11 months with M&j: first handbound book of ‘26.
Maya & Jorden chose for an intimate civil wedding, a shoot & afternoon celebrations with their closest friends and family. They trusted me with a 100% personal documentation, including a handbound hardcover photo book.
21/02/2026
M&J’s wedding was my first one of this year. A winter celebration, which resulted in soft skies. A bit chilly, yes, but photographically speaking, perfect conditions!
This documentation started with Maya’s prep, followed by a first look.
M&J chose to turn their wedding into a home game: everything, from prep until party took place in and around Arenbergpark Leuven. This included a civil wedding at Arenberg Castle.
In all honesty, M&J made my job very comfy by choosing an environment that’s beautiful all year through. The park delivers something new to see every week. After years of having lived in the area, I saw the lilies of the valley in bloom for the first time myself!
M&J’s day in photography numbers
A documentation of 7 hours, which resulted in a set of 652 delivered images
A total of 31 working hours from our first meeting until gallery delivery, all of them enjoyed of course!
One handbound hardcover book, counting 64 pages of M&J’s selected favourites. Slip case included.
An undocumented amount of time spent printing & binding - I left some room for trial & error.
M&J’s hardcover photo book
Maya & Jorden were looking for a book that lies somewhere between traditional & experimental. Key words were ‘simple’ and ‘earthy’.
I chose a vertical, 20x28cm format, French stitch linked body, with a linen hardcover that pops. I tried darker linen in order to 100% match the groom’s suit at first, but the colour didn’t come out as I hoped. Instead, I chose this slightly lighter version for a more vibrant look.
To help M&J keep the book safe, I made it a sturdy slip case. And between us in all honesty: it really was a first try type of situation. Lo and behold, it fit snug as a rug!
Working a handbound project is great for adding personal touches. Maya & Jorden trusted me with their dried wedding bouquet, invitations & signed guest book.
I ended up scanning the dried flowers, as they were too fragile to implement as a whole. The opening & closing page of the book show these flowers on transparant paper - matching the image the reader can see through.
The guest book ended up being scanned as well - I collected all signatures and imposed them on one single page: the last, to end the book with M&J’s loved ones.
The invitation can be found in a trial book, still at my workshop. I experimented with binding it directly into the book, but wasn’t entirely convinced by the visual. Trial and error is indeed needed sometimes.
The hardcover & slip case are - as mentioned before - from a coloured linen that lies close to Jorden’s suit. Even though it’s not a 100% match, it suits the images inside perfectly.
From first contact until book delivery, 11 months went by. In mind I spent nearly a year working on this wonderful couple’s documentation. One thousand thanks for trusting me with everything image-wise. Maya & Jorden forever!