Digital files are incredibly convenient. They allow you to share your wedding day with friends on the other side of the world in seconds. But digital files are also fragile. Hard drives crash, laptops get stolen, and USB sticks get lost in the bottom of a drawer. The thought of losing your wedding photos—the only visual record of your day—is a legitimate nightmare for many couples.
A crucial question for long-term peace of mind is: What if we lose our photos? The answer involves a partnership between my archival systems and your personal backup habits. This post explains the safety nets Adrian Bonet Photography provides and offers a guide on how to future-proof your memories against digital disaster.
Do not let logistics stress you out. Secure a photographer who knows the area inside and out. Contact Adrian Bonet Photography to check availability for your venue today.
Index
The Safety Net: 2-Year Cloud Storage
My Archival Process
How to Back Up Your Photos (The 3-2-1 Rule)
The Ultimate Backup: Print
Final Thoughts
The Safety Net: 2-Year Cloud Storage
Immediate Access
When I deliver your photos, they are housed in a secure, professional online gallery. This is your first line of defense. I guarantee that your gallery will remain active and online for Two Years from the date of delivery. During this time, you can download the high-resolution files as many times as you want, from as many devices as you want.
The “Grace Period”
This two-year window is designed to give you ample time to download your files and create your own backups. If your computer crashes six months after the wedding, you don’t need to panic; you simply log back into the link I sent you and download them again. It is a cloud-based safety net that travels with you.
My Archival Process
Redundancy Behind the Scenes
While the online gallery is for you, I also maintain my own archives. I keep backups of your edited images on multiple local hard drives for a limited period as an added safety measure. While I cannot guarantee indefinite storage for every wedding I have ever shot (data takes up physical space), I maintain these archives for as long as feasible to assist in emergencies.
Re-Uploading Requests
If you lose your photos after the two-year gallery has expired, you can reach out to me. If I still have the archives available, I can re-upload the gallery for an Archival Retrieval Fee. This fee covers the time and server costs associated with retrieving deep-storage data.
How to Back Up Your Photos (The 3-2-1 Rule)
Don’t Rely on One Copy
The biggest mistake couples make is downloading the photos to their laptop and leaving them there. If that laptop breaks, the photos are gone. I recommend following the 3-2-1 Backup Rule used by IT professionals.
3 Copies, 2 Media Types, 1 Offsite
You should aim to have Three Copies of your data. Keep Two Copies on Different Media Types, such as your computer’s hard drive and an external SSD drive. Finally, keep One Copy Offsite. In the modern age, “offsite” usually means the Cloud. Upload your wedding photos to a service like Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud. If your house floods or you lose your physical drives, the cloud copy remains safe.
The Ultimate Backup: Print
Technology Fails, Paper Persists
Hard drives fail. USB standards change (remember floppy disks?). Cloud passwords get forgotten. The only backup that is truly future-proof is a Physical Print. An album does not require software updates. A framed print does not need a battery.
Investing in Heirlooms
I strongly encourage all my couples to print their favorite images or order a professional album. If 50 years from now all your digital files are corrupted or inaccessible, that album sitting on your bookshelf will be the most valuable thing you own. It is the ultimate insurance policy against the digital dark age.
Final Thoughts
Your wedding photos are meant to last a lifetime, but digital files require care to ensure they survive that long.
When you book Adrian Bonet Photography, I provide the initial infrastructure to keep your memories safe. However, I urge you to take ownership of your legacy. Download your files, back them up to the cloud, and print your favorites. Treat your digital files like the family jewels they are.