Choosing the photographs that carry the story

It is tempting to upload every frame the photographer delivered. Resist it. The gallery on a permanent site is read, not scrolled past, and readers give their attention one image at a time.

Start with a cover, not a collection

Choose the single image that would explain the day to someone who was not there. It should have a face or a place in it, plenty of room around the subject, and a mood you would be happy to look at in ten years. That image belongs at the top.

Build in three movements

A strong gallery has a beginning, a middle, and an end — roughly the preparation, the ceremony, and the celebration. Grouping photographs this way means guests can follow the day even if they only have a minute.

• Preparation — quiet, candid, still. Hands, letters, a half-finished cup of tea.
• Ceremony — the vows, the look, the room. Fewer images, larger and unbroken.
• Celebration — movement and noise. This is where a denser grid works best.

“If you cannot decide between two photographs, keep the one that shows how the day felt rather than how it looked.”

Consistency over quantity

A hundred photographs chosen with a consistent eye will read as more luxurious than three hundred uploaded in a rush. Edit for tone, crop for rhythm, and let the sequence breathe. Your plan sets the limit; taste sets the standard.

The last step is the easiest to forget: add captions. One line is enough — who, where, and why it mattered. Captions turn a photo dump into a story that a guest can actually enter.