Wedding Blog
In preparation for our hometown reception over the fourth of July weekend, I’m checking out options for printing a good quality but reasonably priced photo book… or five.
I’ve picked through a thousand SOOC (straight out of camera, for those of you who don’t follow Mrs. Avocado’s blog) photos and chosen about a hundred favorites, and our photographer is editing them as we speak. I want to put together a wedding scrapbook for our peeps who couldn’t make it to the actual shindig to peruse, plus a couple of keepsake albums for each of our parents, all in less than a few weeks’ time.
Oh, and did I mention they need to be reasonably priced? We’re suffering through the post-wedding broke-ness. Big time.
I’m also toying with the idea of excerpting blog posts (yes, from this blog) and turning them into a book just for he and I… since there’s no way it’d pass the cheese test and be left out in public.
I’m not particularly graphically inclined, so while I can cut and paste and crop with the best of ‘em, I have absolutely positively no eye for layout. A not too cheesy template is necessary, fo sho.
Help a girl out? Have you used and liked any of the following:
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Share this post: Photo Book Experiences?
I have used Snapfish and had a friend who used My Publisher. Snapfish was cheaper and a little faster. However, while I was happy with the Snapfish album I recieved, I have to say I was slightly more impressed with the quality of the My Publisher book. Both usually have great coupons and discount offers though.
I don’t have any insight for you, Miss Cheese, although I’ve heard good things about Snapfish. Def keep us posted on what you end up doing and how it turns out because we’ll be DIYing our photo albums post-wedding, too!!
Good to see you posting again - you were always one of my favorite bloggers 
I’ve used blurb and I loved it. I made a photo book of a friend’s wedding from there and they kept saying how professional it looked. It’s really easy too–I am not artistic at all!
I love the idea of adding snippets from the blog posts! I’m sure there are plenty that would shed some great insight on selected pictures–like the back story leading up to how great it looked on the day of the wedding!
I haven’t used any of the above, but I have used Kodak Gallery. The end product is great and it is very affordable. Nothing too fancy though.
I haven’t used any of those, but I have used Kodakgallery.com, like katrinab. I thought the quality was very good!
Go Blurb! I’ve used my publisher but swtiched to Blurb due to quicker turnaround time, more format options, and now you can even create your own page exactly how you want it. The paper isnt as thick as my publisher but Blurb’s isnt bad at all and its much much cheaper. A great my publisher book will cost over $150 and you can get the same thing from Blurb (actually much better) for $75. I’ve made about 5 Blurb books now and I LOVE it. No, I do not work for Blurb. 
I’ve used Blurb.com and must say I loved it. I can say for the other programs though. The BookSmart software is easy to use and you have lots of layout options.
I think theres even the option to convert a blog into a book… Good luck!
I used MyCanvas to produce three family history books for our parents. They have different products though, including photo books. MyCanvas syncs with Picasa, Smugmug, and Flickr (and ancestry.com, hence the family tree) so you can use photos straight from those sources (you can also just upload from your computer). I was really pleased with the final product, the literally thousands of options for laying out each page, adding frames, embellishments, etc. Pricing starts at $30 and goes up depending on what sort of cover you want and how many pages your project contains (first x number are included with base cost). Our 130 page leatherette full color books ended up being $90 each with their volume discount and free shipping special. I think they have plenty of examples on the website and extra tips on their blog.
I used Mypublisher and it was super cheap…I had a buy one get one free coupon. The only thing I didn’t like was the lack of format options.
We just got ours in from Snapfish yesterday and LOVE it… print quality is amazing and it took no time at all (like less then a week)!! Hope this helps!
I haven’t used any of these programs. But I’ve used ofoto.com and shutterfly. Ofoto doesn’t have very many layout options and it doesn’t allow you to write as much text as you might like. I used shutterfly for our Italy scrapbook and really liked that I could change the background on each page, change the font color and size. I was really pleased with the book and it cost my $50.00. I had over 100 pictures in it. I’m thinking about trying to make our guest sign-in book myself. My photographer offers one but I think I’d rather spend the money elsewhere.
I used Shutterfly for a trip to Egypt (as a test run for our honeymoon pictures) and I thought it turned out well.
I ordered them during a father’s day sale and got 20% off and ordered 3 copies of the book. They arrived less than a week after I ordered them, so turnaround was FAST!
