So, you’ve had the wedding of your dreams, you are now married to your best friend, and you just got your wedding photos back. Now what? You may not know what to do with wedding photos after you get them but you know you should do something with them.
Let’s be honest, you probably spent too much money on the wedding and flowers and dresses and a photographer to let the pictures just sit in an online gallery until they are forgotten. That is the last thing we want to happen.
So, before you let all of those beautiful photos go to waste, check out these 7 tips for what to do with wedding photos!
Share them with your friends and family
Now, this may be one of the more obvious things to do with your photos but this is one of the best things to do with your photos. Even though most of your friends and family were probably at the wedding, they are probably just as excited as you to see the photos.
Not only is it a great way to reminisce about the day, but there are also probably a bunch of moments that you got photographed that they didn’t see. Especially when it comes to individual photos with you and your partner after the ceremony.
Most of the time, your guests will all be at the cocktail hour while you and your partner get those post-ceremony pictures and these are often some of the best photos so your friends and family will be so excited to see them. There are also sure to be some fun moments from the reception or dance floor that everyone is going to want to talk about.
If your friends and family are local, you can even make it a whole night and get together to go through all of the pictures!
Post them on social media
Social media is probably one of your first thoughts when it comes to what to do with wedding photos and it is a great way to share them. This way, all of your friends and family (regardless of if they were able to make the wedding or not) will be able to see how amazing your wedding was.
Now, I don’t suggest posting EVERY picture you get on social media but this is a great place to share some of the highlights from the day and your favorite moments (psst…the next tip might help you figure out which ones to post).
Social media is also great because it allows people (like your parents) to show off your wedding pictures to all of their friends (because let’s be honest, we know they won’t be able to stop talking about your wedding for a while).
Before you hit post or share these pictures with your friends and family, we do need to talk about the etiquette of sharing photos. It is super important that you give credit to your photographer and the other vendors you used during your wedding when you share the photos.
After all, most of the stuff that happened at your wedding wouldn’t have happened without these people. Even something as simple as tagging them in your social media posts not only shows your appreciation for their work, but also lets everyone else know who helped bring together this amazing day!
Creating favorites lists
Creating favorites lists is a great first thing to do after getting your photos. After all, you may end up with hundreds and hundreds of photos from your wedding day. And, while all of them are going to be amazing, you may not want to use every single one of them.
Favorites lists are a great way to separate out your photos and figure out which ones you want to use for what. A great way to do this is to sort them into different categories. These can be based on the pictures themselves (getting ready, ceremony, couple photos, reception, etc) or based on how you want to use them (which ones to share, to print, to put in an album, etc).
Not only will you have so much fun going through all of the photos, but this will also help you stay a bit more organized and ensure that you can use all of the photos exactly how you want to.
Ordering albums
Wedding albums are an amazing way to commemorate this special day and are something that you can pass down to your kids as well! This may also be something that is included in your wedding package, but if it isn’t, there are a ton of places where you can get these albums made.
Wedding albums are a great way to keep your favorite pictures close and they are the perfect way to look back at your wedding day every anniversary.
Purchasing Prints/Digital Frames
Once you have picked out your favorite pictures (I know this can be super hard) purchasing prints of them is a great way to show off your amazing photos around your house and office. Prints also make the perfect gift for some of your family members like your parents and grandparents.
If you would rather do something a bit more modern (and space saving) with your photos, you can also opt to get a digital picture frame instead of prints. This way you can put all of your favorite photos in one spot without having to pick and choose or buy a ton of prints and frames.
Digital frames are also great because you can constantly add to them or switch out the photos on them to show new pictures of your wedding whenever you want!
Wall Art
When it comes to what to do with your wedding photos, this one can be a bit on the bigger end, but it can also be a really cool addition to your home. Instead of just getting a small 5×7 print out of your favorite picture, why not turn it into a wall art print that you can hang up?
There are a ton of companies out there that can turn your wedding photos into larger framed prints or even canvas prints. While these can be a bit more expensive than normal prints, it is a great way to really highlight some of your favorite moments from your wedding day.
You can even go all out and make the canvases more of a centerpiece in your house by doing a larger collage or breaking the image up over multiple canvases. Not only will this be a beautiful piece of art for any room, but it will also remind you of one of the best days of your life every single day!
Thank you cards or gifts
Finally, my last tip on what to do with wedding photos is to turn them into thank you cards or gifts.
Most of the time, you are going to send thank you cards to everyone who attended your wedding or gifted you something. While you may have to wait a bit for your wedding photos to come in, sending these cards with a picture from your wedding can be a great way to use your wedding photos and add a personal touch to them at the same time.
When it comes to other gifts you can give using your pictures, the options are endless. You can pretty much get custom pictures printed on almost anything you can think of. This can make for great gifts for your family, especially if you want to do something a little different than the classic picture frame.
While there are endless options of what to do with wedding photos after you get them, hopefully, these tips give you some great options and help make sure those beautiful pictures of you and your partner and family don’t get locked away forever!
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