See those smiling faces? That’s my Granny & Papa when we were celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary. 65 years. Woah. That’s some love there.
My favorite thing about the celebration? Other than the hugs, laughter, and Granny’s homemade coconut cake, of course. The photos.
Granny brought out all kinds of photos from their 65 years together. We’re not just taking bad mullets here, this collection had everything. Including the poor hair and outfit choices my mother made for me. Thanks, mom. Really. Thanks.
What was really cool about this was that we got to pick up and hold these prints in our hands. They appreciated in value from the time they were printed until now. They became heirlooms. Precious items to our family.
All of my weddings come with the edited digital negatives and I always urge my couples to go ahead and make prints. Why?
Because accidents happen. That flash drive can quickly become a teething toy for the baby (whoops!). And no matter how many times you back up your photos, DVDS only last so long and harddrives fail after a few years.
Because technology changes. How many of us have a huge stack of video tapes but no VCR? Guilty! On the other hand, quality archival prints purchased through a professional photographer or from a print company like Mpix.com can last 100-200 years when stored properly (avoid direct sunlight).
But mostly because we don’t live on Facebook.
Take that in for a second. Social media is important for most of us. It’s how we connect with our friends and family, especially the ones who live far away. Shout out to my friends in England, the Netherlands, Germany, Kuwait, Australia, and China! It’s important for all those friends and family to see photos of us (and it’s fun too).
But, I love looking around my home and being reminded of great moments by seeing these printed photos. And the conversations when you take out your parents wedding album are wonderful and hilarious. And I know I’ll always have these (ok, realistically as long as there is no natural disaster or flood).
So go ahead, make prints for you to enjoy your whole life through! Your great-great-great grandchildren getting to see them is a perk too. Just for kicks and giggles, here’s a quick cell phone photo of me with a photo my Great Aunt Peggy brought down from NY of me with her and my grandmother’s dog waaay back when I was 4. Who would have known I was quite the cutie?
