Finally… finally… finally… Matt and I have in our possession our very own wedding album. With pictures from our very own wedding.

Matt and I found each other in State College, Pennsylvania 15 years ago, my junior year at Penn State. We met while working as pizza delivery drivers. It wasn’t easy getting to know each other, since the vast majority of our conversations would be interrupted by one of us having to leave to take a delivery. (In case you’re wondering, yes – I heard “oh look, it’s a pizza GIRL!” all the time. There was only one other female driver in the two years I worked there. Not sure why – it was good money for a part-time job!)

But pizza delivery couldn’t get in the way of true love. I knew pretty quickly that Matt was The One, but we took our time and didn’t get married until 2003. At that time, some photographers were using digital cameras, but many, including ours, still used film.

I had every intention of creating an album. But you know how it goes – time gets away from you. And a big project like an album seems so intimidating.

Then, last September, I found my motivation. On Scott Bourne’s podcast Photofocus, he touted one of the show’s sponsors, ScanCafe. They scan prints, slides and negatives and create high-resolution digital files. Scott raved about the simple process of sending your media and the quality of the scans. And he offered a code good for a 20% discount off your first order.

Two weeks later, my negatives were on their way to ScanCafe. Five weeks after that, I had my files. It really was easy.

Next came my favorite part: designing the album. Once I finally got started on that, after the manic holiday season, the design took less than a week to complete. All I had to do was wait for the finished product to arrive…

… and now it’s here, and it’s beautiful, and I love it!

Even the packaging is exquisite.

The cover is black with a silver accent strip. I chose silver since Matt and I both had both worn some silver – his tie and vest were silver, and my dress had silver embroidery.

The pages are thick and so sleek.

Below, a slideshow of the images as they appear in the album. You’ll see that we ignored many traditions. We spent most of the day together (we did split up when I went to the salon – no professional hair or make-up for him) and walked in to our ceremony together.

My wonderful uncle, Don Riemer, wrote a beautiful ceremony for us, including readings by Rilke and e.e. cummings. Matt and I each composed our own declaration of why we wanted to get married.  It was a perfect day and a perfect reflection of Matt and me and our relationship.

We chose an eclectic menu, including an Asian station and a southwestern station. Instead of a wedding cake, we had a dessert table.