How to Hang Your Photos as a Symmetrical Gallery Wall

Last week I revealed all of our wedding photos.

To say I’m obsessed with them would be an understatement. If I could wallpaper our entire condo with them I would. But that might be a little narcissistic and I’m not sure my new husband would approve. Let’s just say I love them and every time I look at them I get all warm and fuzzy inside thinking about our big day.

Since we received the photos, I knew I had to incorporate them into our home in a big way. I was tempted to replace all of our picture frames with new pics from the wedding…but again that might be a little strange and guests might not believe we had any other life before our wedding date. So instead I settled for one big impact wall with plenty of big pictures from our wedding. Still a little wall devoted to my favorite pictures, without looking too wedding-obsessed to outsiders.

My first order of business? Find frames. I headed to my favorite place for inexpensive pictures frames (Ikea) and left with 6 large, square, white ones. Then, I had to figure out how to hang them properly. I used the picture hanging kit that comes with the frame (a wire and 2 hooks) and got the back of the frames all set up. Then I took my tape measure and got to work creating a symmetrical layout on our wall. Because I wasn’t going to be nailing into studs, I used a small anchor and a screw for each frame.

But then I quickly ran into a little problem. The frames were hanging just fine on the screw head, but they were jutting out from the wall. Ohhh boy. This was not going to do. So, I got out some command strips and scissors in order to resolve this problem.

Because the edge of the frame is so thin, I cut the command strips in half and adhered them to the upper corners of the frame. Next, I hung the frame on the screw, used my level to get the frame perfect, and stuck the frame to the wall with the command strips. Not only did this prevent the frame from jutting out from the wall, but it also ensured that my frames would never be askew and need straightening. Heck yes, this command strip and wire combo worked quite well for my little project.

So I had 6 perfectly even and symmetrical pictures on my wall…but they were all empty. Time to fill them with my favorite pictures. I scoured through the hundreds of wedding and engagement photos, and settled on 6 shots. I printed the photos at Costco because they do square 12×12’s for only a few dollars each.

I tried to go with a nice assortment of photos from our day. The colorful flowers, the venue, us in front of the Chicago sign. Different pictures that when brought together really showcase what our day was all about. It adds some much-needed interest to our small office nook and I am loving it. Were the frames a bit of a pain to hang? Certainly. But it was well worth it, considering the instant mood lift I get every time I walk into this little space.