The Purpose of the Wedding Album

What do you think is the purpose of a wedding album? Do you think it is an historical document? or do you think it is a portfolio of artistic images? Well I know most of you out there will be shouting out, BOTH, but here is the rub, how often do we sacrifice the documentation of the day for the artistic image? This question was raised following a viewing of another photographers work, on their web site, which has lots of out of focus (soft focus, atmospheric focus or what ever other name you want to call it) shots. You know the kind I am talking about here, such as the bride in focus in the foreground and the groom out of focus in the background and a variation on this them. Now there is no documentation here of the event or the people present, just what some may call a very nice artistic image and there is nothing wrong with this, except when we look for it's purpose in the recording of the events of the day and fail to see any purpose at all. Myself, well I think the wedding album should first and foremost be a record of the event, the people who attended and the fashion of the time. I want this document to be handed down through the generations and provide an historic link to those who have gone before and give the viewer a glimpse into the past. That is not to say the images cannot or should not be beautiful to look at, of course they should, but the documentation of the people present for this event is the prime purpose of the album. For me, the album is not a portfolio of interesting and artistic shots to demonstrate my creativity, but rather it is an historical document capturing the people, the fashion of the time and the atmosphere that was present. I tend to shoot in a very photojournalistic style for the vast majority of the day, stopping and taking control only for the formal group shots. The rest of the day is covered as it happens. I have seen brides being directed by their photographer as though they are models on a photo shoot, and we all know the purpose of the image, it is for the photographers shop window or web page and has little to do with telling the story of the wedding day itself. I would strongly suggest to all photographers that when considering the photo you are about to take, stop and ask yourself what that image is going to contribute to the telling of the story of the day and what historic legacy it will leave behind for others to see.