Before the Wedding
The relationship, proposal, and road that brought the couple to the ceremony.
Custom Wedding Books
Your wedding story, written and designed as a book.
Each McPherson Edition is developed from your photographs, vows, memories, and personal material.
Lu McPherson writes the chapters, curates the images, and designs the publication page by page for print.
The Book
A publication built from your own story.
Your photographs are brought together with the words around them: how you met, what happened before the ceremony, what was said, who was there, and what your family may want to remember years from now.
Each edition is editorially developed, written, edited, designed, and prepared for print as one complete publication. Inside, the book features a minimalist editorial design inspired by luxury magazines.
Possible subjects across the collections
01How You Met
02The Proposal
03Wedding Preparations
04The Ceremony
05The Vows
06Family and Friends
07Personal Details
08The Celebration
09The Honeymoon
10Letters for the Future
The subjects included and the depth given to each one depend on the selected collection.
Inside an Edition
Every page has a purpose.
The cover introduces the couple. Opening pages establish the setting. Photographs lead into written stories, vows, personal details, conversations, and the moments that shaped the wedding.
The result is designed to be read as a complete publication, not viewed as a collection of disconnected pages.
A Story with StructureLu & JulianLegacy Edition · Custom editorial structure
The Dress Beside HerFernanda & MarcosLegacy Edition · Custom gown feature
With Serious IntentBia & AlexSignature Edition · How We Met
The Family They Brought HomeLu & JulianLegacy Edition · Pets and family story
The Secret in His CoatFernanda & MarcosLegacy Edition · Personal detail
What the Chapel CarriedLu & JulianLegacy Edition · History of a significant place
What Distance Taught UsBia & AlexSignature Edition · How We Met
The Photograph Before the FallFernanda & MarcosLegacy Edition · Honeymoon chapter
As for Me and My HouseLu & JulianLegacy Edition · Faith and family chapter
The Beginning Was a ConversationBia & AlexSignature Edition · How We Met
The Only ExceptionFernanda & MarcosLegacy Edition · Before the Wedding
The Wedding Day
The preparations, ceremony, and celebration, edited according to the scope of each collection.
The Pages Between
A book bought for future children. A chapel rebuilt after a fire. A family tradition. A pet connected to the wedding. A sentence spoken during the vows.
Details like these can shape the writing, the emphasis, and the space given to a chapter. In the Legacy Edition, they may also shape an entirely custom table of contents.
The Family Archive
Custom chapters about family, traditions, pets, letters, memorials, or other material developed for the couple.
The Editorial Work
What goes into an edition.
The printed book is the final stage of a carefully directed editorial process.
Editorial Development
The people, memories, places, and details behind the photographs are identified and organized.
Original Writing
The material shared by the couple is developed into clear, personal, and professionally edited chapters.
Image Curation
Photographs are selected according to the story, the importance of each moment, and the rhythm of the publication.
Narrative Structure
The order, emphasis, and space given to each subject are defined according to the collection and the couple’s material.
Page-by-Page Design
Text and photographs are composed together as one complete editorial publication.
Print Preparation
The final edition is reviewed, approved, and carefully prepared for production.
Every step is personally directed by Lu McPherson.
Editorial Discovery
A detail can become a chapter.
The photographs show what happened. The editorial process helps uncover why a person, place, object, or moment belongs in the story.
Story 01 · Bia & Alex · Signature Edition · The Proposal
The first book on their children’s shelf.
After Alex proposed at Cathedral Rock, he and Bia bought a children’s book for the family they hoped to have one day.
Read their storyClose their story
Bia had noticed the book in Cottonwood the day before the proposal. She picked it up, read enough to understand why it mattered, then placed it back on the shelf. She had already told Alex about a private wish: wherever their life took them, she wanted to collect small things with meaning for the children they hoped to have one day. Alex knew what the weekend held, so he said nothing.
The next day, at Cathedral Rock, he waited until Bia had stopped expecting the question. Past the End of Trail sign, in a quiet place away from the other visitors, he asked her to marry him.
When they returned to Cottonwood afterward, Bia wondered what they should take home from the trip. Alex’s answer was immediate. It had to be the book.
Its story gives another meaning to the word princess. Not a dress or a title, but something carried in the heart and expressed by being fully oneself. The word already belonged to Bia’s family. Her mother had called her princess for years. Alex had adopted it too, telling her mother, “I’m taking care of the princess.”
