It's a #flashbackfriday, so I decided it would be a good opportunity to talk about wedding albums by showing you my parents', as well as what you can expect in my wedding packages.

I have researched a number of album companies, as there are hundreds at all different levels of sophistication and at all different price points.  After thumbing papers and smelling leather, I am happy to report that beginning this year, I switched over to the albums from Graphistudio.  What is there not to love about beautiful albums imported from Italy?  They are classy, they are beautiful - and made even more so with your images.

Wedding albums have changed a lot over time because the expectations of brides have.  My parents married on November 17, 1956.  They have just forty images from their wedding, presented in their album, one per page.  Even most of the candid shots are staged!

But . . . that was what brides expected; in fact, for some, it was just one formal picture.  Today, it is rare to find a film camera being used to shoot a wedding.  With the digital age of photography, the ability to shoot a sizeable number of images easily came about - and that means wedding albums today offer more details of the story of your wedding day.

I always provide a custom design for your images because no two wedding days are alike.  Your album is designed to flow easily with multiple-images spreads followed by perhaps a single panoramic image, to give the eyes a place to rest.  You don't want an album crammed with as many pictures as possible - it is too busy and confuses the eye.

But let's take a look at a simpler time, shall we?  Come with me to 1956, to Frank and Dot's Big Bronx Wedding . . .

And by the way, at the time of Dad's death in 1995, they had been married nearly 39 years.  Mom and Dad had their ups and downs, but they stuck with it.  They're together, now - when my Mom was dying in 2008 from cancer, one thing that kept up her spirits is her firm belief that she would be seeing my Dad again after 13 years as a widow.

Maybe it is time to bring back some traditions.  Sure, churches don't allow you to throw rice any more (liability issues), but I have had weddings where instead of some exit from the reception, the couple has done a big church exit.  Maybe brides should look to the Sisters Middleton, Kate and Pippa, for wedding dress inspiration.

But one thing hasn't changed since 1956 - I still love taking down this album and looking at it.  And that is why I include an album with my packages, so that someday a person not even born when you married can cherish the time spent looking at what happened that day.