since you are a newbie, and it's just friends and family, then I see no reason you shouldn't do this your way. As a pro photog, I wouldn't, even for friends and family. My friends pay as well as my family.
But on to your real question. If I were doing this, I wouldn't crop a lot either, and I'd do as Wheatfield suggested. The more time spent on each photo to build the cd, the more money you'd be losing.