They bought the book for children whose names they did not yet know, along with a Christmas ornament bearing the name of the trail. The ornament recorded the place. The book carried something they wanted those children to understand about who they were allowed to become.
Long before a child could ask how their family began, Bia and Alex had chosen the first story they wanted waiting on the shelf.
Story 02 · Lu & Julian · Legacy Edition · Custom Chapter
The chapel that once burned down.
Before Lu and Julian spoke their vows there, the Chapel of the Holy Dove had already carried one family’s grief, decades of prayer, and a rebuilding made possible by its community.
Read their storyClose their story
Long before Lu and Julian stood beneath its wooden beams, the Chapel of the Holy Dove had been built from another family’s grief.
The chapel was dedicated in memory of George and Randy Lacy. Dr. Lacy’s search for meaning after those losses led him toward faith in Christ. What rose from that search was not a monument closed to the past, but a small house of prayer open to travelers. People stopped there to rest, pray, and leave words of hope on its walls.
In 1999, fire destroyed the wooden structure. The stone walls remained. The community gathered around its restoration, donating materials and labor until the chapel stood again.
That history changed the way Lu understood the place. Its beauty caught her first: wood, glass, mountains, and light. What made her stay with it was the knowledge that the room had already carried grief, rebuilding, prayer, and remembrance.
When Lu and Julian spoke their vows there, theirs were not the first hopes held inside those walls. The chapel had been made to receive people in the middle of their journeys. Choosing it felt less like selecting a venue and more like entering a place that already knew what faith could build from loss.
Story 03 · Fernanda & Marcos · Legacy Edition · Honeymoon Chapter
The honeymoon photograph that ended with a fall.
On a cliff in Zakynthos, a search for the right photograph ended with Marcos on the rocks below and Fernanda facing a story that would take time before it became funny.
Read their storyClose their story
Fernanda and Marcos planned a honeymoon across Greece and Turkey, following a route shaped by places they had imagined long before the wedding. Zakynthos brought them onto the water. Mykonos gave them whitewashed streets and slow afternoons. In Santorini, they watched the sun settle over the caldera. Athens and Istanbul placed them inside cities where history is never far from view. In Cappadocia, they rose before dawn to see the sky fill with balloons.
The photograph they still talk about came from Zakynthos.
Fernanda had found the view she wanted on a cliff above the water. Marcos moved closer to help her reach the right place and steady her. Then his footing gave way, and he fell onto the rocks below.
For several seconds, the scenery disappeared from Fernanda’s attention. There was only the fall, the distance between them, and the fear of what she might see when she reached him. Marcos stood up with scratches and a fright that took longer to leave than the marks themselves.
Time changed the way they tell it. Fernanda now jokes that she “almost became a widow on her honeymoon.” Marcos knows exactly which photograph she means. What began as a search for the perfect view became the story they repeat whenever the trip returns to conversation.
The rest of the journey moved at a different pace: coffee without a schedule, long meals, boat rides, unfamiliar streets, and the private realization that the wedding was over and their life together had begun. Their photographs record where they went. Their edition preserves the fall they can now laugh about, the fear that came before the laughter, and the days in which married life first began to feel ordinary and real.
Tell Lu about your wedding and the edition you are considering.
Every inquiry is personally reviewed.
The Commission
The book is the finished piece. The commission includes the work behind it.
Every collection includes editorial planning, original writing, image selection, page design, proofreading, print preparation, and personal direction by Lu McPherson.
The collections differ in how much of the story is developed, how the material is gathered, and how closely the editorial structure is built around the couple.
The Collections
Three levels of editorial depth.
Each collection is personally written and designed. The difference is how much of the story is included, how the material is gathered, and how the publication is structured.
Commissions begin at $800.
Investment varies according to the editorial depth of the collection selected.
Additional Editorial Features may be added when applicable.
Swipe to compare the collections
The Wedding Day Edition
The wedding, gathered into a defined editorial structure.
Created for couples who want a concise publication centered on the preparations, ceremony, and celebration.
The couple provides the final gallery and completes a guided questionnaire. Lu selects the photographs, writes the text, and designs the edition within three established wedding chapters.
Personalized for the couple, with a defined editorial structure.
- Approximately 40 pages
- One printed book
- Saddle stitched binding
- A short introduction
- Three established wedding chapters
- Guided editorial questionnaire
- Writing and editing
- Individually designed pages within the collection’s established structure
- One round of consolidated revisions
- Digital proof before printing
- Standard shipping
- Estimated timeline of 5 to 6 weeks
Chapters
Structure
This edition does not include private editorial interviews, custom chapter selection, extensive family stories, memorial pages, or long personal features.
