Wedding photos are the only product the client paid you for. The delivery moment is when they finally see what they bought — and the platform you used becomes a thing they remember, whether you meant it to or not. This is a practical guide to delivering wedding galleries online in 2026: what to send, when to send it, how to set expectations, and what to do when the client wants every photo turned into a print, a thank-you card, and an Instagram caption.
The delivery decision: link, not ZIP
Sending a Dropbox or Google Drive ZIP file used to be the default. In 2026 it's the worst possible delivery for a wedding gallery. Clients are on phones; ZIP downloads on phones are an obstacle course (extraction, "where did it go?", and then 800 files in a camera roll with no way to share). A hosted gallery solves the entire chain: clients view on a phone, favorite from a phone, share specific photos from a phone, and if they want downloads, they get those too.
Pick a gallery platform that defaults to mobile. Whatever else it does, the mobile viewer is what 90% of your clients will use first. If the mobile viewer feels like an afterthought, the delivery moment feels like an afterthought.
Setting expectations before the wedding
The delivery experience starts at the contract, not at the gallery. Tell clients three things up front:
- When they'll get their photos (4–6 weeks is the industry norm; under-promise and over-deliver).
- How they'll get them — an online gallery link, password-protected, available for a year.
- What's included — high-resolution downloads, social media-sized versions, or print orders if you offer them.
Surprises in the delivery are bad for both of you. The couple who thought they'd get a USB drive in a wooden box is going to be unhappy when they get a link, no matter how beautiful that link is.
The week before delivery
Your culling, editing, and color work happens on its own timeline. What changes in the final week is the delivery prep:
- Pick a cover photo. The first thing the couple sees should be the photo you'd want them to print. Often it's not the most "wow" image — it's the one that makes them feel.
- Sequence the gallery. Tell the day in order: getting ready, ceremony, portraits, reception, exit. Resist the urge to lead with the best fifteen images. Clients want to relive the day, not browse a portfolio.
- Choose download permissions. Full-res downloads for paid clients is standard. If you don't enable downloads, say why — and have an answer for the inevitable "can my mom get a copy?".
- Decide on password protection. For most weddings, a password is overkill and just adds friction. For high-profile clients, public figures, or events where the couple wants discretion, it's mandatory.
- Pick an expiration. A year is generous. Six months is reasonable. Don't go indefinite — galleries that stay up forever are a hosting cost on you and a maintenance liability.
Sending the link
Don't bury the link in a 600-word email about your process. The first line of the email should be the link. The second line should say what's in the gallery and how long it's live. Everything else (print orders, social media tagging, when to expect prints) goes below the fold.
"Hi Sarah and James — your wedding gallery is ready: [link]. 487 photos, available through August 2027. Tap any photo to favorite it; if you want prints or specific high-res downloads, just heart them and I'll know which ones you love."
That's the entire email. Five sentences. The couple is excited to see the photos, not your studio's communications policy.
What clients actually do in a gallery
Three things, in this order:
- Scroll the whole gallery once — usually within an hour of getting the link, often together on a couch.
- Share specific photos — to family group chats, Instagram, the people in the photo.
- Come back later — to pick prints, write the thank-you cards, build the wedding album.
A good gallery platform makes all three frictionless. A bad one makes the second step (sharing specific photos to a group chat) require a download-and-reupload dance, which kills the natural sharing moment.
Selections, comments, and the spreadsheet you don't want
If you offer wedding albums, you need the couple's favorites. The old workflow — "email me a list of 80 photo numbers" — is a spreadsheet nobody enjoys. Modern gallery platforms let the couple tap a heart on each photo; you see the picks instantly, organized, ready to pull into your album software.
Comments are useful too, sparingly. "We'd love a different crop on this one" is good information. "OMG that's amazing" is fine but doesn't change anything. Encourage favorites for must-have status and comments for change-requests, not both for everything.
Print sales and add-ons
Two models:
- In-gallery print store — the platform processes the order, integrates with a lab (Bay Photo, WHCC), and pays you a percentage. Convenient. Lower margins. Less control over the finished print.
- Out-of-gallery prints — the couple favorites the photos they want printed, emails you, you order with your lab and charge them directly. More work for you. Higher margins. Full control.
Neither is wrong. Pick the one that matches your business. Just decide before the gallery goes live so the messaging is consistent. For a deeper take on this, the selling-prints-through-your-client-gallery guide walks through both models in detail.
Common delivery mistakes
- Leading with the highlights. Tempting. Wrong. The couple wants the whole day.
- Too many photos. 800 photos from a 6-hour wedding is a lot. 500 is plenty. 350 well-culled is luxurious.
- Forgetting to test the link. Open the gallery link in an incognito window before you send it. Once.
- Disabling downloads with no warning. If you don't allow full-res downloads, tell the couple why — and offer to provide specific high-res files on request.
- Ignoring the mobile experience. Test the gallery on a phone before you send it. If it looks wrong on a phone, your clients will see it wrong.
Where delivered.photos fits
delivered.photos is the gallery delivery layer — masonry viewer, favorites, comments, downloads, password protection, expirations, custom branding, optional custom domain. It doesn't include contracts, invoices, or a print store; those live in your existing studio tools, or you handle prints with your lab directly. Starter is free; Pro is €9/mo billed annually for unlimited galleries.
If you're shopping platforms, the comparison pages walk through how delivered.photos stacks up against Pixieset, Pic-Time, ShootProof, and the rest — honestly, with the cases where each one wins.