I think they turned out really well. I did not get anything fancy in terms of super thick pages. But the layouts were easy to work with and change (I am a tech person, but it was nice to work with something simple). I will definitely be using them again.
For me personally, I looked at Blurb but did not use them cause of cost. myPublisher was annoying to work with, and some other well known ones I rejected based on price.
Either way, I think they will turn out great. Good luck!
The Pioneer Woman over at http://www.pioneerwoman.com gave snapfish a pretty good review and proceeded to give away many books. You could check out her review. Also, a Town and Country wedding edition from this past spring did a break down of 3 or 4 different diy photo book websites.
I like Blurb. I just ordered a 7″x7″ book from them with the upgraded paper. It was 60+ pages and came to $33.
I’ve gotten spanfish books in the past and the covers end up warping.
I’ve ordered photo books from Kodakgallery.com before and really been impressed with the quality and layout options for creating them. PLUS there are almost always coupon codes to be found online and by signing up for their email newsletter so you can usually get at least 25% off and almost always end up with free shipping.
I’ve heard that blurb is really good, and if I recall correctly a few other Bees have recommended http://www.mpix.com as well. While I haven’t seen either books IRL, I have seen prints from mpix and the quality is good. I especially love the metallic paper they offer!
Speaking of which.. when do we get to see the lovely photos??
I just had my post wedding album made with mypublisher. I mostly went with them because I wanted a linen cover with a window for a picture on the front. It was also very easy to use and had a lot of layout options so you could get all the pics you needed to in one page. You can fit up to 12 pics on one page. I did 20 pages from and back and got about 100 images in there and it was $46 not including shipping. They are always having promotions and I got one of my books for free. It took one week to get here and I was very pleased with the result. I would recommend them. I gave them as parent gifts, but I might do something nicer for my own, I just haven’t figured out what that would be.
Love Blurb! We made our wedding album (along with albums for our parents and a honeymoon album) through them. Definitely go with premium paper and we went with the hard cover image wrap instead of a dust jacket. Very professional looking. Just heed their advice and watch out for clipping on the top and the bottom of the page. You will cut the tops of people’s heads off if you’re not careful.
I’ve used Blurb and really liked it, but I have a little graphic design experience, so I’m not sure how easy it would be for someone who didn’t have any.
Blurb! So easy to use, excellent printing quality, great cover material, quick turnaround, and you can get a discount if it’s your first time using it, I think. Google blurb coupons.
Ahh found it– Mrs. Tiramisu posted about her experience with mpix!
http://www.weddingbee.com/2009/03/25/get-an-album/
I’ve used snapfish and blurb, and the quality of blurb is much better. Both are pretty easy to use. snapfish is a little cheaper, but in my opinion the blurb books are much nicer. also it seems like with blurb you have more options for layouts and cover art.
Budget Saavy Bride used Inkubook. You can read her post here: http://thebudgetsavvybride.com/2009/03/18/a-personal-review-inkubookcom/
Sorry, this wasn’t one of your four choices.
I definitely recommend Blurb. I have made 3 books over the last few years for my FI and they have turned out great (different sizes- they all look good) & I’ve also made books for friends of their wedding pictures that I’ve taken. Also, a bonus with blurb is that once you finish your book it will save it for you, in case once your friends & family have see the book & fall in love with it, they can go out your site and order a copy for themselves!
If you are looking for something uber affordable, I’ve had good luck with Artscow. They always have coupons and deals for books. The site tends to run a bit slow and the materials are not the highest quality “professional grade” stuff, but they are on par with sites like shutterfly and kodak gallery and like I said… good option if you are on a budget :0)
I just used Snapfish for a book for the outgoing president of my college’s alumni association it was about 50 bucks but turned out awesome we put between 50 & 75 pics in about 30 pages and we had it rush shipped. The cover was awesome and perfect for the occasion. There are different sizes, covers, page layouts background pages and text options. I really liked it and it made it simple.
Blurb.com has been great for me. Lots of options, pricing is decent, and the software gives you a lot of freedom.
Can anyone comment on which of these sites are best for making a photobook guestbook? The two most important things to me are:
1) Being able to insert blank pages for people to sign
2) Having the book printed on paper that won’t smudge or bleed when people write on it.
Thanks!
@futuremrsfarland:
We were going to do a blurb book for our guest book but were too hesitant about smudges! It’s hard because most have glossy pages…although maybe if you find the right pen/marker you’d be fine?
