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22 Unique Wedding Photo Album Ideas to Tell Your Love Story

Explore these unique wedding photo album ideas to capture and tell your love story in the most memorable way.

unique wedding photo album
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Romantic engagement? Check.


Amazing photographer? Check.


Wedding of a lifetime? Check.


You’re well on your way to wedding bliss, but your journey to preserving those cherished memories has just started. Now it's time to craft the perfect wedding photo book to showcase all your incredible pictures and create a lasting family heirloom.

Choose a Cover That Matches Your Vibe

First things first… you’ll need to choose which style of wedding photo album you want.

You can’t go wrong with a Luxury Layflat Photo Book, aka the highest-quality way to display all your best memories. With pages five times thicker than average, plus archival ink certified to resist fading for 200 years printed on archival quality Mohawk Matte Paper, your stunning Layflat wedding album is sure to steal the show.

The durable layflat design means it can open totally flat without damaging the binding, which makes it ideal for your most important album. Each album can hold up to 100 pages, and you can choose between a white, navy or gray spine color.

For those looking for a more affordable photo book (that can fit even more pages), a Classic Photo Book is a great option. Choose between softcover and hardcover options, plus 6x6”, 8x8” or 10x10” sizes, and print up to 366 pages per book on beautiful, professional quality pages. Each book includes 30 pages and bonus: there are fun designer cover options available (see more on that below).

Layered beneath the story of how the day unfolded is a series of visual substories that give shape to your album: color, tone, and texture. Coordinating these elements is a quick strategy for making a wedding album that's as beautiful as it is meaningful. Luckily, you've already did much of this coordination in your wedding details, bridesmaid dresses, and beyond. All that's left is to pull it together on the page!

Design an Amazing Custom Cover

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and if you’re going with a Luxury Layflat Photo Book and want to design a cover with text over an image, here's how.

Use a Chatbooks Designer Cover

Having trouble figuring out what image should be featured on your cover? Jumpstart your creativity by choosing one a dreamy Designer Covers.

Floral Patterns
Floral Patterns

Take a cue from your bouquet or wedding palate with a pretty flower-forward options.

Monogram A-Z
Monogram A-Z

What better way to memorialize your new party of two than to monogram your new wedded last name on the cover (if you’re opting to share the same last name)—and this watercolor design is such a pretty way to do it!

Graphic Patterns
Graphic Patterns

If you tend to like more of a modern aesthetic, you’ll love these graphic options. Take a cue from your wedding location, like going with a palm print if you had a tropical destination event, a blue water-like pattern for ocean-side nuptials or an art-deco inspired print if you got married in a historic building or wore a vintage dress.

Minimalist Chic
Minimalist Chic

If you prefer a simpler look, you really can’t go wrong with one of these super-chic, clean cover options.

Sweet Sayings
Sweet Sayings

Express your feelings with one of these sentimental message cover options.

Custom Cover
Custom Cover

You can also choose to “write your own” text on the cover of your wedding album—choose from 23 different color options!

Start With a Quote…

One of the best things about your wedding photo album is that it makes a great coffee table book. Finish off your living room aesthetic by creating a photo book with your favorite designed quote on the cover or as text on the first page.

… Or Your Invite…

Showcasing a picture of your beautiful wedding invitation at the beginning can be a simple, yet special way to start off your personalized album.

…. Or Your Favorite Picture

The opening and closing spreads of your album are like the bookends of a great novel—only with fewer words and more dancing relatives. Even if you're organizing the photos chronologically (because, let's be real, it's the easiest way), don't be afraid to follow your heart and place a favorite photo front and center. After all, who says you can’t bend the rules of time and space in your own album?

Set the Scene

Ok, now it’s time to dive into photos. A great way to start your wedding album is with some context, such as a picture of your venue or detail photos, especially if you got married in a unique place such as the Redwood Forest, a historic church, on the beach, etc. Add a caption with the location and date, too.

Don’t Forget to Include Getting Ready Shots

You want to tell the story of your big day from beginning to end—which, of course, includes getting ready. Especially the moment you put on your dress! Try including at least a few special behind-the-scenes shots with the family or your wedding party as well.

Give Your Accessories Some Love

Your wedding accessories are made up of so many little details that might get missed when it comes to the full look, so ask your wedding photographer to take some photos of your accessories nicely laid out for your wedding album. For example, photographs showing off accessories like jewelry, a veil or custom sneakers can capture intricate details you don’t want to forget!

