“So what are you going to do with your wedding pictures?”

You’re getting married. You and the love of your life have decided to spend forever together, and that is so, SO exciting! You’re planning your big day and thinking over every last little, minute, tiny detail that goes into it. Part of that, is finding a rock star photographer to capture every single moment on your big day. Which, we’re assuming you’ve also done. Because photos are important to you, and you want to be able to look back on your day years from now and remember everything.

But. BUT. Aside from knowing that you “have” to hire a wedding photographer to capture great, Instagram-worthy photos, have you given those photos a second thought? I’m not trying to be a jerk, but for real. What are you going to do with those hundreds of gorgeous wedding photos? Is your photographer giving you a link to download from? Or, more than likely you’re getting a thumb drive with all of your images on them. That is fantastic.

But do you mind if we ask what your plan is for your wedding pictures? We know you’re going to download from your link, or even move them all from your USB to your computer. Some of your favorites will get added to Facebook. And your mom will add her favorites to Facebook. Your very, very favorites will go on Instagram sporadically. All of which is cool. BUT. Have you thought about what happens if some day Facebook and Instagram go away? 50 years from now, will you really flip through a Facebook album with your granddaughter showing her your wedding pictures? If we’re being honest…. Not likely.

So what are you going to do with them?!

 So then, friends. It’s one thing to hire an amazing photographer to capture everything. But if you don’t do anything with all of that gorgeousness, what’s the point? Maybe you’re thinking, “nobody prints pictures anymore.” Or “Doesn’t it seem self righteous to fill our house with photos of us?” Maybe even, “But what are we going to do with those pictures of us when we have kids?”  And while all of those are valid thoughts (okay, maybe not the first one because people definitely still print pictures), don’t you want to think back to the best day of your life every day without logging on to Facebook?!

50 years from now, when your granddaughter is getting married, it’s going to be so much more meaningful to sit and flip through your wedding album with her. Or pull your wedding prints out of a box to share with her. And in all reality, there are so, SO many cool options for printing and having tangible photographs now. Today’s wedding albums are definitely a far cry from your mom’s peel and stick wedding album. And sure, digital files are always great, but someday you may not be able to plug a thumb drive in. Or that digital file may go corrupt, and you can’t open it. We’re not trying to scare you, but those are genuine concerns in our digital age.

What’s the point of all of this, you ask? The point is to get you thinking about how you want to enjoy your wedding pictures years from now. Not sure where to start? Here are some of our best tips for our clients when it comes to printing and displaying their pictures in their homes and lifestyle. Hopefully this helps get your wheels turning!

Wedding Picture End Goals

Our biggest piece of advice? Print what you LOVE. Find the image that will make you laugh and smile every single day. The image that when you wake up having a bad day, it instantly brightens it and reminds you why you chose each other.

Photographic Prints

Good old, photographic prints. Yes, people still actually print photos. And the great thing about technology? The advances that have been made in paper to make it last hundreds of years. And the multiple ways to display prints! Loose prints are great, but aren’t the best for archival purposes. Instead maybe try framing your pictures (be sure not to let the image itself touch the glass), or even matting them. Have several favorites that you want to print but don’t want sitting in frames around the house? Consider finding a reveal box to put them in. This way they’re stored nice and safe and sound, but you can still change the top on to a new favorite every now and again.

Our clients have access to these gorgeous, modern, fine art Mega Mats. And while normally I prefer something more modern, when I opened our new samples of these, I cried like a baby because they’re SO BEAUTIFUL.

Wall Art

Have an absolute favorite picture that you can’t get enough of? Print it big. We’re always of the belief that bigger is better. Work with your photographer, or find one that can help you, size your favorite image appropriately so that it fits your space. Then pick your favorite medium. Canvas? Metal? Acrylic? Framed Print? They’re all options. And, once again, thanks to today’s technology, should last upwards of 100 years.

Wedding Albums

Albums. Did you wind up with so many favorite photos that you don’t know what to do with them, but know they can’t all be in frames around the house? Then an album is the direction that you might want to go. If it’s not something your photographer puts together for you, it’s something that you can easily do on your own. Just pick your favorite pictures from each part of the day, upload them to an online album builder, pick your favorite layout, and boom. You’ll have all of your favorite at hand for generations to come.

While we could 100% go more in depth about each of these things, we’re not going to bore you. But we hope that this has gotten your wheel turning. Don’t be afraid of the question, “So what are you going to do with your wedding pictures?” Embrace it, talk it over with your honey, and come up with a plan that you both love. Want to talk more about what you can do with your pictures? Give us a shout. This is something that we are so, SO passionate about and would love to help you out.