Remembrance books
Memorial photo books in New Zealand
A memorial photo book is a printed book of one person, made from the photos a family already has. With Photouria you upload those photos, choose the person, and Photouria finds every photo of them and lays out a book you can adjust before printing. It arrives in New Zealand in about 7 to 17 days from the day you order, and costs from NZ$149 with shipping included.
Building the book is free and needs no account, so you can see it finished before you decide anything.
The hard part of a memorial book is almost never the printing. It is that the photos are scattered: some on a phone, some on a laptop, some in an old Google account, some held by a sister or a son who has not looked at them in years. What follows is how to get from that to a finished book without spending a fortnight on it.
How do you make a memorial photo book?
There are four steps, and only the first one takes any real effort.
1. Gather the photos in one place
Upload from a phone, from a computer, or from a Google Photos library exported with Google Takeout. Ask family to send what they have and add theirs to the same library. You do not need to sort or name anything first.
2. Choose the person
Photouria automatically organises your photos and groups the people in them, so you pick the person once rather than hunting for their photos one at a time. Photos of them from years ago that nobody remembered uploading tend to surface here.
3. Read the book and change what you want
The book arrives laid out. Swap photos, drop pages, reorder, and add captions, a name, dates, or a few lines of your own. This is the step families usually do together.
4. Order it
You pay only at this point. Copies for other family members are ordered the same way.
How long does a memorial photo book take to arrive in NZ?
Delivery to New Zealand usually takes 7 to 17 days from the day you order. Books are printed in the United States and shipped here.
Being straight about what that means: if a service is a week away, the book will very likely not be there in time, and it is worth not planning around it. Most families make the book afterwards, when there is room to sit with the photos, and give it at a birthday, an anniversary, or the first Christmas. If you want something for the service itself, a printed order of service from a local printer is the faster route, and the book can follow.
What are the options for making a memorial book?
Three routes, and the right one depends mostly on how much of the work you want to do by hand.
| Photouria | A design it yourself photo book tool | A local photo lab or print shop | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finding the photos | You upload the library and the photos of one person are gathered for you | You find and upload each photo yourself | You bring the photos you have already chosen |
| Laying out the pages | Laid out for you, then you change whatever you want | You place every photo on every page | Varies. Some offer a design service, some do not |
| Best when | The photos are scattered and nobody has time to scroll through ten years | You already know exactly which photos you want and enjoy the design | You want to talk to a person, or you need something printed locally and fast |
| The book | Linen hardcover, foil stamped spine, printed dust jacket | Depends on the supplier | Depends on the supplier |
| Price | From NZ$149, shipping included | Varies | Varies |
| To New Zealand | About 7 to 17 days | Varies | Often the fastest, because it is printed here |
How many photos should go in a memorial book?
Photouria asks for a range rather than a number: 24 to 30, 31 to 40, 41 to 60, 61 to 80, or 81 to 100 photos, or a custom number up to 150. Most memorial books sit at the upper end, because the point is a life rather than an occasion.
The count sets the price. NZ$149 covers up to 30 photos, then NZ$10 for every 10 more, capped at NZ$219 from 91 photos up.
If the photos you have are fewer than you hoped, that is normal, and a shorter book of the right photos reads better than a long one padded out.
What if the photos are spread across the family?
Ask people to send what they have, however they have it, and upload the lot. Photos from different phones, different years, and different quality all go into the same library, and the sorting happens after they land rather than before.
Old photographs that only exist on paper can be photographed on a phone and uploaded the same way. They will not be as sharp as a digital original, and they are usually worth including anyway.
What is the printed book like?
Every Photouria book is the same object: a Lulu linen hardcover, woven linen over hardcover boards, your title foil stamped on the spine, and a printed dust jacket over the top. There are six sizes, from 14 × 22 cm up to A4 at 21 × 30 cm, and six linen colours. Inside, photos print on 80lb coated paper with a matte finish, and a book can run from 24 pages up to 800.
The title on the spine is foil stamped, so a name and a pair of years can sit on the shelf legibly. You can add captions and dates inside.
Questions families ask
How much does a memorial photo book cost in New Zealand?
NZ$149 covers up to 30 photos, then NZ$10 for every 10 more, capped at NZ$219 from 91 photos up. Prices are in New Zealand dollars and shipping is included. Building the book is free, so you only pay if you order it.
Will it arrive before the funeral?
Usually not. Delivery to New Zealand takes about 7 to 17 days from the day you order. Most families make the book afterwards rather than for the service.
Can I order more than one copy for the family?
Yes. Once the book is made you can order additional copies of the same book, each priced the same way.
What if I do not have many photos of them?
A book needs at least 24 photos. Photos held by other family members can be uploaded into the same library, which is usually where the missing years come from.
Can I include photos of other people in the book?
Yes. Photos of them with other people are usually most of the book. You can also select more than one person if you want the book to cover a couple.
Can I write in it?
You can add captions, dates, a title, and your own text before you order. Handwriting on the page is not something we print, and many families leave the first blank page for exactly that.
Do I need an account to start?
No. You can build the whole book without an account and only sign up when you are ready to order.
Where do you ship?
To New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and most of Europe.