Wedding Photos of Before ceremony

The following “Before ceremony” images were created by documentary wedding photographers from the WPJA, who regularly submit their best candid moments, artistic portraits, details, and scene setters for review by our WPJA competition judges.

WEDDINGS + ELOPEMENTS + ARTISTIC PORTRAITS & DETAILS + ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS

Some of the “Before ceremony” marriage photography samples below may have come from the getting ready events, the actual wedding ceremony, the reception after-party, an engagement session with the couple, or possibly be artistic portraits or detail shots.

FINE ART WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY: Our Artistic Guild award winners take a more creative approach to wedding day Portraits and use their innovative skills to capture the Details of each couple’s special day. The Artistic Guild’s Scene Setters are some of the most notable and breathtaking from within the artistic WPJA contest categories. Playing with light and shadow, special effects, and post-production editing, these images embrace the artistic component of wedding photography.

PRE-WEDDING ENGAGEMENT PHOTOGRAPHY: The story of every couple starts long before the wedding day, and the engagement marks one of the most important milestones in their story. Engaged couples often want to celebrate the occasion and announce their upcoming wedding with a photoshoot. Pre-wedding portraits of an engaged couple can be just as moving and compelling as the images taken on the wedding day. Engagement portraits can win a Diamond Award, an exclusive WPJA award whose winner is selected from the best engagement photography in the world.

The Illinois WPJA is proud to award this non traditional, urban Chicago wedding image of the IL Couple and bridesmaids walking across a street in downtown while on the way to their ceremony

Etiler, Istanbul wedding bride artistic image session for bridal portraits before the ceremony

bridal portraits Istanbul Istanbul wedding bride artistic image session Etiler bw

Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum, Turkey wedding couple artistic image session in color for bridal portraits before the ceremony

Mandarin Oriental Bodrum bridal portraits Bodrum Color Turkey Bodrum wedding couple

Artistic Golturkbuku, Turkey wedding photography at Mandarin Oriental Bodrum hotel during a bridal portrait session before the ceremony

before ceremony Bodrum bridal portrait session Oriental Uruk Sarisen Golturkbuku Bodrum Hotel

Lionsgate Event Center artful style wedding detail picture showing the bride pulls her dress into the jeep before heading to first look before the ceremony

first look before ceremony Lafayette CO artistic details bride Lafayette CO Lionsgate Event Center

Modern Sichuan wedding portrait in China created in the waiting area for the wedding ceremony near a wall painted with Chinese architecture frames with the position of the bride in response to the mural

Sichuan painted architecture mural frames wall position

A digital edit to a Neuilly sur Seine wedding couple portrait in Hauts de Seine of the France Bride and groom during a silhouette photo shoot before ceremony

Neuilly sur Seine France Hauts de Seine venue silhouette Hauts-de-Seine before ceremony French couple photo shoot

London wedding reportage photography contest award winning candid moment at a Jewish Synagogue of the Bride with her parents getting ready for the ceremony

parents London wedding reportage getting ready bride bw Jewish Synagogue UK

Romantic Colorado wedding portrait in the Rocky Mountain National Park showing a CO couple taking a walk in the mountains before their ceremony

co couple Rocky Mountain National Park Rocky Mountain National Park weddings mountains walk Colorado wedding portrait before ceremony

Noord-Holland wedding reportage moment of some good luck wishes just before ceremony

before ceremony good luck North Holland Netherlands wishes NL bride Teun Bakker

Château de Monbet, France wedding reportage photograph of the thoughtful love of a young bride breastfeeding her baby before the ceremony

Nouvelle-Aquitaine french bride Landes photography Château de Monbet venue Chateau de Monbet before ceremony breastfeeding baby

Toulouse father-daughter wedding day moment photo from South of France showing the Bride taking care of her father before the ceremony

father before ceremony father daughter toulouse bride South of France Toulouse France wedding day

Nantucket Island emotional wedding day moment of a MA Bride and her father sharing an emotional and tearful hug before the ceremony

