When I received a wedding shower invitation for my partner’s sister all I could think was, “What can I possibly give them that would be really special?”. The invitation came with the usual gift registry cards which announced where everyone could shop to buy the perfect gift for the special couple. Normally, I really love those cards. It’s a great way to make sure you are giving them a gift that they really want and also ensures that no one else will be walking in with the exact same item. But in this case, it would be from me and her brother (her only sibling) and I wanted it to be really special. So I decided to make them an album that included photos of both of them from birth right up to the present day.
If you decide you want to do this you need to plan well in advance. I’m normally a hopeless procrastinator…the kind that stops at the store on the way to the shower with my empty gift bag frantically searching for an appropriate gift and a passable card, quickly signing the card and shoving it all together in the parking lot! In this case, I obviously needed to be more prepared, and thankfully I was sufficiently motivated to spring into action early enough.
I started off by calling both of their mothers to beg for photos that were sure to be “blackmail” quality. You know the ones…tub pictures, potty pictures, and pictures in those special bunny jammies that Aunt Martha hand-made for you at Christmas. All kidding aside, those pictures are absolutely priceless and even if you happen to be the subject in those photos, you wouldn’t trade them for any amount of money. This was probably the most difficult step in my project…and only because I was relying on someone else to find the time to dig up the photos that I needed. If you want the album to be a surprise, you may have to work a little harder to find photos, especially if the moms have already given their children their baby pictures. In my case, I had to call a godmother, who was more than happy to help me out.
While I was waiting for various relatives to find the pictures I needed, I did some research on the Internet looking up quotes I could use for my pages. Since I didn’t grow up with either of them, I really didn’t know enough about the photos to complete any accurate journaling. Instead, I searched various websites for quotes about love and marriage that I could write on each page.
When I had the pictures in hand, I put each set (his and hers) in what I thought was chronological order. Some of the photos were labeled on the back, but most of them were blank and I just had to use my best judgment for where they fit in. I reserved the very first page to write a personal heartfelt message to the bride and groom from her brother and me. Then I chose between 5 – 8 photos from each pile for each double page spread, (a page meaning one side), so hers were on the left and his were on the right. On the next page his were on the left and hers were on the right and so on. I embellished the pages with colored photo safe paper, added their first name on every page and completed the page with an appropriate quote. I used quotes from actual children to coordinate with the photos of them when they were young, such as, “God knows who we are going to marry as soon as we’re born. We don’t find out ’til later who we get stuck with — George, age 8” and, “No one knows why love happens, but I heard it has something to do with the way you smell, that’s why deodorant and perfume are so popular — Eva, age 9”
To make the album come together, I added pages of them together as a couple from the time they first met until they became engaged. For these pages, I used romantic quotes such as, “When you decide you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. — When Harry met Sally” and “Love is like the sun coming out of the clouds and warming your soul — Unknown”. I picked an album cover set that went with the love and marriage theme and finished off my pages with page protectors.
This album was, by far, the most appreciated gift I have ever given anyone. Both the bride and the groom were in tears and were awed by this gift. They said it was worth more than anything money could buy and they would have it to treasure and enjoy for their whole lives. Seeing their reaction to this album and realizing that I was responsible for it was an awesome feeling. The actual time spent on this project was approximately 15 hours, although it was spread out over several weeks because it could not be completed all at one time. It did require a significant amount of time and effort, but if you are truly in search of the best wedding shower gift, I would recommend this to everyone.
