SO LETS TALK ABOUT COST:

If you go into Waterstones to buy a photo-book of similar dimensions and of a high quality print, you'll be looking at spending between £50 to £100. I've got a lot of Landscape Photographer of the Year books, generally given to me at Christmas because they're expensive! Those books are printed by the hundreds, maybe even thousands if they've been very successful. The economy of scale says that the more you make the less each unit costs, that large scale production is why they cost £100 or less. If there were only one of that book, you can be sure it would cost a lot more.

Your wedding album is unique, it's one of a kind. That automatically makes it more expensive. It's the difference between buying a tailored suit and one off the hanger.

Then take into consideration that a wedding album is made to last a lifetime. I see wedding albums as heirlooms in an age when very few of our possessions are future antiques. My Ikea chest of drawers isn't likely to feature on the Antiques Roadshow in 100 years unfortunately! Actor Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars movies) spoke about how his kids gave him a hard time when they saw how much the toys their dad had given them would be worth now, if only they'd been kept in their original packaging. He responded by saying that the memories and fun that the toys helped create were priceless. In forty years your wedding album might not have a big monetary value but what price the memories?

Wedding albums, good ones anyway, are handmade and printed using the the finest of raw materials. If you wonder what the difference is between a photo-book and a wedding album, you only need to place them side by side. The difference is immediately obvious. Trust me on that!

Then you should consider how your book is designed. Personally it takes me about 3 hours to do an initial draft for an album. I do album design a little differently from most and have OCD about lines and placement though so I might not be particularly normal on that front! Then comes the proofing and inevitable changes. It should be a collaborative effort, between the couple and the photographer. I used to set a limit to free of charge changes because that's what the industry told me to do. Now I don't put a limit on the number of changes because you should be 100% in love with your album, and that means you need to have enjoyed the experience of creating it. You made the photographs happen, you can make the design perfect too.

Your wedding album is something to be shared and enjoyed and it will be all the more so, if you helped create it.

When I first ventured into the world of wedding photography I used a cheaper album because my prices reflected my lack of experience. As that experience and skill level have grown my prices have as well. I also want to see the photographs I've produced, displayed in higher quality albums so their price has risen as well. Any craftsperson produces better work as they develop and so would expect their materials to improve. My camera equipment is now a magnitude better than it was when I first started and so are the albums.

Anyway, enough about money! Wedding albums are expensive, no getting away from it. Anything made to last for decades generally is expensive and let's be honest, as with so many things, you get what you pay for. Their value though is not to be found in pound signs.

The question was/is how do you plan on enjoying your wedding photos?

It isn't by looking at a computer screen, it isn't by looking at a 25 hour slideshow (500 photos, 3 secs per photo.... seriously, don't put your relative through that!)

You'll sit on the couch or at the kitchen table, a cup or a glass in hand. Looking through one of the most important days of your lives. Reliving one of the most important days of your lives. Imagine seeing the reaction of children and grandchildren when they get to see that their oldies were actually young once! We all love hearing the story of how our parents first met, your wedding album can paint a fuller picture of the day you tied the knot. That's pretty special.

Do you need a wedding album? If you want to enjoy your wedding photographs for years and years to come, I'd argue that yes, yes you do.

M