Behind the Wedding Album
Art director and creative Joseph Paul shares his tips to creating your own wedding album as well as the story behind his own.
Why did you choose to create your own wedding album yourself?
Firstly, I love making. I really enjoy the process of designing and laying out images and type. Secondly, I’m quite particular and have a keen eye for detail. So it made sense to create my own book so I could obsess over layouts, fine tuning and crops!
How did you choose your wedding photos?
We had a wonderful fine art photographer shoot our wedding - Naomi Kenton - and she captured our day in the most beautiful and authentic way. She gave us hundreds and hundreds of photos so it was pretty difficult to cut it down to a short selection for the book. For me it’s about picking the shots that, together, can tell a story right from Sarah getting ready in the early hours of the morning to us leaving together with sparklers at the end of the night.
What tips would you give to people designing their own wedding album?
Be selective. Don’t try to cram in hundreds of shots. And give the photos space on the page. Sometimes it’s okay to have just one or two shots on a double page spread. Otherwise the book can feel cluttered.
What book, cover, and paper type did you use and why?
I chose the Large Landscape Premium Photo Book with 120 pages - the perfect amount to tell the entire story of the day. The cover was Stone Linen, to fit in with our home aesthetic, and the book was printed on matte white paper which feels premium and gives the photos a lovely non-glossy finish.
What is your favorite image from your wedding and why?
It’s tough to choose, but probably this one (above left). I just love it. It captures me and Sarah so well. Its one of the moments I remember so clearly too. I love the colours in the photo, how light and spring-like it feels.
What was your favorite part of your wedding day?
Sounds cliché, but probably turning round to see Sarah walk down the aisle. Everything had been leading up to that one moment and I just felt overwhelmed with emotion and let it all out! There’s a photo for that too, but we won’t go there.
What is your favorite story behind a single shot in the book?
There’s this shot of my sweet goddaughter Lottie putting little daisies in Sarah’s bouquet. She would pick an individual daisy out the ground, walk over to Sarah, add it to her bouquet, and then do it over and over again.