Details shared in the questionnaire may guide the writing and image selection, but they do not guarantee a dedicated page or chapter.
Our Signature Collection
The Signature Edition
The story before, during, and after the wedding.
Created for couples who want the publication to begin with the relationship, continue through the wedding, and include what came after.
A private editorial conversation and personalized questionnaire guide the writing, image selection, and emphasis given to each of the six established chapters.
A more complete narrative, developed through personal editorial direction.
- Approximately 60 pages
- Two printed books
- Perfect bound binding
- One private editorial conversation of up to 45 minutes
- A personalized questionnaire
- Six editorial chapters
- Writing and editing
- Individually designed pages
- Two rounds of consolidated revisions
- Digital proof before printing
- Standard shipping
- Estimated timeline of 6 to 8 weeks
Chapters
Editorial Scope
Brief vows and family messages may be included when they fit naturally within the established chapters and total page count.
Personal chapters, memorials, extended family stories, and subjects requiring additional interviews belong to the Legacy Edition.
The Legacy Edition
A family publication developed around the story.
The Legacy Edition begins with conversation. Its editorial structure is developed around the people, memories, places, documents, and details connected to the couple and their family.
The highest level of editorial development and personalization.
- Approximately 80 pages
- Two perfect bound books
- One hardcover book
- Up to four editorial conversations
- Up to three hours of conversation in total
- The option to interview a family member
- A questionnaire developed from the interviews
- A custom table of contents
- Full writing and editing
- Individually designed pages
- Two rounds of consolidated revisions
- Digital proof before printing
- Standard shipping
- Estimated timeline of 8 to 10 weeks
Possible Features
Editorial Scope
The subjects included depend on the couple’s story, the material available, and the total page count.
A Project That Can Grow
If the editorial plan reveals that your story would benefit from a more custom structure, you may transition to The Legacy Edition without beginning the process again.
Collection Comparison
Compare the editorial depth.
| Details | Wedding Day | Signature | Legacy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Editorial approach | Curated within a defined structure | Personally developed within six established chapters | Fully developed around a custom editorial structure |
| Story discovery | Guided questionnaire | Personalized questionnaire and one private conversation | Multiple conversations, personalized questionnaire, and optional family interview |
| Structure | Three established wedding chapters | Six established chapters with personalized writing and emphasis | Custom table of contents developed around the family’s story |
| Writing depth | Concise | Developed | In depth |
| Narrative scope | Preparations, ceremony, and celebration | Relationship through the honeymoon | Built around the couple and family |
| Pages | Approximately 40 pages | Approximately 60 pages | Approximately 80 pages |
| Printed copies | 1 book | 2 books | 2 books and 1 hardcover book |
| Binding | Saddle stitched | Perfect bound | Perfect bound and hardcover |
| Story before the wedding | A short introduction only | Included | Included and developed in depth |
| Questionnaire | Guided | Personalized | Developed from the interviews |
| Editorial conversations | Not included | One conversation, up to 45 minutes | Up to four conversations and three hours total |
| Chapter selection | Not available | Six established chapters | Custom table of contents |
| Complete vows | Not included | Brief excerpts when they fit naturally | May be integrated into the custom structure |
| Family messages and letters | Not included | Brief excerpts when they fit naturally | May be integrated into the custom structure |
| Family interview | Not included | Not included | Available |
| In memoriam pages | Not included | Not included | Available with specific consent |
| Full editorial flexibility | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Revisions | 1 round | 2 rounds | 2 rounds |
| Standard shipping | Included | Included | Included |
| Estimated production | 5 to 6 weeks | 6 to 8 weeks | 8 to 10 weeks |
Wedding Day
- Editorial approach
- Curated within a defined structure
- Story discovery
- Guided questionnaire
- Structure
- Three established wedding chapters
- Writing depth
- Concise
- Narrative scope
- Preparations, ceremony, and celebration
- Pages
- Approximately 40 pages
- Printed copies
- 1 book
- Binding
- Saddle stitched
- Story before the wedding
- A short introduction only
- Questionnaire
- Guided
- Editorial conversations
- Not included
- Chapter selection
- Not available
- Complete vows
- Not included
- Family messages and letters
- Not included
- Family interview
- Not included
- In memoriam pages
- Not included
- Full editorial flexibility
- Not included
- Revisions
- 1 round
- Standard shipping
- Included
- Estimated production
- 5 to 6 weeks
