Introducing… The Cypress Album

In a world of cheap, high quantity yet low quality merchandise, I find myself being drawn to things of value. In my opinion, some things are worth paying extra for. The things that you will treasure, the things that you will pass down to your children, your family heirlooms… to me, these are some of the most important objects we will ever own in our lives. So I want them to be exceptional; an investment that has a value which will only increase over time. My own wedding photos are one of these investments for my husband and I, and I hope that my clients see their wedding photos and wedding albums as such.

Cypress Albums, which you can find HERE, seemed to call my name. Even after I passed by their booth (at the largest tradeshow I’ve ever attended), I felt as though I had to return just to touch and see these incredible albums again. In fact, I returned to this booth three times! Given the fact that there were hundreds of booths at this show, I think it’s a safe assumption that I was completely mesmerized with this company and their beautiful albums.

What is so special about them, you might ask? For starters, they are created BY HAND here in the USA. They use the highest quality Japanese book-binding fabrics and luxurious satin ribbons. They are elegant. Well made. Luxurious.

To be honest, I was surprised that I liked them so much. The trend for wedding photography seems to be using a more modern style of album; a digital flush-mounted album that shows off lots of photos with a gazillion different styles of covers. With Cypress Albums, I loved their trademark album, “The Cypress Album”. These albums are more timeless than trendy. They are a modern version of the classic matted album.

What I loved about them was my impression as I looked at an album. Rather than flipping through the pages, eager to get to the next “spread” of photos, I stopped to savor each page. Because each page featured only 1-2 images, I slowed down. Poured over each individual image. I really experienced each photo, both by itself AND as part of the whole story. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and in the case of these elegant albums, I definitely believe it. This is the first time that I wondered if my decision to offer only flush-mounted albums was the right decision.

So. Fast forward to over two years later. Finally, I gave in to the little voice in my head that has been calling me back to these albums. I ordered my photographic prints, then my sample album. It was worth waiting for. This truly was the “Fine Art Album” that I have been hoping for. Don’t get me wrong, I still love flush-mounted albums. They are lovely and amazing. But for my clients that want to slow down and savor their album just a little bit more, my heart is happy knowing that they can choose my newest album offering.

More photos:

The elegant presentation box that each album arrives in

I chose to have this presentation box customized with the bride and groom’s names. Simple yet elegant.

It even comes with an elegant ribbon for pulling out your album easily!

The pages are thick and feature a deckled edge.

Pages feature each image, professionally mounted by hand, inside the matting.

I chose to have this album with a traditional ribbon binding, but clients can also choose to have a “library” bound book. Library bound is more typical of a regular hardcover bound book. Side view:

So far, I’ve shared this sample album with a few friends. I wish I could have recorded their reactions on video! I heard a lot of “ooh” and “wow” and “this is amazing”! One friend said she felt like she was opening the most amazing gift as she opened the box. I love that! Wedding clients: please contact me for more information on these incredible artisan albums.