By the way, Costco offers a 20% discount on mypublisher. It made the decision easy for me.
I love Snapfish, however, even though the books are great (I’ve ordered around 7), I don’t think they’re nice enough for wedding pictures- they’re too thin and the paper is not the greatest quality. I would definitely look at the other recommendations. Their prints are fantastic though if you need that as well.
@futuremrsfarland: We used MyPublisher for our photo guestbook and it worked wonderfully! We put out a couple of fine tipped Sharpies, but some people also used regular ballpoint pens, and we had no smudging issues. As an added bonus, I submitted the formatting at 3AM on Thursday morning and received it Friday afternoon, the day before the wedding; their overnight shipping is great for procrastinators.
I used Snapfish for a book and I thought it was really easy and it turned out great
I’ve used several online books but Blurb was the best. I really liked the quality of the pages. The pictures on our canvas cover came out really good. I put our engagement pictures and used it as a signature photo book at our wedding.
I used shutterfly and I was very happy with them. It was very easy to use and no software to install. I ordered 3 books to give to the parents as their gifts. Check out shutterfly…they were great and I just ordered our guest book from there too
I make photobooks for each of the places we’ve lived (military - we move alot) through Shutterfly and I love them. That being said, if I were going for more fancy, I’d go blurb.
My boss actually just made us a book! It is hard cover, the pages are great quality and shipping was ridiculously fast! I beleive it was mpix.com, check it out for prices.
Blurb is hands down the best book making company I have ever used. We just made our guestbook on there. It turned out awesome! Totally High Quality, and for a good price (plus you can always find coupons online) and the software is super easy to use. Check our our guestbook that we made through it here:
http://gatorbride.com/1-part-blurb-2-parts-guestbook-and-a-whole-lotta-love/
@futuremrsfarland: I have the same concerns…but I am sure the pen choice can make all the difference.
Sounds like Blurb is the most popular here. Can’t wait to here what Mrs. Cheese goes with and what her review is!
I have used Blurb and Mypublisher. My publisher was easier but the product was not as good as blurbs. Blurb is more my style and has more options, I would highly recommend BLurb over My publisher!
I’ve used both mypublisher.com and mpix.com and liked them both for different reasons. I liked mypublisher for the price and simplicity. I liked the layouts too, so putting a book together was really fast and easy.
Mpix I liked because I could edit and make my own layouts. They are bit more expensive and limit you to 50 pages.
I tried out Inkubook, but never ended up ordering from them. I found that loading up my images onto the website too FOREVER. So I just didn’t follow through.
Blurb. I’m in the process of putting a blurb book together right now of vacation photos. I didn’t really like the layout options for blurb, but I liked the option for the thicker pages and the smaller 7×7 book. So, I’ve been creating my own layout in photoshop–super tedious. As it turn out though, I got an email yesterday, and the NEWEST version of blurb book maker just came out and you can actually make and save your own layouts! If this book I’m making now comes out good, I’ll probably be using Blurb more!
I agree with Mrs. Toucan. I just ordered my first Mpix book. I liked the layout and editing options in Mpix better than Blurb, although I know Blurb just updated their software, so the new version could have more options. The book looked good as a pdf, I should receive it in the mail shortly.
I’ve gotten shutterfly(.com) photobooks before and love the way they’ve turned out.
I’ve done shutterfly and blurb- Blurb is by far 10xs easier and better!! Plus they have a new 12×12 book that looks like a great size for a parent book. (I promise I don’t work for the company!!)
I wholeheartedly recommend Blurb! I have ordered four books from them and am always thoroughly impressed with the quality and the quick delivery. I order my books with the premium paper (only costs a couple bucks more) and the image wrap hardcover, (one of my images actually printed onto the cover.) Everyone I show my books to rave about how they look like they’d be sold in a bookstore!
I just made five photo books on Blurb, and I thought the product/service was excellent. The new Blurb software lets you edit and create your own layouts, so it’s very flexible and easy to use. And the print quality is great. We printed softcover books for our relatives, but we also printed hardcover ones for our parents. We used Blurb for our engagement photo album/guestbook as well, and thought it was excellent.
I am SO GLAD you just posted about this! We need to make them too - am thinking Blurb looks like it has the most recommendations.
THANK YOU
I know that you’ve had lots of input on this, but for some reason, one of the number one deciding factors for me, hasn’t been mentioned. I looked at lots of companies and ended up with MyPublisher. Although I think you will get a great product at almost anywhere, there were some things for me that stood above.
