An email about a wedding from years ago
A couple you photographed several years ago write to say they lost their photos when a laptop was stolen, and their gallery link no longer works. They are about to celebrate an anniversary and would love a copy. You remember them, but not which hard drive their wedding is on.
You plug in three drives, search folder names that followed a slightly different system back then, and eventually find the final images. Then you upload them, make a link, email it, and try to remember whether your contract said anything about charging for this.
Nobody keeps an index of the archive
Storage grows one drive or folder at a time, and the naming convention changes as you do. Your galleries expire according to your gallery platform's settings, but the files behind them live elsewhere.
- Old weddings are spread across drives, cloud storage and old laptops.
- Folder names do not always match how couples remember their wedding.
- Gallery expiry means the easy copy has gone.
- Your archive and re-delivery terms may have changed over the years.
- Requests arrive rarely, so there is no routine for handling them.
What an unindexed archive costs
Each request takes an evening of searching, which is unpaid time unless your terms say otherwise. If the files cannot be found, you have a very unhappy couple and a story they may tell others.
The worst case is realising a wedding was never properly archived at all. An index makes that visible while there is still a chance to fix it, rather than when the couple ask.
How we build an archive index and request process
- We catalogue your existing storage: each drive or cloud folder is scanned and weddings are matched to couples using folder names, dates and your studio records. Anything uncertain is listed for you to confirm.
- Each wedding in the index records where the final images are, where the originals are, whether a second copy exists and when the gallery expired.
- New weddings are added to the index when they are delivered, so it stays current.
- A request page on your website lets past couples ask for their photos with their names and wedding date, and matches them to the index.
- Your terms for re-delivery, including any fee, are shown and paid on the page if they apply.
- Once confirmed, you are told which drive or folder to retrieve from, and a fresh download link is sent when you upload.
| Question | Today | With the index |
|---|---|---|
| Where is this wedding? | Search several drives | Drive and folder listed |
| Is there a second copy? | Not sure | Shown on the record |
| Is there a fee? | Check old contracts | Your terms shown on the request page |
| Link to the couple | Built by hand | Sent when the upload is done |
The first scan is the biggest job. We do it with you, because only you know which old drive held what. We do not hold your images; the index records where they are.
Archive requests, handled
When a couple get in touch, their wedding is found by name or date in seconds. The request page takes their details and deals with any fee in your terms, and you only need to plug in the drive the index names.
You also gain a clear view of the archive itself: weddings with only one copy, drives nearing the end of their life, and gaps from the years before you had a system.
Signs your archive needs an index
- Finding an old wedding means plugging in several drives.
- Your folder naming has changed over the years.
- You are not sure every wedding has a second copy.
- You are unsure what your old contracts said about re-delivery.
- Requests for old photos take an evening to deal with.