There’s so much hype up to your wedding day, but when it’s over all you have left are your memories, and your photographs. Most people nowadays use a wedding album to keep their photographs in. Whether it’s a printed book, or photographs stuck to pages, there are ways to keep it looking like new for as long as possible. Here we’re telling you how to care for your wedding album properly.
I’ve been speaking to my Grandma about her wedding day recently, and she sent me to collect her album so she could show me some old photographs. I found her wedding album being crushed under a huge suitcase in the attic. I struggled to understand why she would pay for a photographer, and then quite literally crush her photographs. Her answer was that she didn’t really know how to look after it properly, and she had nowhere to put it anyway.
Which got us thinking, how many people actually know how to care for their albums when they’ve been presented?
These are just a few tips on how to keep your album looking fresh and how to make the most of it.
Don’t keep it in the attic
A few months down the line it’s easy to think you’ll not need your album, and want to put it somewhere safe and out of the way. Even if it’s supposed to be a temporary measure, will you really go back for it? We’re not suggesting it should be out on display all the time, but keeping it somewhere accessible will mean you can get it out without climbing a ladder. If it’s easy to get to, you’re likely to look through it more often. Your album should be stored flat, in a clean space to keep it looking its best.
Keep it clean
It’s really tempting to stroke every image in your album, and feel the texture of the photographs or paper that it’s printed on. The first few months this won’t make much of a difference, but after years of touching the pages your photographs will have started to become dirty.
The simple answer to this is: don’t stroke the pages!
If you just can’t help yourself, then make sure your hands are clean and pick a page that has no images on it. That way you’re not going to damage your photographs and have minimal damage to your chosen stroking page. (All our albums come with an additional booklet including a swatch to touch.)
Get it out
Looking at your album regularly means you’re often checking that it’s still in an excellent condition. Whether it’s just for yourself to look through on your anniversary, or whether people ask to look at it with you there are lots of opportunities to get your album out. Reminding yourself of your photographs will keep the day fresh in your mind, so when you’re on your Ruby wedding anniversary and your grandchildren are asking questions, you can show them your photographs and tell them what your day was like.
Package it properly
Photographers offer all sorts of different albums that come in all sorts of packaging. Your photographer will be able to advise you on the best way to look after your particular album, but there are a few general rules. Keeping the original box is a good idea. It will have arrived in a box that fits it perfectly and usually with some sort of padding inside, making it easy to put away securely. Always pick your album up by its spine. This will reduce the damage to the pages and keep your album looking good as new.
Keeping your album looking good isn’t too difficult, it helps you to make the most of the money you’ve spent on your photography, and in years to come it might just stop your Granddaughter confiscating it from you!
For more information on how to care for your wedding album, the wedding albums we provide, packages or pricing take a look at our Wedding Photography Page.
Next time we’re looking into Why We Give Wedding Favours.