Every time I visit my family in Maine, I always make sure to make a pit stop at my late grandmother’s house. My dad lugs giant bins filled with photo albums and printed pictures and old holiday cards down from the attic and into the living room, and we pore over memories while my aunt tells me stories of my great aunts and uncles and family members I’ve never met before. When my grandmother passed away last year, my aunt and cousins and I were tasked with finding images for her memorial service. And that’s when I rediscovered her wedding album.

The thing I love most about my grandmother’s wedding album (and everything else in her home), is that it’s hip in a timeless kind of way. (I mean, the thing plays music when you open it. It’s sort of epic.) And if I were shopping for a wedding album right now, that’s exactly what I’d be looking for too. Well, other than the music box (I guess). I would want something with personality and style. And I’d also want it to be high-enough quality that it will actually last long enough for me to be able to pull it off the shelf sixty years later.

And MILK Books is the only album brand I know of that gets even close to that, without forcing you so spend six months of your fun money. (Photo books start at $57 and albums at $217. Plus MILK Books is offering a 20% discount off your first purchase of a photo book or album when you use the code PW20 at checkout.)

If you look online, no doubt you will find photo book companies that design your book for you, that always have a 50% off sale, that you can design from your phone. And they all have a place. (I mean, you can’t beat $10 when you’re printing off Instagram photos.) But there aren’t a ton of companies specializing in affordable archival-quality photo books and albums, with good design, that are easy to make. And even fewer of those companies are small family-owned businesses with generations of book-making experience that you can feel really good about spending your dollars with. (I actually cried when I read the story behind how MILK was founded, so there’s that.) So when you’re thinking of creating your wedding album, here are a few questions you’ll want to ask yourself:

• Is this actually going to last long enough to get passed down the generations?
• Will the print quality reflect the boatloads of money I spent on photography?
• Bonus Question: Is it going to take me eight years to design and thousands of dollars to make?

If you want the answers to be yes, yes, and no, then MILK has you covered. Because the name of their game is quality and simplicity. Here’s how:

Better Images: While MILK Books offers both photo books and photo albums, their handcrafted premium albums (aka where you’d want your wedding pics to live) are printed on acid-free, earth-friendly sustainable paper with a special printing process that means, in layman’s terms, better picture quality than you’ll get from most online photo book retailers.

Beautiful Covers: One of the things that often gets sacrificed when you get a more affordable album is cover materials. But MILK has beautiful cotton, linen, and leather covers that are just like my grandmother’s album. (Sans music, sadly.) And pro-tip: If you can’t afford a full-on wedding album, MILK’s photo books are just as beautiful as their wedding albums, but way more affordable (they start at just $57).

Simple and Streamlined Design: As an added bonus, MILK’s online design software is actually easier to use than some of the more popular online designer platforms, because instead of offering a hundred layout options with tons of bells and whistles, MILK has a handful of simple, beautiful layouts that let your pictures shine. (And as someone who’s now designed a zillion wedding albums as part of my job, I can assure you that this is what you want.) Plus when you’re done, you get a free digital album that you can share with family and friends.

When it comes to printing a wedding album, done is always better than perfect. (Seriously, don’t be like me and wait five years to put it together.) But if you can have both, why not? That’s the question that MILK Books asks, and then answers.

Save 20% on any MILK Photo Book or Album when you use the code PW20. (offer expires December 31, 2018)

This post is sponsored by MILK Books. MILK stands for “Moments of Inspiration, Love, and Kinship” and captures the most important memories of your life. Looking for a beautiful, heirloom-quality way to preserve your engagement and wedding photos? Start creating your album today with their user-friendly, intuitive Design Studio here.

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