Signature
- Editorial approach
- Personally developed within six established chapters
- Story discovery
- Personalized questionnaire and one private conversation
- Structure
- Six established chapters with personalized writing and emphasis
- Writing depth
- Developed
- Narrative scope
- Relationship through the honeymoon
- Pages
- Approximately 60 pages
- Printed copies
- 2 books
- Binding
- Perfect bound
- Story before the wedding
- Included
- Questionnaire
- Personalized
- Editorial conversations
- One conversation, up to 45 minutes
- Chapter selection
- Six established chapters
- Complete vows
- Brief excerpts when they fit naturally
- Family messages and letters
- Brief excerpts when they fit naturally
- Family interview
- Not included
- In memoriam pages
- Not included
- Full editorial flexibility
- Not included
- Revisions
- 2 rounds
- Standard shipping
- Included
- Estimated production
- 6 to 8 weeks
Legacy
- Editorial approach
- Fully developed around a custom editorial structure
- Story discovery
- Multiple conversations, personalized questionnaire, and optional family interview
- Structure
- Custom table of contents developed around the family’s story
- Writing depth
- In depth
- Narrative scope
- Built around the couple and family
- Pages
- Approximately 80 pages
- Printed copies
- 2 books and 1 hardcover book
- Binding
- Perfect bound and hardcover
- Story before the wedding
- Included and developed in depth
- Questionnaire
- Developed from the interviews
- Editorial conversations
- Up to four conversations and three hours total
- Chapter selection
- Custom table of contents
- Complete vows
- May be integrated into the custom structure
- Family messages and letters
- May be integrated into the custom structure
- Family interview
- Available
- In memoriam pages
- Available with specific consent
- Full editorial flexibility
- Included
- Revisions
- 2 rounds
- Standard shipping
- Included
- Estimated production
- 8 to 10 weeks
Other Editions
Stories for other moments in a marriage.
The Invitation Edition
Created before the wedding for couples who want to welcome their guests through their story, the destination, and the plans for the celebration. It is especially recommended for destination weddings, where the place, schedule, and guest information are part of the experience.
Ask about this editionThe Anniversary Edition
Created from the years already lived, including how the couple met, the wedding, the home they built, their family, and the memories that shaped the marriage.
Ask about this editionTell Lu about your wedding and the edition you are considering.
Every inquiry is personally reviewed.
The Editorial Experience
Before the first page, there is editorial discovery.
The Wedding Day Edition begins with a guided questionnaire.
The Signature Edition includes a personalized questionnaire and one private editorial conversation.
The Legacy Edition may include multiple conversations, questions developed from those conversations, and the option to interview a family member.
The material gathered guides the writing, image selection, chapter emphasis, and space given to each part of the story.
Question 01When you open this book ten years from now, what would you like it to bring back?
Question 02Which person, detail, or moment must have a place in your edition?
Question 03Is there anything about your wedding that the photographs cannot explain?
The Process
From your memories to the printed edition.
Share Your Story
Complete the private inquiry and tell Lu about the two of you, your wedding, and the collection you are considering. Every inquiry is personally reviewed, with a reply within two business days.
Reserve Your Edition
When bookings open, selected couples will receive collection details, a contract, and a payment schedule. The first payment reserves a place on the production calendar.
Gather the Material
You will receive instructions for sending the photographer’s final gallery and the materials required for your collection. Production begins only after the complete questionnaire, included interviews, final gallery, and any additional required material have been received.
Build the Story
Lu develops the editorial plan, writes and edits the chapters, selects the photographs, and designs the book page by page.
Review the Edition
You receive a digital proof and submit your feedback in one consolidated document.
Print and Deliver
After final approval and payment, the files are prepared for print and your editions are delivered to you.
Every edition is personally directed by Lu McPherson from the first questionnaire to final print approval.
Client Experience
Bia & Alex
Bia & Alex · McPherson Editions Couple
“I felt like I was back on my wedding day.”
“Reading it made me feel like I was back on my wedding day. My mother in law loved it so much that she asked for a copy to keep in her home.”Fernanda · The Legacy Edition
A Note from Lu
I created the first edition for my own wedding.
Before our wedding, I created a book for our guests. It shared our story and introduced them to the day they were about to witness.
After the wedding, I wanted a second edition. I wanted the words, people, and private details to have a place alongside the photographs.
