From CVS, Target, Shutterfly to Professional Photo Labs: Comparing Options for Printing Your Wedding and Family Photos Online

After weeks of anticipation, you finally get to see thousands of photos from your wedding day. Whether through an online gallery or a download link, it may initially feel like a sugar rush—only to quickly become a little underwhelming. Because there’s nothing physical in your hands to show for it. Sure, you technically "own" the photos digitally, but to me, truly owning something means being able to hold it.

So, what’s next?

Ideally, your photographer provided printing options along with the online gallery. If that’s the case, you’re home free! But if all you received was an uneventful download link with no further guidance, you might be wondering what to do next. Don’t fret—you’re not alone. I’ve seen plenty of newlywed couples ask the same thing on Reddit: What the hell I do with all these pictures? The answer is simple—print them. But where?

Best Pro Labs to Print Your Wedding Photos

To ensure the best quality photo prints, professional photographers nationwide trust the following photo labs to print their own client’s photos:

WHCC・ProDPI・Printique・Color Services・ProLabPrints・The Darkroom・Richard Photo Lab・Bay Photo Lab・Nations Photo Lab・Miller’s Pro Imaging・Fromex Photo・Samy’s Camera

Local Drug Stores vs Pro Print Labs

"But David! There’s a CVS right around the corner that still prints photos." To that I say for convenience and affordability, local drug stores like CVS, Walmart, Target, and Walgreens are great for printing photos. You can easily upload your photos online and pick them up within an hour. In fact, according to an article published on CNN Business, retailers such as CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and surprisingly Alberton's, reported $785 million in print sales in 2022, producing roughly 4.2 billion 4x6 prints.

However, keep in mind that most drug store labs automatically apply color-correction, which severely alters the look of your professionally edited wedding photos, giving them an overly filtered appearance. Pro labs, on the other hand, offer superior print quality without auto-corrections. However, pro labs do come at a higher price, and many require a minimum purchase, plus shipping costs, but the results are well worth it if you’re after high-quality, lasting prints.

If you’d rather support a local mom-and-pop lab, hop on Google Maps, type in "photo lab," and call to see if they offer photo printing. While you’re at it, check out this The New York Times article which conducted a blind test comparing print quality across various online photo labs—Nations Photo Lab came out on top.

Why I Don’t Offer or Recommend Expensive Wedding Albums

There was a time when I delivered flush-mount wedding albums as a final product. But I was never happy with the quality—these books would often rip and fall apart, ruining the very memories they were meant to preserve. Of course, that was years ago, and digital book-making has come a long way since. Except for one thing: the price. It’s comical how expensive they still are, often costing as much as what your photographer originally charged just to show up to your wedding.

That’s why my belief has not changed. Traditional photo prints—whether housed in photo boxes, slip-in albums, or framed—are the most practical, and archival way to preserve your wedding memories. Investing in a fragile, overpriced wedding album that may not stand the test of time just isn’t worth it—some even call them a flat-out rip-off. Especially when a high-quality 4x6 print costs no more than $5 (after shipping and pesky taxes), while a wedding album from your photographer can easily run you $2,500 or more. And believe me, it’s not something you’ll want to whip out every time friends and family come over—unless you’re willing to risk wine spills or Hot Cheeto and Takis fingers all over those bright, glossy pages. But hey, it’s your money!

In the end, deciding where and how to print your wedding and family photos comes down to what matters most to you. Whether you choose the convenience and affordability of a local drugstore or the superior quality of a professional lab, the point here is to preserve these memories in a tangible form. Because there’s something undeniably special about holding that one and only wedding photo of your parents or grandparents in your hands—something that the thousands of digital files from your own wedding will never quite match.