Wedding Flush Mount Album/Wedding Coffee Table Book

[CDNinNYC]

Has anyone ordered these albums/coffee table books? Are they ''worth it''? If yes, were they part of your photography package or did you order them afterward?

My photog. offers the flush mount but I''m finding them on the pricey side. Maybe I''m not being realistic about the cost. If anyone can provide ball-park figures, that would be awesome!

Also, can anyone recommend a vendor to design/print these books? I came across this one online: http://www.graphistudio.com/en/index.html but haven''t asked for a quote yet.


Thanks in advance!

 

[AceP]

hi CDN. it depends on your priorities. If you''re talking about a coffee table book with flimsy, magazine-style pages, I think you''re better off using a service like Blurb. We did that for our parent albums, and they came out lovely - professional quality.

When I evaluated the options, I thought the major difference between a flushmount and traditional album was the style. Do you prefer a classic black page, with a single photo standing out in the center? Or do you like the collage look, with layered photos? I strongly prefer the look of a single photo on a page, so I went with a traditional-style album. Other people like the collage look better - or the images superimposed on top of other images - and for them, the flushmount makes sense.

As for price, they can push quickly into the $800-$900 range, I believe - either style. Is that about what you''re seeing?

If you search around, you can find places that will do album design. I think there''s a good one in Park Slope...

 

[julesbeth]

We are getting this! It''s offered through our photographer, and while they are not the photohrapher quality paper, they are glossy and thick and very beautiful. We found it as a really modern take (not your parents wedding album) on a photo album. Plus, you get WAY more pictures in one of these as opposed to the traditional way. I guess it just depends on what you want.

But, traditional IS traditional for a reason... let me know what you decide!

Also, I think our photographer was around $2900. That includes 2 photographers, that flush mount book, 4 mini parent books, a full cd of EVERY picture, and ... I don''t remember what else!

 

[CDNinNYC]

Date: 8/27/2008 11:44:32 AM
Author: AceP
hi CDN. it depends on your priorities. If you''re talking about a coffee table book with flimsy, magazine-style pages, I think you''re better off using a service like Blurb. We did that for our parent albums, and they came out lovely - professional quality.

When I evaluated the options, I thought the major difference between a flushmount and traditional album was the style. Do you prefer a classic black page, with a single photo standing out in the center? Or do you like the collage look, with layered photos? I strongly prefer the look of a single photo on a page, so I went with a traditional-style album. Other people like the collage look better - or the images superimposed on top of other images - and for them, the flushmount makes sense.

As for price, they can push quickly into the $800-$900 range, I believe - either style. Is that about what you''re seeing?

If you search around, you can find places that will do album design. I think there''s a good one in Park Slope...

Hi AceP,

I haven''t seen actual samples of the books because we''re doing a destination wedding and the photog. is outside of the US. Ideally, I''m looking for something that would resemble an ''art book''. I have heard of the Blurb; I''ll go check out their website again, thanks!

As for style, to be honest, I like a mix of the two you mentioned. I think the Reportage layout at Graphistudio accomplishes this (http://www.graphistudio.com/en/products/Book/index.html)

We were quoted just under $2000 for one Flush Mount Album (about 30 pages) and just over $1000 for each parent''s book (about 20 pages). If I chose these albums as part of a package, I would save about $1000.

If you can remember the name of the design company in Park Slope, I''d appreciate it!

 

[CDNinNYC]

Date: 8/27/2008 11:48:55 AM
Author: julesbeth
We are getting this! It's offered through our photographer, and while they are not the photohrapher quality paper, they are glossy and thick and very beautiful. We found it as a really modern take (not your parents wedding album) on a photo album. Plus, you get WAY more pictures in one of these as opposed to the traditional way. I guess it just depends on what you want.

But, traditional IS traditional for a reason... let me know what you decide!

Also, I think our photographer was around $2900. That includes 2 photographers, that flush mount book, 4 mini parent books, a full cd of EVERY picture, and ... I don't remember what else!

Hi julesbeth!

That's exactly what we want too!

Sounds like you found a great package. My quote, without the albums, is closer to $5000 for 8 hrs of coverage. I just can't justify the added expense.

 

[AsscherGirl]

We ordered a flushmount coffee style album from our photographer. Our package originally included a more traditional album (one picture per page type deal, but the pictures were printed directly on the page instead of prints mounted into a book), but I love the coffee table style, so we upgraded after the wedding. I was able to have 45 more pictures in my album and I am super excited about the layout (haven''t actually gotten the physical book yet). I think the album was about $1,500 (NJ) and we paid a small upgrade fee I think for extra pictures.

Having seen the samples of the books however, I can tell you the pages are not magazine type pages - they are pretty thick and substantial (maybe up to an 1/8" thick??). Also, from my limited research, it appears that wedding albums from publishers are printed in a different manner than coffee table books from mypublisher to be archival and have richer, more vibrant colors and the best quality the pictures can be. Although I have made many mypublisher albums, and I love the process and I love my books - so no disrespect there!!

We also ordered parent albums, and they were around $500 each, with 20 pages (one picture per page). We were able to add pages for a fee (which we did).

FWIW, I did see my friend''s album (diff. photog, but same basic idea) and it was soooooo beautiful. The pages that spanned both sides and the extra large pictures were swoonable!!

It really helped that we were able to upgrade after the wedding. We also couldn''t justify the expense while planning the wedding, but once it was over, it was a little easier to swallow. I agree though, the albums are very pricy. I guess it kinda depends if its worth it to you to spend the extra money. I remember when I was a kid, I looked through my parents wedding album all the time and I feel like I''ll do the same with mine!!

 

[julesbeth]

Woah! $5000 is quite an expense. I don''t blame you for being apprehensive.

The cool thing about ours - which I just remembered is that its a thicker page and waterproof (well, not for like deep sea submersion, but if you spill your wine or something on it, it just wipes off).

 

[sna77]

check out www.mypublisher.com

Very easy to use, free-software to do it yourself...

 

[Morgie44]

I am planning to use this vendor http://www.candid2000.com/wedding_album_tuscany.asp It gets good reviews on theknot. I believe that it is a few hundred dollars.