Brides: are you putting together your own wedding album? Need wedding album tips and tricks for your do-it-yourself creation? You’ve come to the right place! Today we’re sharing seven tried-and-true DIY wedding album tips to help… PLUS, we’re giving away a handmade wedding album to one lucky reader to help her/him get started! Let’s begin, shall we?

Wedding Album Tips + Tricks

1. Start with a beautiful blank slate.

Pick a blank wedding album that gives you enough creative space to make it your own. Or, have a custom handmade wedding album made to reflect your unique style.

2. Organize your photos.

Organization is key to a more perfect wedding album. If your photos are on your computer, organize them by file folders; if you’ve already printed them out, place them in piles with post-it notes for ‘yes’, ‘no’, and ‘maybe’.

3. Trust your gut.

Be ruthless when deciding which photos will make the cut for your album. You may like a particular photo, but it might just not work with your overall layout and flow of the album (and that’s ok!) Trust your intuition; you’ll know whether a photo is album-worthy or not. Most albums will fit approximately 125 photos, so you’ll need to choose wisely.

4. Make copies of originals.

Before you do any editing on your computer (or just because), BACK UP YOUR PHOTOS! Make CD copies of all wedding photographs before you do anything else. My sister (and best MOH that ever existed) made copies of my wedding photos for me on CDs as a surprise, and I’m so relieved she did. You never know when you may need backups.

5. Take your time.

Don’t rush the creative process, especially when laying out the photos on your album. However, don’t put it off too long… or you may never get to it.

6. Work together.

A wedding album isn’t meant to be created solo. It can be a fun project to tackle together, so be sure to include your spouse in the process.

7. Tell your story.

A wedding album should tell your unique wedding story from start to finish. Don’t forget to include some pre-wedding photos, too, such as the proposal, engagement, bridal shower and rehearsal / rehearsal dinner, even if you just include a photo or two from each.

Giveaway

Now that you have wedding album tips and tricks up your sleeve, it’s time to win an album of your own! We’ve teamed up with Watermark Bindery to give away a handmade wedding album to one lucky reader. The wedding album measures 10″ x 10″ with 56 pages and the winner’s choice of cover (over a hundred designs from which to choose!) The album title page will be printed with a personalized message of the winner’s choice. Here are a few additional wedding album cover designs:

Enter for your chance to win!

o Enter between 5/9/14-5/15/14 (11:59pm EST)
o Prize: wedding album by Watermark Bindery
o Winner will be randomly selected and announced on 5/16; winner announced on this blog post and emailed
o Winner has 72 hours to respond to email or new winner will be selected
o FREE shipping included to U.S.
o No purchase necessary
o Winner has 6 months to claim prize
o Prize value: $70 | No cash value
o Past giveaway winners within 30 days not eligible to win
o Use entry form below to enter