1. MyPublisher doesn’t require internet to create your book, only to submit it. You don’t have to upload your photos to create the book, so you can play around without having to wait for the upload time.
2. 50% coupon made it VERY affordable
3. I wanted a coffee table book, not a photo album. MyPublisher offers custom dust jackets. Yes this was more expensive, but it’s what I wanted. I could Customize the inside, outside and spine. On the flaps, I put little bits of trivia regarding the wedding. Things that 30 years from now you might forget.
I was very pleased with the quality when it came back. The pages are heavy, the construction is good and the software easy enough to use without being overwhelmed. There are cons - lack of designs, etc, but the pros outweighed them, and I don’t think anyone notices that you didn’t have a certain layout that you could have while looking through your book. I think that people will just be mesmerized by the photos.
I haven’t used any of those but I have used Shutterfly for photobooks several times (and plan on getting one of the nicer ones for my wedding album when the time comes). I don’t know if they are the least expensive but I did just get an email from them this morning and I believe the photobooks are currently buy one get one 30% off. Hope that helps!
I’ve used Picaboo several times and was happy, but it was for smaller projects like little gift scrapbooks. I’ve heard better things about Blurb but haven’t used it yet. Picaboo does come with a variety of page templates, though, and is relatively reasonable in pricing. Also allows users to upload scrapbooking-esque graphics and such. Might want to compare.
I have no experience, being in another country, but I’ve heard mpix.com recommended highly.
I’ve used http://www.SharedInk.com before and came back with a BEAUTIFUL book! I signed up for a trial of their professional photographers program, which gives you more book size and cover options, plus allows you to upload full Photoshop designs. I love having the control of Photoshop to create my own layouts!
Any recommendations on where to find blurb.com coupons? They blocked themselves on retailmenot.com and doing a Google search didn’t turn up any eligible coupons. Do they have an email list? Thanks!
I used My Publisher to make a guest book out of our e pics and the book was/is stunning. Pics look great, paper was high quality and cover was fab. With a coupon code the prices become much more reasonable… Sign up for their newsletter and they give you a code right off the bat or just do a google search for one. Good luck!
I love blurb. I made one honeymoon photo album. Everyone who has seen is has switched to blurb.
My now SIL used snapfish to create an engagement photo book and she wasn’t very pleased with it. She was very disappointed with the quality of the book.
I love my blurb album so so much. The quality is excellent and the software was really intuitive to use.
I have used shutterfly several times, including for our guest book. I’ve always been happy with the quality but it seems like mpix is a little bit more professional-looking. (Haven’t ordered anything from them yet, though.)
I made both my wedding and engagement book thought my publisher. They actually have great coupons like buy one get one free.
Just one tip, I had a black and white photo in my wedding book and the picture came out darker than the computer. So if you have a black and white picture make sure you make it lighter before you submit your book to be published.
@Becky K.: I used Blurb for our photo guest book and I searched high and low for coupons and joined the Blurb email list and even waited two months to print my book - and I never found a coupon for anything. I really don’t think they are using very many anymore. I still loved my book and it came out great and I’m going to use them for my wedding album too….but I wouldn’t rely on a coupon.
I just got mine from Blurb.com, to be honest, I am not as impressed as I expected. The cover color and quality was beautiful, but the inside pages… feels a bit cheap, and the picture quality isn’t that good either. I am a graphic designer, I am very picky on how the result turns when it comes to books. But, it could be that I didn’t go for the better paper. Not sure.
I’ve not used any of the services, but I have received a book made through MyPublisher from a friend who highlighted a trip we made together. She said it was easy to use, and the final product was awesome! The pages were glossy, and she did the linen cover with the insert for the picture in the middle.
I have only used 2 services so far - Snapfish and http://www.SmileBooks.com - I actually just git my SmileBook yesterday. It’s awesome! The qaulity to soooooo much better than my Snapfish book. Some of the sizes come with a upgraded paper option that is great for wedding books or any really important book - it is real photo paper and the binding lays flat. So if you use one image over a 2 page spread it lays flat and you can see the whole image.
I’ve made photo albums from both Snapfish and Mpix.com and I must say I was BLOWN AWAY by Mpix.com. You can download the software to your computer and fill it in as you like. You can do ANY formation (whereas with Snapfish you’re stuck with whatever they offer). Paperwise and photowise both go to Mpix also.
