Wedding Magazines: That Cool Album Alternative

I’d like to make you a custom wedding magazine.

I have a confession to make. I’ve been making a custom wedding magazine for each of my clients for… years. And I rarely told anyone about it. Why did I do this? To be frank, I’m a little extra. I started my career as a graphic designer and that part of me will never die. Specifically the part that just loves seeing my work in print.

Naturally, I think my couples probably enjoy seeing their special days published. Imagine seeing yourself on the cover of Vogue. Like–your day was SO special and SO gorgeous that a magazine snatched up the photos and plastered them all over an issue. Yeah, that’s a sparkly feeling!! I want my couples to have that, and I just like making it happen.

It’s cool to surprise people. It’s cool to thank them for choosing me to document their days. And I think a magazine is a cool way to do it. Let’s have a closer look.

What a Custom Wedding Magazine Actually Is

It’s just you, just your wedding. (Your photos aren’t just a few pages among many other weddings) That means: when you oh-so-casually display your wedding magazine on your coffee table when your friends are over, you can tell them whatever story you want about it, including “oh yeah, our wedding was featured in this super exclusive very cool publication.” Which is technically true.

It looks like a real magazine, because it is a real magazine.

The Chapters of your Custom Wedding Magazine

I divide the magazine into sections, starting with your engagement session (if we’ve done one together), followed by each part of the day. This is different for every wedding day, because some are pretty eventful. Not every magazine will have an “after party” section, but most will have “getting ready” and all of them will have “ceremony”.

Filling your home library with custom wedding magazines

Depending on the package you choose, you get one or three copies, but you can always order more. I’ve had a lot of couples order an extra two magazines for each set of parents, and I’ve had some couples order a whole bunch of them to distribute to loved ones to show off the beauty of their day.

Customizing your Magazine

I’ll be honest, this is a process I’m still working out. Currently I’m designing the magazine behind the scenes while I edit your gallery, so I can get it out to you as soon as possible. Sometimes this might take a little longer during busy seasons. If I promised it to you, it’s coming. 🙂

Once I ship it out to you in your thank you box, you’re welcome to gleefully flip through it together and relive your day in the coolest way imaginable. (I recommend sipping your signature drinks from the day while you do this)

However, if there’s something you noticed that you want changed, like any of these things:

• You want a different photo on the cover
• You want to swap out a few photos
• You want to feature your vows or some text somewhere

I would be more than happy to make those changes for you. Usually an extra copy of your magazine is $75 each, but if there’s something that’s really bugging you or would light you up to have changed, I’d be happy to send you a new one with a discount.

Album Alternative: Should we just get a ton of magazines and fill a bathtub with them to swim around in instead of a swanky album?

You can totally do that, nobody is stopping you and I’d positively love that. BUT–I do think albums are the best possible way to view your photos. Magazines are really cool and edgy, but there are only so many photos I can fit in them for you. An album is automatically going to be much higher quality because of the type of paper, the super fancy printers, and heirloom quality.

All this to say: I send your magazine to you in a nice plastic sleeve to protect it from the elements. If you’re going to store it somewhere among your guestbook, your dress, and your little wedding do-dads, keep it in this sleeve. It might last much longer.

An album though? They’re built to last. They’re built to be flipped through over and over again and there’s no replacement for that kind of quality. Here’s the best part: you can order and design one super easily through your gallery after I send it to you, along with a ton of other products. I work with really high quality printers, so you know you’ll be getting the best.

With love, Jenn

This is something I do because I genuinely love my couples. I think some of the coolest people currently on the face of the earth choose to work with me. (I’m biased, but that is my official opinion) I’m really lucky and I really enjoy doing something special for them.

If this sounds like the type of high five you want to share with your wedding photographer, maybe we’re a good fit for each other. Let’s chat about your wedding day!

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