Wedding Albums: Why They Cost So Much | Virginia + Destination Wedding Photographer
Destination Wedding Photographer | Client Education | Wedding Albums
Albums. A keepsake from your wedding that you can’t wait to show family members and friends. When you hire a professional photographer to photograph your wedding journey, often times you will get to see and touch those gorgeous albums they provide for you and you fall in love with them but immediately step back when you see the price. Sadly, I’ve seen it happen time and time again where the thought comes up, ”it’s so expensive, I can just make my own for a fraction of the price” and you’re right…
I’m going to be the outcast of photographers here for a second and say yes, you can most definitely make your own album at a cheaper price. However, the the albums professional photographers offer cost more because it’s not just an album, your wedding album is a keepsake item that will live for generations! Being a keepsake item means there’s a lot of thought, time and quality that is put into telling your story. Sure, you can show off your hundreds-thousands of digital images to people but that’s overwhelming for your loved ones. Your wedding album is uniquely built to show how your day came together in an order shorter and less overwhelming than all the digitals. It also is something you can tangibly hold, hug and share at an arms length when you visit with family or want to walk down memory lane.
If this still hasn’t given you more info on why your keepsake albums are at the price point they are at, here’s a detailed breakdown to help explain things a bit further.
The Time to Create It
The time for clients to pick the included images
The time to design the album(s)
The time for clients to review & respond
The time to make necessary changes
The time for clients to finalize revision
The time for printers to hand-make the album
The time to order it
The time to package it
The time to deliver it
As described above, the amount of back and forth that goes into creating your custom album can be quite lengthy. While picking out your favorite images might sound like it doesn’t take a long time, it’s not as easy as it seems. Along with each step that’s included in this process, we also have to work around everyone’s busy schedule. Creating and revising takes up most of the time while printing, packaging and delivering is much faster than expected. I’m not throwing any spoilers but not only are they quality products but the turnaround time is one thing I’m proud of!
The Out of Pocket Cost
Actual cost of product
Cost to ship to photographer
Cost to package
Cost to ship/deliver to client
In my case, there are no hidden fees when building your album. Yes, there are upgrades to customize each album at additional costs labeled up front but packaging, shipping and delivering are included in the out of pocket cost for me and are therefore, something we have to recoup. The best part though, because of how much they cost me out of pocket, I want to make sure it’s perfect for you the first time it goes to print and when it’s delivered. If something is wrong on my end, it has to be revised AGAIN, printed AGAIN, shipped AGAIN, packaged AGAIN and delivered AGAIN at my cost. So the out of pocket cost is a huge factor on pricing your legacy album.
The Mark Up
Overhead (software, equipment, extra expenses, etc)
The images themselves
Business Profit
As humans, we have to make a profit, especially for full-timers, this IS our source of income. After all, the images are the creativity and artwork of the photographer you choose so this is also a factor. Our time is worth money but the mark up cost covers all sorts of things from the software we purchase every year to create your legacy albums, the equipment we purchase and upgrade, our taxes, profit, etc.
The Total Cost
Yes. Yes you can make your own album with a cheaper album company but that’s just it, it’s cheaper. Your wedding album is the tangible legacy of all the memories you have from the best day of your life. If cheap is the way you choose, go for it! My goal as a wedding photographer is to preserve your wedding day the best way possible. Previously, I used to order from these cheap public printers that had limited personality and I received mediocre feedback from clients. This hurt my heart.
Now, I order from a private printer of the highest quality with new luxury cover options, detail oriented revision from both myself & my printer to catch any mistakes, upgrades like cameo covers, debossing and so much more. Your album is going to last a lifetime. It will be held, hugged and flipped through by parents, grandparents, friends, kids and if you’re lucky, grandkids and great grand kids! They are thick, handmade, carefully bound memories to bring your day back for those who were present and in the moment and those who missed it.
So let’s go back to the price of your wedding album. The people we love the most sadly do not last forever, but the memories we share with them do. In the grand scheme of things, would you rather have your wedding album be a task on your to do list for years just to get a cheaper price or have a luxurious wedding album within months of your wedding created with minimal effort on your part and available at a moments reach to share with friends and family immediately?
