After an Overland Park wedding, most couples end up with hundreds of beautiful images on a hard drive and no plan for them. An album and a magazine do different jobs, and understanding the difference helps you pick the keepsake, or the pair, that fits your family.
What each keepsake actually is
A wedding album is the heirloom. It is designed around your day in order, with large spreads, rich paper and a cover that can be photo, leather or acrylic. Folio Forever albums come in four sizes, from 12×24 to 20×30 inches, with classic or lay-flat binding.
A wedding magazine is lighter and more playful. It is 20 pages at 8.5×11 inches, laid out in an editorial style with a choice of 10 original designs, and it costs $70. Think of it as the story of the wedding told like a feature article, easy to pass around a table or leave on a coffee table.
When to choose the album
Choose the album if you want a single object that holds the whole day: the quiet morning, the vows, the dancing. It is the piece you will keep on a shelf and open on anniversaries, and the one your future children will look through when they ask what your wedding was like.
Lay-flat binding is worth a look if you have wide group shots or landscape images from your Johnson County venue. The pages open completely flat, so a photo can run across both sides without a gutter splitting faces. It starts at $275 for the smaller sizes.
When the magazine is the better call
The magazine shines when you want to share. Several copies for siblings, a bridal party or a few friends cost far less than extra albums, and the format feels like a keepsake people actually pick up and read.
It also suits couples who had a small ceremony, a courthouse wedding or a micro-wedding in the Kansas City area and do not have enough photos to fill 15 spreads. Twenty pages is a comfortable fit for one strong gallery, and you can preview every page before it prints.
Picking the right photos
Start by choosing a story, not a count. Pick a handful of images for each part of the day, getting ready, the ceremony, the family, the party, and then remove anything that repeats. Fewer, stronger images almost always make a better spread than a crowded one.
Let Smart Auto-Layout arrange everything in the Folio Forever album designer, then step in to adjust. You can swap, crop and reorder, and you approve every page before anything is printed, so there are no surprises when the box arrives.
Resist the urge to include every guest photo. A good test is whether an image would make you pause if you saw it on a page, and whether it adds something the neighbors on the spread do not already say. Ten or fifteen strong portraits of the two of you deserve a full spread of their own.
Gifts for parents and grandparents
Parents and grandparents often care most about the family portraits and the faces of the people who traveled to be there. A second, smaller album or a magazine built around those images makes a thoughtful thank-you.
If you are gifting, order early. Printing takes 5 to 7 business days after approval, then shipping runs from Express in 5 to 7 days to Economy in 15 to 18. If a book arrives with a print defect, transit damage or anything that does not match the proof you approved, report it within 14 days of delivery for a free reprint or a full refund.
A small framed print or a short note tucked inside the cover gives the book a personal touch, and it costs very little to add before you send it off.
Questions
Can I order both an album and a magazine?
Yes, many couples do. The album is the heirloom and the magazine is a shareable companion, and you can design both from the same photos.
How many photos do I need for an album?
Albums include 15 spreads, and the photo count depends on your layout, since one spread can hold a single large image or several smaller ones. You can add spreads up to 40 if you want more room.
Does Folio Forever ship to Overland Park?
Yes. We ship to every state, including Kansas, with tracking, and you choose the delivery speed at checkout.
Planning an album from your Overland Park photos? Design it online; you approve every page before it prints. See wedding album sizes and prices or the 20-page wedding magazine.