What to Do with Your Wedding Cards: A Conversation with MyCardBook’s Vlad

After the wedding, you sit down together and open the cards. Someone has written a little marriage advice. A family member shares how happy they are for you, and a friend includes something that makes you both laugh. You save them because those words mean something. Eventually, though, you have to decide where they should go. For many couples, that means finding a box and putting it somewhere safe.

That question is what caught my attention about MyCardBook, a company that turns wedding cards into keepsake books. I reached out to the owner, Vlad, to learn more about the idea and the family behind it. We originally discussed having him on The Wedding Chaplain Podcast and eventually settled on a written interview. I appreciated hearing how his experience of marriage and living far from family shaped his work.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

David: Tell me a little about yourself and your family.

Vlad: I’m originally from Ukraine, and I’ve been living in Dublin for over a decade now. My wife, Alina, and I have been married for more than ten years, and we have a child together. Outside of the business, I’m a pretty active person. I love open-water swimming, which is very cold in Ireland, and try to stay outdoors as much as I can. Building MyCardBook has been a real labor of love alongside all that.

David: How did you and Alina get to the point of marriage? And how did you propose?

Vlad: We spent more than three years in a long-distance relationship before we finally decided it was time, and Alina moved to Ireland to be with me. We made the proposal decision together. We knew it was right.

If I’m honest, it’s probably the one thing I’d do differently if I had the chance again. I would make more of a moment out of it. But everything since has more than made up for it.

David: Where did the idea for MyCardBook come from?

Vlad: The story actually starts with our sister project, MyArtBook. That idea grew out of Alina’s experience working in childcare. It gave parents a way to turn their children’s piles of artwork into a keepsake book.

Once that was up and running, we started getting requests to do the same thing with wedding cards. It happened so often that we almost got pulled into it! Very quickly, we realized people wanted this for all kinds of sentimental occasions. MyCardBook was born out of listening to what people were actually asking for.

David: Why is preserving these memories important to you personally?

Vlad: Having lived away from family for so long, and having gone through years of a long-distance relationship myself, I know what it’s like to hold on to physical reminders of the people you love. A card or a letter gives you something tangible that says, “I was thinking of you.”

Those small paper things carry so much weight. That’s really the heart of MyCardBook: giving people a way to protect those moments and keep them accessible.

David: Tell me about the different kinds of books you create.

Vlad: We started with Wedding Card Books, turning the cards couples receive on their big day into a beautifully designed keepsake. From there, we expanded into Baby Card Books for new parents.

We’ve also worked on more personal, one-off projects. One business had collected hundreds of thank-you cards from customers over several years, and we helped turn those into a set of keepsake volumes. Whatever the occasion, we take paper memories and turn them into something people will keep and revisit.

David: Is there a particular family’s story that has stayed with you?

Vlad: One story that really moved us was that of a young girl named Saoirse O’Driscoll, who lived with congenital heart disease. She was known for her courage and generosity, and she helped raise funds for children’s heart charities before she passed away at just thirteen.

Her dad, John, wrote her letters from the different places he traveled. After she passed away, her family gathered those letters and turned them into a memory book with us. Helping preserve those letters was deeply meaningful. They held so much of the love between a father and his daughter.

David: What would you most want readers to take away from your work?

Vlad: In the middle of busy, everyday life, it’s easy to overlook the small things. A card or a handwritten note can become something that matters deeply over the years. Life moves fast, but the paper trail of love people leave behind doesn’t have to disappear. That’s what we’re trying to protect.

As a wedding chaplain, I spend a lot of time helping couples think about the promises they will make and the people who will be there to witness them. The cards those people leave behind preserve something of that day, too. Years later, seeing a familiar person’s handwriting can bring back the memory of having them there with you.

I appreciate Vlad sharing his family’s story and the thought behind MyCardBook. If you have wedding cards tucked away, this is one way to give them a place where you can enjoy reading them again.

Vlad has also arranged a special offer for Wedding Chaplain readers. Use the code DAVID50 for $50 off your order, or visit the dedicated MyCardBook page for Wedding Chaplain readers.