Show the Details, Not Just the People

After putting so many months or years into making every detail perfect for your big day, you’ll want to show off the details! Include at least a few pages with pictures showing the empty ceremony venue and seating, the cake, the flowers. Plus, amid all the emotional moments, magical moments and familiar faces, it's perfectly fine to throw in a little visual palette cleanser now and then. 

Detail shots are like the sorbet of your wedding album—they signal a scene change, set the mood for the next set of photos, and add a dash of artistic flair to your storytelling. Who doesn’t love a good artsy shot now and then? Keep it simple and pick a few favorites for a single spread towards the beginning, then sprinkle a few others throughout the rest of the photo album.

First Look or Couples Portraits

If you did a “first look,” this is where you should slot it in. Especially if you got a great shot of the happy couple looking into each other's eyes. If you decided to save your first look for the ceremony, you can place a few favorite portraits of you and your paramour side-by-side on separate pages. If you and your spouse wrote each other letters or gave gifts, consider photographing these special items to include in this section, as well.

Don’t Skip the Candids

Next up for the album: those classic shots of the newlyweds with their parents (separately). Candid shots and stolen moments with your family are just as precious as the formal portraits—maybe even more! It's not always about the big dramatic scenes; sometimes it's the tiny moments that steal the show. These little gems shine in multi-photo layouts, capturing the progression of a single scene in all its glory. After all, who doesn't love a good photo series of dad trying to hold back tears or mom sneaking you an extra hug?

Bring In the Wedding Party

Arrange candid photos of your wedding party into collages or feature a classic shot of the entire group in a wide landscape panoramic shot. Add names in the captions if you like. For something really different, have each member of the wedding party take a selfie and arrange them all in collage with their names in the caption for each—think wedding yearbook style!

Pack In Plenty of Ceremony Magic

Don’t skimp on the photos in this section because, after all, this is what a wedding is all about! You’ll want at least one photo of the walk down the aisle (if you opt for the wedding march in your ceremony), readings or special performances, the kiss and processional. And, again, don’t forget that not all the pictures need to have people in them. Layer in special details by including pictures of the program or other details that made your ceremony unique.

Capture Every Emotion

Weddings are major tear-jerkers, and there were probably enough happy tears to fill a small kiddie pool during the ceremony and speeches. But the day is a rollercoaster of emotions, each one positive and worth celebrating. Hunt down the photos that capture these moments. Give them their well-deserved spotlight in your album. And make sure to revisit them often—especially when you need a good laugh or a happy cry!

Mix Up Your Layouts & Mix In Stolen Moments

With plenty of pre-set layout options available for your personalized wedding album, there's no end to the creative ways you can tell your story. Mix up the pace of your photos by changing layouts every few pages and throw in some of those beautifully unexpected shots the photographer caught when you weren't looking. Even if you're a fan of the classic single-photo-per-page approach, you can still keep things interesting by switching up the shape, size, and positioning from page to page. After all, variety is the spice of life—and wedding albums!

Capture The Cocktail Hour Food & Drinks

Of course you’ll want to include post-ceremony photos of your guests and venue here, but it can also be fun to include a close-up of the hors d'oeuvres, or a shot of a special drink you served and even a text page with the recipe for it.

Showcase The Speeches

Of course you’ll want to include you and your spouse’s reactions to their parents’ speech, but also consider including actual photographs of handwritten speech cards so you can re-read them with tears and laughter for years to come.

Include The Dances… and the Music

From the first dance with your spouse to moments with your parents, photos of the dances are a must. But it can also be very meaningful to include a page with the lyrics from the songs you chose to dance to.

Add Contributors to Spice Up the Reception Section

Did you know you can add contributors so they can upload more photo options directly into the app? This can be a fun way to incorporate that fun selfie taken by your wedding party or other impromptu snaps your guests caught as the night got a little, er, wild. Here’s how.

Don’t Forget Your Polaroids!

If you handed out polaroid cameras at your reception, consider taking snaps of a few of the best printed polaroid images to include for a fun, modern touch. You can either lay them flat on a solid background or hold them up against a plain wall.

Finish With the Perfect Parting Shot

Bubbles, rice, confetti, or sparklers—the send-off moment is often bursting with sweet, tender love. Make sure you pick your favorite shot from this magical moment to wrap up your album. After all, nothing says "happily ever after" like being showered in tiny projectiles by your loved ones!

Now That You Know How to Make a Wedding Album...

While it may not be hard to find inspiration as you look through pictures from one of the greatest days of your life, infusing the ideas above can lead to a wedding photo album you love looking back on. And whether you opt for a Luxury Layflat or a Classic Photo Book, remember: the hardest part is simply getting started.

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