I was thinking about the family Julian and I are building and the questions our future children may one day ask.
That second book became the beginning of McPherson Editions.
Every edition I create now begins with the same care. I listen, make the editorial decisions, and shape the photographs and words within the structure of the collection selected.
I personally read every inquiry and direct each edition from the first questionnaire to final print approval.
LU MCPHERSONFOUNDER & EDITOR
Common Questions
A few things you may want to know.
What is a McPherson Edition?
A McPherson Edition is a wedding book developed from the photographs, memories, vows, conversations, and personal material included in the selected collection. Lu McPherson directs the editorial process and prepares the finished publication for print.
Who writes and designs the book?
Every McPherson Edition is written and designed by Lu McPherson. The couple provides the photographs, memories, vows, and personal material. Lu develops the narrative, writes and edits the chapters, curates the photographs, and creates the finished page design.
What makes each edition personal?
Personalization begins with the material shared and the editorial process included in the selected collection. The photographs, answers, vows, conversations, and personal details guide the writing, image selection, and emphasis given to each chapter. The Wedding Day Edition follows a defined structure. The Signature Edition develops the couple’s story within six established chapters. The Legacy Edition includes a custom editorial structure developed around the family’s material.
Can we choose our own chapters?
The Wedding Day and Signature Editions follow established editorial structures. The couple’s material shapes the writing, emphasis, and space given to each subject, but the chapter structure remains defined. The Legacy Edition includes a custom table of contents developed during the editorial process.
Can I join the waitlist before my photographs are ready?
Yes. You may join the waitlist while planning your wedding or waiting for your final gallery. Production begins only after the required photographs and materials have been received.
What happens after I join the private waitlist?
Lu personally reads every inquiry and replies within two business days. Joining the waitlist does not require payment. Couples will be contacted when McPherson Editions begins accepting commissions.
Do both partners need to attend the conversation?
No. Your partner is welcome to participate, but it is not required.
Are all editions fully customized?
No. Every collection is personal in its photographs, writing, editing, and page design, but only the Legacy Edition offers full editorial flexibility. The Wedding Day Edition follows three established wedding chapters. The Signature Edition follows six established chapters.
Can we include our complete vows?
Complete vows are not included in the Wedding Day Edition. Brief excerpts may appear in the Signature Edition when they fit naturally within an established chapter and the total page count. Complete vows may be developed within the Legacy Edition.
Can our family contribute to the book?
The Wedding Day Edition does not include family messages or letters. Brief excerpts may appear in the Signature Edition when they fit naturally within an established chapter. The Legacy Edition may include messages, letters, and the option to interview a family member.
Can I include an in memoriam page?
In memoriam pages are available only in the Legacy Edition. Memorial material requires specific consent and is never displayed publicly without express permission.
Can I add another story later?
The Wedding Day and Signature Editions keep their established chapter structures. If the editorial plan reveals that the story would benefit from a custom chapter or a more flexible structure, the project may transition to the Legacy Edition before the editorial plan is approved.
Can I move to another collection during the process?
Yes. If the editorial plan reveals that your story would benefit from a more custom structure, you may transition to the Legacy Edition without beginning the process again. The change must be confirmed before the editorial plan is approved. Payments already made are applied to the new collection, and only the remaining difference is due. Printing already completed is not credited.
Can we order additional copies?
Yes. Additional books and hardcover books are available by custom quote.
Is shipping included?
Standard shipping is included in every collection.
When does the production timeline begin?
Production begins after McPherson Editions has received the photographer’s final gallery, the completed questionnaire, all included interviews, and every additional item required for the selected collection. Booking or the wedding date does not begin the production timeline.
What happens if my photographer delivers the gallery late?
Production cannot begin without the final gallery. A delayed gallery will move the projected book completion and delivery dates.
Do you offer payment plans?
Yes. Payment is divided into three installments: 50% at booking, 25% after approval of the editorial plan, and 25% before printing.
Will our photographs or story be shared publicly?
Only with the couple’s prior written approval. Sensitive material requires specific consent. Permission may be limited to selected pages, photographs, or excerpts, and surnames or personal messages may be concealed. Photographs of relatives and guests are not used as public examples without appropriate permission. In memoriam pages are never displayed without express approval.
Private Waitlist
Join the private waitlist.
Tell Lu about your wedding and the edition you are considering.
Every inquiry is personally reviewed.
Join the Private Waitlist