Rebuilding An Old Photo Album: How I Finally Gave My Parents an Anniversary Present

What do you do with an old, yellowed, and crumbly photo album? You rebuild it, of course! Learn how I salvaged my parents’ old wedding album and turned it into a perfect anniversary gift.

This all started out as a different project. I was actually looking for old family portraits because I want to create a family history album for my son. (We will get to that in another post.) Since I was visiting my parents, I asked for their help to track down some old pictures. That’s when we found it.

It was their wedding album, and it wasn’t in great shape. The plastic page protectors were stiff and yellow. The pages were falling out of the binding. The old Polaroids were turning odd colors. This was all typical of the materials from the mid-70s.

My visit was coming to an end. So I packed up all the old family photos and the failing wedding album. My parents’ anniversary was just a few weeks away and I had a plan.

I would rebuild their wedding album. With a few easily sourced items and some patience, I could present them with a perfect anniversary gift. And this gift would be an improvement on cards or flowers sent on past anniversaries.

 Step 1. Assess your situation. As in any triage situation, you first need to know what you are dealing with.

While I liked the simplicity of the album cover, the binding and pages were shot. I had to tear apart the plastic page coverings just to safely get the paper inserts and photographs out.

The photographs were old color prints from the 70s. Many were fading or turning colors because the color printing of that time was not stable. The prints would have to be scanned, restored, and reprinted later.

Getting the prints out would be a task unto itself. They were mounted to the paper page inserts with some serious glue. The probability for damage was high.

Step 2. Make a Plan.

I knew the outcome I wanted, a simple wedding album that felt similar to the original but allowed for more details and archival use. Being able to easily remove the photographs for restoration later would be helpful. Adding in journal cards would allow family members to identify those pictured years to come. Housing all of the pictures in a safe and chronological order would keep the wedding story archived and cohesive. 

Step 3. Gather needed supplies and tools.

I wanted to honor the original album’s proportions. Since the pictures were fairly small and almost square, it made sense the new album should follow suit.

I chose on a smaller scrapbook style album, like this one from Michael’s.

Photo corners would allow the old pictures to be removed for digital restoration later. There are several options to choose from. I ended up with a mix of white and clear, like these.

A spatula tool would be key in removing the glued down prints from the old page inserts.

Photo-safe, double stick scrapbooking tape would safely adhere to the journal cards included for storytelling and captions.

A few understated embellishments would add a bit of interest.

Step 4. Get to work!

My first step was to carefully pry all the old photographs off the pages. This was a messy process. The insert paper was brittle and crumbled. The glue was thick and would not release from the prints. I decided it was safer to keep the glue on, rather than risk tears to the photographs.

The second step was to organize all the photographs and documents into chronological order. Most weddings follow a similar timeline, so this wasn’t too difficult. 

Now it was time to assemble the new book. This is the fun part. You could very quickly see the wedding album come together as photographs were added to the pages. My parents’ wedding story was coming back to life. 

I added a few decorative details to elevate the page design and add interest. I also included a few journal cards so my mom could write down the corresponding anecdotes for particular photos or simply list the names of those photographed. This way other family members would know who all those people were.

Step 5. Give it away. (This is the best part.)

This year, finally I gave my parents a personalized anniversary gift. They were now able to enjoy their restored wedding album on their 46th anniversary.

It had been a long time since they had looked at those pictures. Now the images were much easier to see, no longer hidden under cloudy and yellowed plastic. Dad said he felt like they had a real wedding album now. Mom got a little misty.

Remember, your family pictures have value. They are important. Sometimes you just need to repackage them to see them clearly.

Contact me if you need help creating or displaying your family portraits. I will make it easy for you to enjoy your family’s memories.