Friday, March 16, 2012

Our [sort of DIY] Wedding Album

"IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE!!!"

That's what I was thinking as I heard the mail arrive a couple of weeks ago. I'd been expecting something I was super excited about, and one of the perks of working from home is being able to check the mail as soon as it arrives.

Low and behold, it was waiting for me in front of the front door.

And not only was I elated to find it there at all, I was also delighted by the adorable packaging, which I'm also a sucker for.


What was it, you ask?

Our wedding album. 100 pages beautifully showcasing the best day of my life.

 [Front]
 [Spine]
 [Back]

 And here are a few of my favorite pages...

[If you want to see all of the pages, you can check it out here.]

It's exactly what I wanted. I used My Publisher, which has a free downloadable program where you can decide the book size, hardback vs. paperback, the type of cover (you can go more professional with leather or linen, but I loved having one of our photos as the cover, spine and back!), the layout and design, and you can add wording to the pages. And 100% bleed (the pictures go all the way to the edge of the page). Ours is pictures only and the quality is incredible. Best part is that they're always having sales and e-mailing out coupon codes. I got one for 60% for anything over 60 pages and, since I knew I wouldn't have a problem doing that, I jumped on the opportunity, got it done, and ended up with a 100-page, 8x11 hardback and professionally-printed album laid out exactly how I wanted for $55 (including shipping). [I couldn't have even printed all of these pictures at Wal-Mart for that price.] Without my 60% off coupon, this book would have cost $135, so I am definitely glad I had the coupon! Based on this experience*, I will definitely be ordering books like this in the future. I really like the idea of yearly books as Cowboy and I start this life together! Also, heaven forbid, if anything ever happened to this book, it's saved on my "bookshelf" within My Publisher, so all I would need to do is hit the "order" button again (and pay for it, wah wah, but at least I wouldn't have to re-create it!).

*And noooo...My Publisher is not paying me to say any of this. They have no idea who I am. :)

Have you guys used a printing service like this before? Or did you go the more traditional route and place printed pictures in a photo album?

5 comments:

  1. Looks amazing! We used mypublisher to make wedding albums for our parents (and I think I want to make another of all our wedding events too in addition to the album we got from our photographer)


    Yours turned out wonderfully!

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  2. Ironically I received our MyPublisher wedding album in the mail this week too! Nevermind that we have been married almost 8 years, we never got a nice album back then and I wanted one, so I finally got around to making one. We also use them for our yearly books and love them too. Now I just wish my wedding pics were as cute as yours!

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  3. Your album looks amazing - gorgeous layout and so beautifully done. My mother-in-law had one made by the photographer they asked to their 50th wedding anniversary. She charged her $600.00 for a softcover about 1/3 as thick as yours and I don't see any difference in the quality. You got an amazing deal!

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  4. this book looks amazing! you did such a great job with the design. I also made a wedding album like this through Picaboo. Our photographer's book only had 40 pictures in it so I wanted to make a larger album to include all of the good photos of our family and friends, the wedding details, and the funny ones. I love your cover photo!

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  5. That turned out so great! Love how you laid everything out! We did our wedding album through My Publisher, too and it was awesome! I loved putting it together.

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