Secret...

I am completely in 'like' with the engagement photo guest book I posted yesterday. It's classic, elegant, and a fabulous way to preserve your engagement photos.

But I have a secret.

Are you ready for this? I didn't get it printed at a professional photo lab. *gasp!*

It came from Walgreens.com of all places! And it was only $25, which is what most people would pay for a guest book anyway.

While I do really like how it turned out, I'm just in 'like' with it. Not quite in 'love'. Why? The biggest reason is the 'leather' cover I ordered at a slightly higher price wasn't exactly what I expected. It looks nice but I've seen high quality textured paper that's pretty similar. I imagine this book will show its age in 50 years.

But considering we're talking about a grand total of $25 in the first place, I think my expectations were too high.

The other downside is the fact that the pages don't lay flat. It will be slightly annoying when people try to write their personal messages to the bride and groom.

But even more than the slight annoyance, the saddle stitched pages make for a pretty big gutter. Not the things that hang off the roof of your house. But the binding of the book at each spread. Because it doesn't lay flat, a portion of the design on the pages gets sucked into the stitching.

On most pages it isn't a problem because the design is either a pattern across the whole page, or the design elements are focused on the outside edges. But there is one page where the graphic elements fall in the gutter. Lesson learned and something to keep in mind.

Other companies make lay-flat albums, but they come at a premium price. Just like almost everything involved in wedding planning a bride and groom has to choose between quality and cost effectiveness. And that is often determined by where their priorities lie.

This is a great option for budget conscious couples. Offers the same product at a lower price point so they can splurge on real flowers versus silk, the killer decorations in the perfect shades of blush and bashful (name that movie!), or two more hours of photography coverage.