The Aisle

The Aisle is a wedding accordion: eight tall ivory panels that stand on a mantelpiece, and the format that most flatters a photographer's tall portraits. It is for the couple who want something on display the week after, and for parents who would like a small standing album of their own. The wedding style gives ivory panels, Cormorant Garamond for the names, thin gold rules and a soft fade on the photographs. The first panel is the cover with a photo, the names and the date. The second is a title panel for the venue and a line from the vows. Then a full-bleed portrait, a photo with a caption and date, two photos stacked, another full-bleed, another caption panel, and the back panel with a small photo and a closing line. Photographers shoot the aisle, the dress and the first dance in portrait, and those are exactly the shots the tall full-bleed panels are made for.

Use the caption panels for the moments with a time, the ceremony and the speeches, and the two-stack for the two families or the two sets of hands. It prints single-sided, so the satin inkjet photo paper that makes wedding photos glow is the right choice, and nothing has to line up on the back. One A4 sheet gives four panels; two sheets make the album, joined with tape behind the middle fold. Choose 180 to 200 gsm so it stands, and score every fold before creasing so the coating does not crack. Eight photos fill it, which is why it works with only the sneak-peek set the photographer sends first. Print one for each parent and one for the shelf.

Printing this accordion is forgiving because it prints on one side only, so the glossy or satin photo paper home inkjets do best on is exactly right; nothing has to line up on the back. Each A4 or Letter sheet gives four tall panels (A3 gives four bigger ones), and an 8-panel album is 2 strips joined with a strip of tape on the reverse. Use 160 to 200 gsm so it stands on a shelf, and score before folding on anything heavier or the ink cracks at the crease. Fold zig-zag, mountain then valley, using a ruler for the first crease. Print at 100%, not Fit to page, with borderless mode on if the printer offers it. The template uses 8 photos across 8 panels.