Furthermore, f you’re considering text, do NOT go with Snapfish — I made a vacation album out of my husband’s and my trip to Paris last Feb. and what they said was “font size 10″ was more like “font size 4.” I was thoroughly disappointed. And neither of the Snapfish albums that I’ve made (both with black backgrounds) are aging well–there’s all sorts of weird lines across it.
I uploaded the picture of my Mpix guest book/photo album to the gallery under my user name (katmmad) — it was beautiful. Definitely go for the linen paper if you want people to sign it or autograph it; otherwise I might go for the glossy. Did I mention it cost $50?
I used Blurb to create our wedding guest book and thought the quality was great. We used the premium paper and the image wrap (which can get expensive) but looked professional. I would say though I had a mix of professional images from our engagement session and personal photos I had taken. When we used the personal photos on the larger layouts, you could tell the quality wasn’t as great. Im not a pro so maybe there is a way to remedy that but it worked fine!
I found the quality of the Blurb photos to be subpar. We made a book for my parents using their software - I had high expectations and loved the layout - but the quality of the images is very grainy and over saturated - VERY disappointing. Unfortunately, I would NOT recommend them.
I would highly recommend using Kodak gallery - the book is a much higher quality and the photos look great!
I really don’t understand why everyone touts blurb? Their software is great - but the quality of the book is not very good. The image color is awful. I was completely disapointed and asked for a redo - they obliged, but the sencond book was as bad as the first. I would not use them again.
I think Artscow.com also has pretty good photobook deal. Can’t guarantee the quality but its $6.99 for 8×8 of 20 pages for new members. I have purchased calendar and it was reasonable quality.
Ahh … my $30 Blurb guestbook is waiting for me at my parents house and I can’t waaaiiitt to get home and see it. It was really easy to use, quick turnaround for printing, price was definitely right, but I can’t say anything about the quality yet.
Shutterfly! Great templates, lots of ways to personalize, and amazing quality. I have made a few books with them. Sign up for an account first and get their emails for discounts!
Have used blurb and shutterfly. Blurb the better of the two by far….especially with the premium paper. LOVE my Blurb book. Good luck!
Wow. Thanks for all of the suggestions and notes ladies, much appreciated by the rookies such as myself
I have used Kodak Gallery, Shutterfly, and ArtsCow to make photo books. So far, my favorite has been ArtsCow (which is also the cheapest), because the colors were the truest, and the book binding was better at lying flat on a table.
LOVED my blurb book. made three, one for us and two for the sets of parents. was thrilled with how they came out!! i ended up choosing them because you got the most pages for your dollar… i think up to 40 pages is included in the set price?? they also had the cheapest per page cost if you went above the 40 pages.
you don’t create your book on the internet with blurb, just for your information… you download software and upload it when you’re done. it also syncs with iphoto, so i didn’t have to import all the photos - hallelujah!! it keeps track of what photos you’ve already used too, so i didn’t have any duplicates.
i opted for the paperback… so it came out pretty thin. but really, how often am i going to use this book?? did it matter how sturdy it was?? it still looks great and everyone loved it.
I have ordered multiple MyPublisher books and I love them!
i work for a small company and i have to be honest. a lot of the forums are crawling with people who post for the company. a lot of these posts are done by 22 yo kids….
ive tried both mypub and blurb since they both have this software you use. blurb’s software is a bit clunky. the books are good. mypub’s software is a easier to use. the books are a bit better (paper and printing). and more expensive
[...] Photo Book Experiences? by Mrs. Cheese [...]
Has anyone used Iphoto to create a book and then have it published?! We got one of the best photographers but we couldn’t afford his price for a book…
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Mrs. Cheese, Knoxville
Age and Occupation: 29, Engineering Manager
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, CAD Designer
Engagement Date: July 31, 2008
Wedding Date: May, 2009
Blogging Since: October 16, 2008
Venue: Our home and the two acres it sits on
About Me: I’m an emotional girl who loves sentimental things, parenthetical asides, and trying to do things herself. I can cook, sew, am a whiz at planning, terrible at delegating, and totally in love with my fiancé (who will be my second husband but first love of the rest of my life). For our home/ garden/ DIY wedding, we’ll be moonlighting as interior designers, home improvers, and gardeners with the help of our fabulous friends and neighbors. We can’t wait to be married, and are learning how fun getting married can be.
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