What to Do With Your Wedding Pictures
You did it! You held hands, said your “I Do’s” and kissed your way to happily ever after in front of your closest friends and family. And the entire time, a photographer was snapping away – helping you to capture some of your most memorable wedding moments.
When you first received those proofs, your eyes welled up with tears. They were beautiful, and you loved looking through images of your special day. But now that you are the owner of all those pictures om your computer, what exactly are you supposed to do with them?
Back Them Up
Before you do ANYTHING. Make backup copies in multiple locations. Be sure to not let your computer rename the files or you will never be able to reference the correct image out of many 100’s again.
Create an Album
This one’s easy – every bride and groom should have an album from their big day. Yes, you can often upload those pictures to Facebook, and everyone you know and love will “like” and “comment” all over them, but… it’s just not the same as having tangible evidence of your day. A good wedding album will sit on your coffee table and be thumbed through all the time, by both you and your guests. Plus, it is the best way to easily display the hundreds of photos you might otherwise struggle to find room for around the house. Print your history!
Add to Your Art Collection
Still, there will always be a handful of pictures that just make your heart soar – the images that easily become your favorites out of the bunch. You know what? You should be displaying those. And with pride! Consider having them turned into a canvas, or fine art, framed prints. The large kind that will become the focal point of whatever room they are hung in.
Make a Video Montage
Perhaps you’re more into digital viewing, or maybe you want to make a video your friends and family can enjoy as they reflect back on your special day with you. You can always turn those photos into a video montage, and you can even add in any video clips those in attendance may have taken throughout the day. Shoot a quick request off to your guests and they are bound to reply with a few short clips you can add in.
Embellish Your Thank-You’s
Okay, so by most standard etiquette rules, you should probably have had the majority of your thank you notes done by the time you get your wedding pictures. But… life. So, if you haven’t finished those up, consider using your wedding pictures to make the thank-you notes all that more special. You can either use a favorite shot to create your cards around, or you could include smaller copies of images depicting each guest you are thanking.
Digital Photo Frame
Still want to easily display all your images in a frame? Grab yourself a digital frame and plug those images in. This will allow you to see a slideshow of your big day forever playing on repeat. You can even start to add in pictures of your life together in the months and years to come. The bonus is that the images you are seeing will never grow old, both because they are constantly being shuffled through, and because you can always change the lineup as you see fit!
Gifts
Last, but certainly not least, have you considered what great gifts those professional images might make? I mean, when was the last time you had your entire family together? Your mom might really appreciate the framed shot of you and your siblings all laughing in unison. And your maid of honor would probably love to have that picture of the two of you getting your makeup done together, mid-conversation and all. Look through your pictures and pay attention to the ones that would likely mean the most to those you love. Christmas should be easy this year!