Our wedding album cost £500 – and it’s terrible

Alison Rios McCrone

Published March 30, 2025 2:00pm Updated March 31, 2025 10:58am

A photographer snapping a picture of a bride and groom — After a wait of three months, my wife and I are really disappointed (Picture: Getty)

Wedding planner and venue owner Alison Rios McCrone helps solve your dilemmas, no matter how big or small, in a weekly agony aunt column.

Dear Alison,

I’ve just received my wedding album after a wait of three months and both my wife and I are really disappointed.

Our photographer sent us the photos online for us to pick the ones we wanted in the album, and they all looked fine.

However, lots of the photos have been printed very small in the album, and up to four have been crowded onto the same page. It’s really hard to make out the details and looks really unprofessional.

We spent £500 on this album and it just hasn’t lived up to expectations at all. Can I ask for a refund?

Thanks,

Rob

Do you have a wedding problem you need some advice on?

Weddings are joyful occasions – but they’re also incredibly stressful. Whether you’re a bride or groom, best woman or man, family member or friend of the couple, the run up to the big day can be very tense.

If you need a bit of help with your quandary, Alison, who has run a venue for 10 years and helps couples plan weddings, is here to offer a helping hand.

Email platform@metro.co.uk to share your issue anonymously with Alison and get it solved.

Dear Rob,

I can imagine the disappointment you must have felt after waiting three months for your wedding album, only to find that it didn’t meet your expectations.

A wedding album is not just a collection of photos but a beautiful, lasting keepsake – a perfect reminder of your special day that you’re proud to share and revisit.

It’s important to remember that you have every right to raise your concerns with the photographer and explain why you’re unhappy with the album.

Emphasise that while the individual photos appeared fine online, their small and crowded presentation in the album compromised the overall effect and was not what you expected.

Alison Rios McCrone smiles in outdoor scene — The best approach would be to request a reprint of the album with a redesigned layout, says wedding expert and photographer Alison Rios McCrone (Picture: AKP Branding Stories)

Explain that the multiple small images crammed onto each page is not designed how you imagined and does not do justice to the moments you carefully chose to include, particularly given the £500 cost.

Rather than requesting a refund immediately, the best approach would be to request a reprint of the album with a redesigned layout that allows your chosen images to be printed larger and displayed more thoughtfully.

A wedding album is to showcase your memories beautifully and not to squeeze them into cramped spaces.

As a travel photographer, I know that image quality can sometimes change when photos are enlarged, depending on resolution and original quality.

It may be worth speaking to your photographer about this as well.

Your photographer will want to take the necessary steps to satisfy your request

Before the reprint, discuss your expectations with the photographer so they clearly understand what you need.

This will help ensure that the new album meets your expectations.

Your photographer should be able to guide you on this and help create an album that indeed does justice to your special day.

Their expertise and commitment to their craft should give you confidence in the potential for a satisfactory resolution.

As a last resort, if your photographer is not willing to try to fix the issue, I do not think it is unreasonable to ask for a refund, whether full or partial.