedding guest book. This can be a great, tear-inducing end to the photo book as they flick through the pages and see all the people special to them sending their best wishes.
Finish With A Nod To The Future
To round off the photo book, try to find a picture that nods to the future. Perhaps choose a photo of the happy couple looking out to the distance or staring at a faraway sunset. If you can’t find anything like this, then another good idea is to jump online and find an artist who can create the picture from scratch.
This can also be a good option because the artist can draw anything you want, meaning you can incorporate a setting that you know they will love.
Whatever you do, try to round out the photo book in the best way possible, making sure they have a big smile on their face when they turn over the last page.
