What are the different types of wedding album?
Wedding photo albums you can choose from...
- Flush-Mount albums
- Coffee Table photo books
- Matted albums
- Self-mount albums
What is a flush-mount album?
Flush-Mount photo albums are the most popular choice for wedding albums. Digitally designed wedding photo layouts are printed onto photographic paper (or fine-art paper if you prefer) and mounted onto thick rigid card pages, resulting in a heavyweight, robust album. The pages are bound in a lay-flat, seamless style so when opened out, the double page spread is completely flat and there’s no image loss or gap in the middle of the album. The album covers are made from hardboard with a variety of material and photo cover options.
What are the pros and cons of choosing a flush-mount wedding album?
For -
- They are of a high-quality and robust finish and the majority come with a lifetime guarantee if looked after properly.
- With photographic printing, your wedding photos will be as beautiful as they can be with perfect colour and depth.
- They look and feel elegant and luxurious.
Against -
- With premium quality comes a higher cost and they are considered a more expensive purchase.
- They are heavyweight and bulky to hold so not the best for just flicking through or keeping out on show.
What is a Coffee Table photo book?
Coffee Table Photo Books are similar to the large glossy hardback books you might find sitting out on a coffee table (hence the name!) Unlike the flush-mount albums, their pages tend to be thinner and more flexible. The more standard coffee table books are press-printed and perfect-bound into an album, so they fold into the spine, don’t lay flat when opened and tend to have some image loss at the centre. There are also more premium options available that are photographically printed and do lay-flat but there may be a gap down the seam when pages are opened. Most coffee table photo books consist of Image Wrap covers where the front, back and spine of the book is designed and printed. There are some which offer material covers too.
What are the pros and cons of choosing a coffee table wedding book?
For -
- They tend to have an option to include more pages than flush-mount albums if you’re looking to include a large number of wedding photos.
- They are perfect if you’re wanting to include a mix of both photos and texts – I use them for my new Wedding Storybooks which are magazine style albums that include both your wedding photos and written details of your wedding.
- Due to their lightweight design, they are an excellent choice if you want to be able to pick up and flick through your wedding photos frequently.
Against -
- They’re not quite as robust as flush-mount albums so haven’t got the longevity, and can be damaged more easily.
- Whilst the better standard coffee table photo books do print well, because they are press printed, your wedding photos won’t quite have the depth and high-quality look that photographic printing provides.
- They just don’t have that exceptional and special feel that a flush-mount album has.
What is a Matted album?
What are the pros and cons of choosing a Matted wedding album?
For -
- With the card mounts, the albums add that extra touch of quality. They are very elegant and durable.
- Matted albums are ideal for displaying fewer photos while still creating an album that is not too thin or sparse.
Against -
- They are extremely heavy and bulky (more so than the flush-mount albums)
- The layouts of the photos are very restrictive, which limits the number of photos that can be included in the album.
- They tend to be the most expensive option.
What is a self-mount photo album?
What are the pros and cons of choosing a self-mount wedding album?
For -
- You can adjust and change the photos in your wedding album as and when suits.
- If you want to add photos at a later date – whether that’s more wedding photos, or honeymoon, further lifestyle photos – you can leave blank pages at the end.
Against -
-
- It’s extremely time-consuming and you need a good, steady hand to make sure photos are straight and in-line.
- Layouts are very simple with probably only one or two photos on a page.
- They are a bit old school now and compared to digitally printed albums can look very old fashioned.
- You need to print out your photos first and make sure they are the right sizes.
Which album should I choose for my wedding photos?
Hopefully the information above has given you a bit more of an idea of what wedding album types are available. When it comes to choosing your wedding album style, a lot can depend on cost. I’d suggest choosing the best you can afford. A wedding album is a long-term investment and you want it to last a lifetime so you can show your grandkids. In my opinion, flush-mount albums are the best option. They offer the most diversity in terms of both photo layout design and aesthetics such as cover types and sizing. I offer a range of flush-mount albums in my Wedding Album collection
Coffee table books are a good option at a more affordable level if you have a lower budget but I’d opt for lay-flat photographic printing if you can to add that extra bit of quality, a better look for your layout design and a more special feel. I tend to use coffee-table books for my Wedding Storybooks and Lifestyle Albums.
Need some more help choosing your perfect wedding album? There’s lots of useful tips and information in the link below. Or, if you wish to have a chat about your requirements, please get in touch and we can take it from there!
Gill
Owner | Album Designer