Handcrafted Photo Albums

Looks A handcrafted album is a cross between an art book and a photo album. It's assembled by a bookbinder as opposed to an album company, giving you more options for the book's size, page color and cover material, says New York City bookbinder Judith Ivry. You might choose a sky-blue douppioni silk cover to match your groom's eyes or a sand-colored nubby linen reminiscent of your beach wedding.

Size Anything goes, from a standard 10-inch square to a coffee-table book to an album that's long and narrow.

Display Photos are attached to the page, often with paper photo corners, which create an old-fashioned aesthetic, or with an archival adhesive or tape. The pages don't have precut mats, meaning photos can be arranged in any way; Ivry suggests including no more than 35 pages total.

Price Ivry charges about $440 for a 35-page, 12-inch square hand-bound album with a fabric cover or $900 for the same size bound in leather (mounting, about $7.50 per photo, is extra).

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