Weddingbee Blog

So, I ordered 2 photo guestbooks; one from MyPublisher and one from Blurb. I was able to get a really great deal from Blurb with a 20% off coupon and free shipping code, while I was completely ridiculous and forgot to use the Costco 20% discount for the MyPublisher book. OOPS.

Aside from my slightly costly oversight, I’m here to report back!

To level the playing field, I got the premium paper in both and did the photo dust jackets. There is obviously a discrepancy in size, as well as in price. In the end, I spent about $35/book (I didn’t add any additional pages).

First, we will start with the MyPublisher book.

First of all - the shipping was lightning fast! We got this book so fast! So, I was really happy with their quick turnaround.

You can’t see the quality of the pages that well, but they are actually a tad bit glossier than the Blurb book. Mr. Ramen thinks that this makes the pictures, and hence the book, look nicer. After staring at the two side by side, I ended up agreeing. The paper quality seems to be just a tad thicker, but that could be in my head.

You have the option of making special flaps for your book cover. I only took advantage of it when I made the MyPublisher book. I loved how it turned out (aside from this one stupid typo), and will definitely do so again when I make later books.

This is a terrible picture to demonstrate this - but both books were a lot slimmer than I had originally imagined. There were still a good number of pages in them, but they were just thin books. Think ‘kid’s bedtime storybook’ thin.

Another special touch about the MyPublisher book was that the first page was covered with a vellum page! It gave it a more professional look and really enhanced our book!

My one gripe was that I was surprised how pixelated some pictures came out. I know - it’s not uber professional, but I guess I expected more after so many raves! And our friends’ cameras are pretty high res so…

A close up of the pixelation.

Here’s one of my fave layouts. I love the picture of Mr. Ramen jumping up in the air without my knowledge. That crazy man.

Next up is the Blurb book!

While I was impressed with the price of these books, I wasn’t as impressed with the quality as I thought I would be. Again, the pages are more matte. And there seemed to be more blurry prints than in the MP book.

This was actually my fave layout in this book - but the gutters aren’t true!!! (I dunno if that’s even the right terminology!). But I totally got cut off in one of those pictures, which makes it look a bit funny.

I did enjoy the ability to make my own layouts and edit existing layouts in Blurb. So that part is pretty neat. However, it was easier to upload photos to use with MP. The Blurb book was smaller than I expected, but was more cost-friendly, mostly because of the coupon. I’d say they are pretty comparable in price, if you can get a good coupon/free shipping code. They are both equally user-friendly in general.

So, what’s the verdict?

The Ramens will be using MyPublisher to make our future wedding photo books. We’re planning on making books for our parents, and probably will make one with any guest photos we receive to supplement our pro album. I would use Blurb again, but only if I wanted a smaller book - so maybe to document past trips, our engagement, etc. For larger scale events, I’m sticking with MP.

What do you think, hive? Do you agree with me on my photo book verdict?