How to choose your wedding album cover

Never judge a book by it’s cover, right! Well, when it comes to wedding albums, I have to disagree. Nowadays, wedding albums offer a wide range of cover options that are incredibly varied and versatile. What you choose can really make a difference to how your album looks and feels, as well as how it tells your wedding story. The hard part is figuring out where to start and making the right decision. Would a photo cover be a good choice? But what about a material that complements your wedding theme? The question then is which material to use and what to write on the cover! So, I’ve created this detailed guide – with lots of examples – to help you choose the perfect cover for your bespoke wedding album.

Photo or material cover?

This is probably the first decision you will need to make. When digital wedding albums were new to the market, the photo cover proved very popular. It adds that extra personalised touch and looks ultra modern. Adding a photo on the cover gives a glimpse of what is inside and sets the tone for the rest of the wedding story. There are a number of different photo covers…

FULL IMAGE WRAP

This is where the image is printed onto both the front and back cover and across the spine creating a look similar to a thick glossy coffee table book. So you can really go to town on personalising your cover design and make the most of the space on the cover.

PADDED PHOTO COVER

If you’re torn between a classic style album with a soft material cover and having a photo on your wedding album cover, then the padded photo cover is a perfect choice. In addition to the material spine and back cover (in a fabric of your choice), the front cover is padded and comes with a photo directly printed on it.

A padded photo cover featuring a black and white image printed onto the fabric accompanied by a black faux leather spine and rear cover.

ACRYLIC PHOTO COVER

If you’re torn between a classic style album with a soft material cover and having a photo on your wedding album cover, then the padded photo cover is a perfect choice. In addition to the material spine and back cover (in a fabric of your choice), the front cover is padded and comes with a photo directly printed on it.

This album features an acrylic cover image with a gatefold feature of Burgundy Faux leather wraparound spine and rear.

This album features the full acrylic front cover with a faux leather spine and rear cover.

A wealth of material choices.

Whilst photo covers were pretty trendy for a while, in recent years, the material cover has made a comeback. Now there’s a wealth of materials to choose from not to mention the vast array of colour options. A good starting point would be to think about the overall look you want from your wedding album cover. Ask yourself the following…

Which material looks the most appealing and catches my eye?

Sometimes, it can be a matter of what is most visually appealing to you. Does a particular album cover or material stand out?

Do I want the cover to match the theme and style of my wedding?

That’s the beauty of so much choice, you can choose a cover material and colour that matches your wedding day. If you had a rural outdoor wedding, then you might want to choose a more natural material such as wood or Hessian. On the other hand, if your wedding was full of colour, you might want to choose something like leather/faux leather or velvet in a bold and bright shade to match your outfit or theme colour.

Do I prefer a neutral and/or timeless look?

You might want to stick with an album cover that will stand the test of time….something that gives it a classic and elegant look. In that case, a material such as leather/faux leather or Linen in a neutral shade such as white, ivory, grey or black would be a good option.

The Materials

Here’s a quick guide to the material options with some beautiful examples…

LEATHER

There’s more than one type of real leather finish. Some, such as Tuscany Leather, offer a textured and natural finish in cream/brown shades. Then there are others which have a much smoother and contemporary feel about them and a wide range of colours from neutrals to bright and bold. What they do have in common is a robust and classic feel.
Tuscany Leather wedding album

This album is one of my Luxe + albums and features the beautiful naturally textured Tuscany Leather in the Coffee Shade. It produces an extremely high-quality and classic look and feel to the album

Another example of the Tuscany Leather album, this time in a stunning Marine Blue which was a perfect choice for this beach destination wedding.

An example of the beautifully smooth Genuine Leather album from my wedding album range. In a shade of Antique White, the end result is an elegant and timeless look.

The Genuine Leather produces a very smooth but slightly textured finish.

The Faux Leather from my Luxe wedding album range is a slightly more textured version of real leather and is smooth, sleek and durable. This album is in Blue finished with elegant silver foiling.