Massachusetts MA bride moment father Nantucket Island bw emotional

Bow Lake , AB, Canada creative couple wedding portrait with a beautiful sunrise before the ceremony begins

Bow Lake portrait AB Canada beautiful sunrise before ceremony

Winter Illinois wedding photo from Maggie Daley Park, Chicago of the Groom ice skating before the ceremony

winter Edward Ciesielski before ceremony Maggie Daley Park Chicago Groom ice skating Illinois wedding photo

The bride gives her grandmother a kiss on her wedding day before leaving to the ceremony - Miami, FL wedding photographer

miami bride FL wedding photographer bw kiss Miami grandmother

Udine, Italy wedding image showing the Niece's love

at home Udine bride Udine touch Udine photographer Italy

Bride having a moment with her grandmother before ceremony at the White Church in Bucharest

before ceremony Bucharest Romania White Church Bucharest White Church Parish bucharest bride bw

The bride has arrived in the churchyard and dissolves in a kiss to her daughter who awaits her with relatives and dad for the ceremony in Bergamo, Italy

kiss italian bride Italy churchyard Bergamo Dad Bergamo church wedding

Claridges Hotel London wedding | Bride and groom meet before the ceremony

London wedding crying before ceremony Bride and groom meet Claridges Hotel tears bw

Photo of bride getting lipstick before the ceremony at wedding venue

La Menuse artistic weddings La Menuse La Menuse fine art wedding image wedding venue Dordogne Bride lipstick La Menuse Dordogne lipstick

Wedding Photography from New Jersey | Bride being escorted to a car before ceremony, mom holds veil behind bride too tightly, bride gives a look

Wedding Photo from New Jersey of the Bride being escorted to a car before ceremony, mom holds veil behind bride too tightly, bride gives a look

holds mom escorted New Jersey a car look bride

Wedding portrait of the Bride just before the ceremony at Ramgarhia Gurdwara, Birmingham, UK

Birmingham Wedding portrait uk bride Birmingham-UK before ceremony Birmingham Ramgarhia Gurdwara UK

actual day wedding photo of getting makeup on before ceremony

hunan wedding image before ceremony makeup hunan weddings hunan actual day wedding wedding

The black and white wedding photo of the groom getting ready in Goiás before the ceremony

A wedding photo of the groom in Goiás, black and white, taken before the ceremony

before ceremony Brazil black and white Goiás spouse bridegroom goias wedding photography

The groom received help as he was getting ready for a São Paulo ceremony

A moment of calm amidst the hustle; the groom looking assertive in his black and white profile image

bw São Paulo getting ready indoor in a building bridegroom indoors

A wedding day image of the sharply dressed groom, ready to start a new life of love and commitment at the Belcroft Estate and Event Centre

Amidst the wedding preparations, the soon-to-be groom in Toronto is sharply dressed in black and white, with cuffs and cufflinks, ready for the ceremony

black and white getting ready bw wedding preparations groom before ceremony Toronto

In a timeless black and white portrait of resounding beauty, the bride readies herself in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, to embark on the start of a new journey

The bride takes a moment to prepare for her union in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, in a black and white picture

Rio Grande do Sul bride wedding preparations wife Rio Grande do Sul Wedding black and white before ceremony

An Attica wedding photographer captures the bride's reflection in mirrors as she prepares for the special day before the ceremony begins in striking black and white

The Attica wedding photographer gracefully immortalizes this momentous day with stunning black and white reflections of the bride's anticipation before the ceremony

bride bw Attica wedding photographer before ceremony bridal Athens wedding photography Athens

Swiss Hotel Bosphorus wedding venue detail photo | A wedding dress hanging on the 1st floor behind the bulbs

The pristine wedding dress hung elegantly on the first floor, bathed in the warm glow of the light bulbs, at the luxurious Swiss Hotel Bosphorus wedding venue

bridal gown wedding preparations getting ready indoor before ceremony gown brides dress

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WPJA contest judges have been recognized by their industry peers, winning top awards as staff picture editors, staff photojournalists, and newsroom mentors while working for these and other leading publications and journalism organizations.