The parents' wedding album: a second album, made for them
A parents' album is usually smaller than yours, about 4 to 6 in 10 of its size as a rule of thumb, and fuller of family: the rituals they performed, the relatives who travelled, and the two of you with them. Many couples make one for each side. It comes from the same folder, so make it once your own album is chosen.
The short answer
For a couple's album of 250 photos, a parents' album of about 100 to 150 photos is a common shape. If your album maker quotes sheets, a 40-sheet couple's album suggests a parents' album of roughly 100 to 190 photos. These are rules of thumb; your album maker's layouts and your parents' wishes decide.
The bigger difference is not the size but who is in it. Your album tells the story of the two of you. Theirs tells the story of their child's wedding, and of the family that came together for it.
How it differs from yours
| Your album | The parents' album | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is about | The two of you | Their child, and the family around you |
| Size, as a rule of thumb | 150 to 400 photos, often 250 | About 4 to 6 in 10 of yours |
| Portraits of the two of you | Many, at every function | The best few |
| Rituals | The ones that tell your story | Every ritual they performed |
| Relatives | Close family and friends | Their side, generously, elders first |
| Guests | A few from each function | Their friends and colleagues who came |
Who is in it
Start from the parents' own list, not yours. Ask them, once, who must be in their album; the answer usually includes people you would not have thought of, such as the neighbour who ran the kitchen or the cousin who came from abroad.
Then make sure the moments they lived are there. Parents remember the wedding from where they stood: applying haldi, welcoming the baraat, the milni, the kanyadaan, the vidaai. Those photos matter more to them than the couple portraits by the lake.
- The two of you with them, at every function
- Their parents and siblings: the grandparents, bua, mama, mausi and chacha
- The rituals they performed, in order
- Their friends and colleagues who came
- The whole family on the stage, both sides together
One album, or one for each side
Many couples give each side its own album. Each set of parents then gets their own relatives and their own rituals, and nobody counts whose side has more photos.
One album for both sides works well when the families are close or the wedding was small. If you make one, give both sides a fair share and put the photos of the two families together near the end.
Grandparents sometimes get a small album of their own, a few dozen photos of them with the two of you and with the family. It is often the most looked-at album of all.
How many photos, and by function
Here is one way to share a parents' album of 130 photos over four functions, by the same rule of thumb the calculator uses. Parents often want more of the rituals, so many couples move a few photos from the sangeet or the reception to the pheras.
| Function | Photos |
|---|---|
| Haldi | 24 |
| Sangeet | 30 |
| Pheras | 47 |
| Reception | 29 |
The wedding album calculator on this site works out a parents' album for your own size and sheets, and gives you a line to send the family group.
Let them choose, once
Parents usually want a say, and they should have one. The trick is to ask once, with something to look at. Show them a first album, or the photos from their functions, and ask which ones they love.
Photos the family loved for your album but that did not fit often belong in theirs. Keep a note of them while you choose your own.
A gift, and when to give it
Many couples give the parents' album as a gift: on a first anniversary, at Diwali, or on a parent's birthday. A date helps the album get made, the same way it does for yours.
If you want it to be a surprise, choose it from your own album's leftovers and the family's hearts, and ask one sibling on each side to check that nobody important is missing. Add a short note on the first page, in your words, about the day you will always remember them for.
With your album maker
Ask your album maker whether a second album is a new price or the same rate per sheet, whether it can be a smaller size, and whether they can make it at the same time as yours.
Send it as its own set of photos, numbered in its own order, so the two albums never get mixed. Our guide to sending photos to your album maker has the details.
Making it with Phopho and Toto
Once your own album is made, Make another album makes the parents' album from the same photos. There is nothing to add again, and it is included in the price.
Give it a name, such as one side of the family or "For Nani". Then answer "Who is this album for?" by ticking the people who matter most in it: each is sure to be in it, and their best photos lead. Choose how big an album, and how many from each function, and we make it.
Sizes go from 60 to 600 photos, so a parents' album of 100 to 150 is one of the usual choices. You choose its photos the same way as yours, family can heart photos in it, and its photos download at full size, by function, for the album maker.
Questions people ask
How many photos should the parents' album have?
As a rule of thumb, about 4 to 6 in 10 of yours. For a couple's album of 250 photos, that is about 100 to 150.
Should the parents' album have the same photos as ours?
Some, not all. Keep the best few of the two of you, then add more of the rituals and the relatives, and fewer portraits.
One album for both sets of parents, or two?
Two is common, one for each side, so each family gets its own relatives and rituals. One works well for a small wedding or close families.
Who chooses the parents' album?
Usually the two of you, after asking the parents once who and what they want in it. Let them heart the ones they love; you put it together.
Can it be a smaller book?
Yes. Many parents' albums are a smaller size than the couple's. Ask your album maker what sizes they offer for a second album.
Does a parents' album cost more with Phopho and Toto?
No. Another album from the same wedding is included. ₹99 to start, counted in the total. The rest comes in Choosing, after 10 free changes. Changed your mind? Message us within 14 days of seeing your sorted photos and your ₹99 comes back.
When should we make it?
After your own album is chosen. You will know the folder by then, and the photos that did not fit yours are the first place to look.
Or skip the reading.
35 to 70 minutes, then the album is yours to change.
Start your album