Another Faux Leather album, this time a classic White leather was used for that traditional and neutral look with printed UV text in deep red was a bold finish.

LINEN/BUCKRAM

The more natural finish of Linen and Buckram is quite popular at the moment. They’re constructed with stiff/woven material so are fairly durable. You can keep it neutral and fairly natural but there are also a fair amount of bolder colours to choose from. They tend to appear a little more muted than other materials though…ideal f you want to match your wedding album cover to your wedding theme but don’t want it to be too ostentatious!

A Linen album cover from my Luxe wedding album range  in Navy produces a beautifully textured and deep yet muted colour.

Bellissimo Ivory Wedding Album

Another Linen Album in Ivory

This is a Buckram album cover in Light Grey from the Luxe wedding album range. The woven fabric adds depth and texture to the album cover.

Another buckram cover from the wedding album range in Ivory shade. 

NATURAL BUCKRAM/HESSIAN

Very similar to the Linen and Buckram but offering a much more natural and textured finish. A perfect fit if your wedding involved lots of nature or a barn/countryside style venue and you want to carry that overall feel to your wedding album cover.

Natural Buckram in Brown Shade. The natural buckram features two shades woven together so the Brown shade appears as more of a beige colour.

This is also Natural Buckram, this time in Pure shade which produces a light cream colour.

Hessian Album in Grey. Features a very textured look for added depth.

Similarly, this is also the Hessian album but in an Auburn shade.

VELVET

Velvet really offers something a little different and is one of my current favourites! Not only does it look elegant with a modern twist, you can’t help but brush your hand over the cover to feel the soft smooth texture. The colours can change dramatically depending on which way the velvet is brushed which creates a deeply textured feel. Choose from light neutrals, bold bright shades, or earthy tones for a dramatically different look.

This Red Velvet from my Luxe wedding album range is perfectly suited the colourful Indian Wedding with a bold and almost regal feel to it. It also matched the bride’s outfit.

Cream Velvet Dreambooks Wedding Album

Cream Velvet created a timeless look which also reflected the feel of this New Year’s eve winter themed wedding.

Light Grey Velvet album. The Velvet creates varying shades depending on the way it is brushed and produces a lovely elegant look.

This is an earth tone Velvet shade in Copper. It’s a very different option but was perfect for this outdoors elopement wedding which took place on the Isle of Skye.

WOOD

Like the Velvet, the Wood cover offers something quite unique and ideal if you’re looking for a solid and robust wedding album that also captures the beauty of nature. The hard Wood cover in four shades is accompanied by a Faux leather spine and rear so you can create a completely natural feel or add a pop of colour with a bolder leather shade.

Wedding Album with natural wood cover

The Dreambooks Wood Album in Nogal Wood paired with a Bordeaux Red micro leather spine and rear. This wedding theme was very rustic and took place in a barn so the Wood was a perfect accompaniment and the red added a touch of bold and colour.

Wood Cover wedding album

This couple chose the same wood and micro leather combination for their Indian Wedding ceremony. They really liked the look of the Wood Album and the Red micro leather added a hint of colour to compliment their colourful wedding.

METALLIC/EMBOSSING

In addition, you can also choose from metallic embossed covers like the Paisley or Shimmer Covers. They maintain a more classical wedding album feel with a synthetic cover material embossed with a pattern. A metallic shade option adds a contemporary touch to the design.

This is the Metallic cover from the Luxe wedding album range in Paisley Rose Gold shade. The subtle embossed paisley pattern creates quite a traditional album feel with the modern take of the metallic shade.

The embossed pattern creates texture and depth.

Hopefully this has given you a bit more insight into wedding album covers and shed some light on what you might want to choose. If you’re still completely baffled or just can’t make a decision, get in touch, we can have a chat and I’d be more than happy to help with some suggestions. Meanwhile, take a look at the albums I offer and my bespoke albums designs.

More details on my Wedding Albums…

WEDDING ALBUMS

More details on my bespoke wedding album designs…

ALBUM DESIGN STYLES
On 07/09/2022   /   Uncategorized