An average wedding will leave you with nearly 1000 photos, and it’s an enormous task to edit, reorder, and split them into workable folders. However, there is a method to the madness, and with a few simple tricks up your sleeve, you can successfully organize wedding photos, making it that much easier to access for everyone involved at the wedding.

Here is our step-by-step guide to organizing wedding photos, whether working with edited images or taking on the edits yourself.

Quick Checklist To Organize Wedding Photos Easily

Are you sorting through hundreds and hundreds of wedding photos? Use our handy checklist to stay organized.

Download images and create a backup of the raw footage.
Cull through the photos to identify rejected images.
Make separate folders for Originals and Edits.
Create 6 sub-category folders in chronological order of the wedding.
Duplicate all the folders on a hard drive for safekeeping.

Download and Create Back Ups for All Your Photos

First, you need to have a backup of any photos you are working with. Ideally, even your backup should have a backup. Wedding photographs are the complication of a couple's biggest day and once-in-a-lifetime moments, and you should never risk losing them.

Once the images are secure, you can start sorting them from the downloaded folder.

Cull To Create A Throw Out Pile

There will be LOTS of photos from the wedding day that miss the mark; they are either blurred or do not meet the general aesthetic of the wedding.

The first step is to filter out any such images and transfer them to a Throw Out Pile folder. Do not delete the pictures immediately, as you may choose to revisit the throw-out pile to see if you wish to retain any of the images you initially discarded. In fact, during initial culling, you must throw everything you're unsure about in this pile and then come back to it to frugally retrieve images that you want to keep.

Alternatively, you can create two folders: “Rejects” and “Maybe,” and only come back to the latter folder to select an image you may have missed the first time.

Once you have decided which photos to leave out and are happy with your selection, you can start the editing process.

Tip: Use your time efficiently by using culling software like Photo Mechanic. This can help upload and organize photos easily with the intelligent use of tags and keywords.

Separate Edits From Originals

Narrow the images you want to edit but keep raw, unedited copies to give yourself room for error. It is crucial to keep the original photos so that you have a starting point in case you do not like the edited version of any of the filtered images.

Create 6 Main Sub-Category Folders

Despite filtering out unwanted images, you will still have a lot to work with. Taking this task, on the whole, can quickly become overwhelming. So the best way to deal with organizing the images is to break them into smaller categories and then work with one folder at a time. We recommend doing this in the same order the wedding took place. Going by the folders chronologically ensures you do not miss out on any special photography moments. Moreover, this bite-sized way of sifting through wedding photos makes the task easy and less prone to mistakes.

Here 6 chronological categories to divide the folders into:

1. Details

This folder is for shots of wedding decor, table settings, close-ups of the couple’s clothes and shoes, and the general aesthetic of the ceremony—basically any image which does not focus on people.

2. Getting Ready

These pictures exude the dynamic nature of the wedding, the bustle before stepping on the big stage, and the sweet moments of family heirloom exchanges. Also, add images of the couple getting ready.

3. Portraits

Add portraits to this folder. All the images, including:

the bride with her family and friends,
solo shots,
groom with her groomsmen and family,
and any posed pictures with the immediate family are included in this folder.

When you later share the images with friends and family, this folder allows them to find their photos easily.

4. Ceremony

From the wedding party photographs on the aisle to the ring placement to the kiss, everything from the wedding ceremony must be consolidated in one clearly labeled folder. You can add all the images from the newlyweds walking down the aisle after the kiss to the leaving ceremony, including any formal photos.

5. Reception

Make a reception folder to include every special moment captured from your wedding reception. Here you can add images of the reception entrance, the first dance, several candids of the bride and groom and the guests, the cake-cutting ceremony, the bouquet throw, and the toast.

In a nutshell, all symbolic moments from the reception and some “in-the-moment” photos belong to this folder.

6. Highlights

The highlights are the creme de la creme images of the wedding ceremony. Here you will add all the best bits for the nuptials, including your favorite shots from different parts and events of the day.

The entire point of highlights is to capture the essence of the wedding and all its monumental moments in a few images.

Duplicate Everything for Safekeeping

Once you have sorted everything into folders, duplicate the folders on a hard drive to ensure you do not have to go through the hassle of resorting should you lose the images somehow.

Now that all your photos are organized, you can pick favorites from each folder to immortalize them on paper in the form of a photo book.

Our Favorite Wedding Photo Book Picks

With your photos sorted, you can choose images that truly capture the essence of our big day for your photo book. In addition, chronologically ordered images allow easy picking of special photo moments.

At Mixbook, we have numerous photo book designs to match your wedding aesthetic and feature your images in the best way possible. Here are our top 5 picks:

Apart from our favorites, there are several themes and designs to go through to match your wedding. And for the creatives at heart, our Blank Canvas gives you a clean slate to create a custom design of your choice.