What To Do with Your Wedding Photos

Your wedding day is one of the most exciting and important days of your life. You want images that capture every big and in-between moment of your day. Your photos hold the memories of your special day, allowing you to relive the moments and emotions of the day over and over again, from all the elegant details and personal touches, to your emotional first look, and your first dance as husband and wife. As important as it is to have a skilled and professional photographer at your wedding, what to do with your wedding photos after is just as important. Pictures are meant to be seen, shared, and experienced in this generation and the next. Here are a few ways you can make the most of your wedding images.

Print + Display

I always recommend couples print and display their images around their home. Seeing the joyful moments of your big day in frames and hanging on your walls tells your story. When printing your wedding photos, it is recommended to print through your photographer. Otherwise, there is no guarantee on the quality. Consumer print labs, while affordable and convenient, do not provide quality prints.

By going through your photographer or professional print lab you will have more photo finishing and sizing options. Professional printing uses thicker paper and enhanced coloring which results in superior photos. When compared to consumer printing, you often get images that are discolored and printed on thin, low-quality paper that won’t stand the test of time. The high-end printers used by professional print labs create prints that are markedly different from consumer lab prints.

What To Do with Your Wedding Photos | Make the Most of Your Images

bridal party portraits from Chicago wedding photographer

Wedding Albums

Timeless keepsake albums are one of my favorite ways to display and make the most of wedding photos. Albums are perfect mementos for yourself, as well as loved ones. Albums tell the story of your entire day, from beginning to end. Whereas you most likely won’t print and display your detail photos or images from your reception. Albums allow you to keep all of your favorite images from the entire day in one spot and easily accessible. You can show off your album with loved ones and experience your wedding day all over again with each flip of the page.

Photo Gifts

Wedding photos are perfect gift opportunities for anyone on your list. From holidays to birthdays, and even Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, your loved ones will love receiving gorgeous images from your special day, in the form of heartfelt gifts that they can treasure. I am pretty sure every parent or grandparent out there would love a photo gift of their child’s or grandchild’s wedding day. However, photo gifts can extend beyond close family. A framed print or a custom mini album of you and your bridal party getting wedding ready can be a beautiful sentiment and a wonderful way to share your wedding day memories.

bridesmaid portraits while getting ready

Timeless wedding photos | What To Do with Your Wedding Photos

Social Media Sharing

You’re proud of your wedding and you had an amazing time, so make sure you share your favorites on social media. Showcase all the beautiful moments with your friends and family to relive the day with them, and allow them to live on. Sharing on social also provides you an opportunity to share your special day with those who couldn’t make it, allowing them to see and celebrate your joyous wedding memories.

What To Do with Your Wedding Photos | Make the Most of Your candid wedding Images

Get Creative

There are tons of creative ways to display your wedding photos. You can have a custom painting done of a wedding portrait or watercolor painting of your bridal bouquet. Other options include turning your favorite photos into a jigsaw puzzle, a cozy blanket, or a keepsake box. The options are endless, but the most important thing is that you continue to display and enjoy them.

Photos have the ability to freeze time. When you view your wedding photos, you won’t just remember that particular moment, but the entire day and the moments leading up to it. You will re-experience the butterflies in your stomach as you walked down the aisle to your future spouse, and the happy tears that fell as you listened to toasts by loved ones. As you share these memories with family and friends over the years, you will find yourself back in that season of life, reliving it all over again. This is the magic of photography – allowing you to re-experience the most memorable moments of your life.