Wedding DIY: Photo Books

I can't believe that a year has already gone by.  Where does the time go.  If I didn't know better I could of sworn that our (second) wedding was only a few months ago.  Ahhh, yes I did throw in a second there!  My husband and I were lucky enough to marry each other twice; two ceremonies, a year apart.  The first one that I will refer to was actually our second.  This is the one I'll be sharing some DIY projects from.  The first ceremony I will share more about in the second half of the month - believe me it will be worth the wait!

Planning my wedding was an experience I would never take back and would certainly gladly do again.  At first I never thought I would feel that way as each decision caused another gray hair to appear!  But as the ball got rolling, ideas and decisions just naturally started to flow.  After picking a theme and sticking to it, life became so much easier.  My theme: purple, gold and peacocks! 

So, lets begin. 

This first idea does involve a little bit of an investment, both in time and money.  But I think it was well worth the time and dollars.  Instead of the typical slideshow of photos shown during the reception, I choose to design some photo books to display at each of the reception tables.  Each book was different and represented a trip that my husband and I had taken in our years together.  Since we had known each other for quite a few years, each table had its own vacation theme.

I ordered the books through Shutterfly and did wait until they were on sale before ordering.  They can be expensive otherwise.  It did take some time to organize all of our photos and upload them, but in the long run, it was very worth the effort.  Not only were they a huge hit at the wedding, we now have all of our trip photos organized and ready for viewing whenever we feel like reminiscing.

I also made a bookmark for each book to let people know to find other books on neighboring tables.  This  gave guests the opportunity to mix and mingle as they toured around the reception hall to find each of our destinations.  As a little extra touch, the bookmarks were enhanced with a stamp I had custom made for the occasion.  The custom stamp turned out to be a great investment as I was able to use it in several settings and it allowed me to carry the peacock theme throughout.  Also, much cheaper than custom printing. 

Next up...table decor.