Wedding photo wall - how to create

I wanted to do something special with the photos from our wedding day. It seems crazy to spend so much on the photographer and then have a couple of the mantelpiece and the rest hidden away in an album. So I took inspiration from American photographer and mummy blogger Mandy Chiappini who I follow at A Sorta Fairytale and also on Pinterest and decided to create a photo wall.

I had the idea last August, just after we'd booked the venue and wedding planning was seriously setting in, so for all the major gift-giving opportunities between then and our February wedding (our first date anniversary, my birthday, Christmas as Valentine's Day), Tom and I gave each other white frames. There was no criteria other then the fact that they had to be white. We also bought three frames with the John Lewis wedding gift vouchers my work gave me and made the rest up with a mix from Paperchase, Ikea, M&S, Sainsburys (surprisingly good quality for the price), Hobbycraft and Homebase.

Our photographer edited some of the photos so we have a mix of beautiful black and white images alongside full colour, showing the amazing blue sky and green rolling hills on the day. The hard job was deciding on which photos to use, but together we cut it down to the final 16 to fit the frames. To add a little variety I also used one of our wedding cards (perfect match - I had to trim the card to fit the frame, so bought a duplicate) and a couple of the trinket baubles we were given on the day - a horseshoe and a ceramic and wooden heart, both with wedding messages on them.

How I did it - a step by step guide

1 - Buy frames and select the photos to go in them - I wrote a description of each photo on a post-it and my husband and I shuffled them around the frames until we were both happy with which one went where.

2 - Print your photos the correct size for each frame. I used Boots Photo because I earned Clubcard points and they had emailed me a discount offer the week I was about to order.

Source - Pinterest

3 - Add the photos to the frames and work out the shape you want on the floor. I saw lots of helpful guides like this one on Pinterest, but when it came to it, the amount of frames and the wall space I had were the main decision makers. I went for a wide diamond pattern because that looked best on the wall I chose - above the dining table in our living room.

4 - Get a hammer, spirit level and wall tacks (I originally bought a picture framing hook kit, but found just tapping in a tack works just as well). I also needed a pair of pliers and some paint (the same colour as the wall!)

Remove the stands from the backs of the frames with pliers so they hang flat against the wall. At this stage I also realised that some of the frames we bought originally could only be used on shelves as they wouldn't hold picture hooks, so make sure the frames you buy come with a hanging hook, or you're able to add  your own hook.

Select your middle frame and hang it in the centre of the wall area. Remove the frame and use the spirit level to help mark where the next tacks go. Use a pencil and make crosses to ensure they are straight and at the right height for your design. I worked outwards from the centre to ensure every picture was evenly spaced.

5 - Keep standing back and viewing your wall. I changed my mind several times, which is why the paint comes in handy - to touch up any holes on view if you change your mind! If you're hanging trinkets, you don't necessarily need to add extra tacks for them, in the end I placed them from the additional tacks I used on the frames with words (Mr&Mrs and Love) so they hung down below each word. The trinkets give an extra depth to the wall.

6 - Keep on hanging until you're done! The great thing about a project like this is that you can come back and add to it. I've been doing touches here and there for the last month before I was really happy with it.