My steps to transform your photos into a print album
A look at my wedding album design process!
Your wedding is unique, and it only makes sense to showcase your day with a gorgeous wedding album. I offer the Young Book custom albums from Graphi Studio. Graphi Studio is a world leader in fine art book production. The Young Book has a clean modern design with high quality at a reasonable price. If you have purchased a wedding album as part of your package or want to purchase an album.
HERE ARE THE STEPS TO CREATE A CUSTOM ALBUM DESIGN:
STEP 1: DECIDE ON YOUR ALBUM SIZE
The album sizes are: 12×8″, 13×9.5″, and 16×12″. All albums include a protective box. Most have purchased the album with your wedding package. You can upgrade the album size and pay the price difference. Email me if you need pricing.
STEP 2: SELECT YOUR PHOTOS
If you have purchased an album, then when I deliver the photos, I create a SmugMug Professional gallery and send you a special gallery link to select the album photos. This gallery looks the same as your regular wedding photo gallery, but this SmugMug event gallery allows you to heart your ‘favorite’ photos. Albums start at 30 pages. You can estimate 2.5 photos per page, so you will want to select about 70 photos. You can select more photos if you would like. More photos means more pages at an additional cost of $ 15 per page. As you select your favorite photos, keep in mind to not only select photos you like but tell the story of wedding day. I am there to guide you, but I find most couples do a great job with their selections. If I think you missed part of the story, I will help fill it in the blanks. After you have selected your favorite photos with a heart, email me Dave@InspiredWedding.com to let me know your photo selections is completed. This is the only stage of the process that is not automated.
STEP 3: DAVE CREATES THE PAGE DESIGN
I take your photo selections and add a few of my own, if needed, to create the story of the day. I use software to help create an appealing, consistent album page design. Once the initial page design is completed and saved, I upload the album page design into a private web space for you to view the page design online. You are emailed a link to view the design. You ‘flip’ through the album pages just like you would a physical album.
STEP 4: YOU APPROVE THE DESIGN OR COMMENT ON REQUESTED CHANGES
You will receive an email from me letting you know you have an album design for review. Click the link and you will be directed to your album design. You can “flip” through the pages of the album and make comments right on each page of any needed changes. I am automatically emailed your comments for any requested changes or design approval. Two rounds of changes are included with your album. This step may take a couple of iterations, but ultimately you approve the design in the online system.
STEP 5: SELECT PAGE, ALBUM AND BOX COVER MATERIAL AND LETTERING
Pages for the Young Book can be glossy, pearl or matte finish. Each Young Book includes a precious box to hold the album. You can choose from dozens of custom materials and colors for the album and box. Most of the materials are not extra cost but some premium items are extra cost. What I normally do is create a couple of designs based on your wedding colors and email you the mock designs. If you prefer, we can schedule a 15 minute FaceTime or Zoom online conference session. Together, we review the fabric options and colors. You select the album and box cover, lettering, ribbon color, and page finish (matte, satin or glossy) When we are finished you will have a design uniquely yours.
STEP 6: PAYMENT
After the design selections, I will email you regarding the final price. If you prepaid your album and we did not add pages or extra cost materials, skip this step. If you did not pay for your album or we added pages or you selected extra cost materials, I will invoice you electronically for payment. You can pay online with a credit card or mail me a check.
STEP 7: ALBUM PRODUCTION (4 WEEKS)
Once payment is made in full, I will create and place the order with Graphi Studio northeast of Venice, Italy. The album is custom produced based on your design selections and colors. 4 weeks is the normal production time.
The album is delivered to me so I can check it for quality. Once I receive it, I will notify you I have it and immediately check it for quality, then send it to you for your enjoyment.