How to have your family's documented history researched, printed, and ready in time for the reunion — including copies for every branch.
A reunion is the one day the whole family is in a room together, and it's the natural moment to hand them something permanent. It's also a hard deadline, which changes how the project has to be planned.
Work backward from the date
Full research takes weeks; hardcover printing and shipping take more. Start the conversation at least three months out if you want physical books in hands on the day. If the reunion is sooner than that, the digital deliverables — the interactive family site especially — can be ready faster than print.
What works well on the day
- The interactive family site. The strongest reunion item, because everyone can pull it up on a phone at the table and keep browsing it after they go home.
- Hardcover copies — one per household usually. Extra copies are $195 each.
- A collecting table. Reunions are where the undocumented material surfaces: photographs no one has scanned, a family Bible, someone's aunt who remembers why the family left. Set up a table for it and you'll leave with more than you arrived with.
Splitting the cost
Reunion projects are frequently paid for by several households together rather than one person, since the result belongs to all of them. A flat price makes that arithmetic simple: everyone knows the total before anyone commits.
What we deliver
| Package | What it is | Flat price |
|---|---|---|
| Bring Your Own Tree | You already have the research. We format and produce it as a custom family-history book (PDF) plus an organized digital archive. | $495 |
| Keepsake | We do the research. Custom-written family history with full source citations, an interactive family site, the GEDCOM and document archive, and future-research notes — all digital. | $1,295 |
| The Heirloom | Everything in Keepsake, plus one hardcover print edition and the engraved keepsake USB. | $1,995 |
Tell us the one ancestor you're stuck on. We'll say plainly whether the records exist — and if they don't, we'll say that too.
Start with a free call →Planning the research yourself? Start with the free state and county guides and the free ancestor database.
Frequently asked questions
How far in advance should I plan a family history book for a reunion?
At least three months if you want printed hardcovers in hand on the day. Research takes weeks and hardcover printing and shipping add more time. Digital deliverables such as the interactive family site can be ready sooner.
Can we get a copy for every family at the reunion?
Yes. Additional hardcover copies are $195 each, which covers printing and shipping. Most reunion groups order one per household.
Can several families split the cost?
Yes, and most reunion projects are paid for that way. Because the price is flat and agreed up front, everyone knows the total before anyone commits.
What should we collect at the reunion itself?
Photographs nobody has scanned, family Bibles, letters, and above all the memories of the oldest people present — where the family came from and why they left. Reunions surface material that exists in no archive.