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.

Telangana documentary wedding photo at home before the ceremony

Pictures of a bride getting helped into her dress - Grand Rapids wedding photographer

Grand Rapids wedding Picture of a bride getting helped into her dress

gown wedding photographer Michigan wedding helped wedding Grand Rapids bride photographer

Bridesmaids react to seeing the bride in her wedding dress while getting ready at Hotel Palomar in Chicago

venue image of the Bridesmaids reacting to seeing the bride in her wedding dress while getting ready at Hotel Palomar in Chicago

bridesmaids Hotel Palomar marriage venue before ceremony venue Chicago photographer Hotel Palomar wedding photographer bride

Knoxville documentary wedding photo of bride and mom sharing a moment before Tennessee ceremony

Southern Sentiments: A Knoxville Wedding Tale

tale Knoxville mom nature Sentiments Knoxville bride southern

Wedding pictures by Tianjin photographer of the girls having fun before China ceremony

tianjin weddings before ceremony having fun China girls Tianjin actual day wedding

Ho Chi Minh wedding photography of eye makeup getting applied to bride in Vietnam

Beauty Blooms in Ho Chi Minh: A Bride's Eye Makeup Ritual

ho chi minh wedding photographer getting ready Vietnam Photographer bride wedding Vietnam applied

Wedding photojournalism at Hayes, London of older guest sleeping before ceremony

Eternal Rest: Moments of Peace at Hayes

sleeping London before ceremony guest London photographer older nap

Sicilia bride before her wedding ceremony

Bella Sposa: A Sicilian Bride's Pre-Ceremony Preparations

Sicily bride Sicily Dad overhead car father outdoors

Documentary wedding photography at Seville of a bride Skype on her phone before the ceremony

THE SEVILLE CALL: BRIDE SKYPES, DOCUMENTARY MOMENT CAPTURED

Skype video chat Seville Documentary wedding preparation Seville Photographer bride

Manteo, NC wedding photography - Groom Getting Ready with bowtie

Fatherly Fix: Bowtie Bonding Before Altar Adventure in Manteo

helper North Carolina bowtie love North Carolina wedding picture Manteo groom Manteo wedding photographer

Getting ready with bride and parents - Valencia surprise

Valencia Surprise: Bride Getting Ready for Wedding - Photo with Parents

before ceremony Valencia love special day photo emotion family

Documentary wedding photograph of the bride trimming her toenails before the ceremony at Provence, France

Provence Perfection: Bride Preparations Before Wedding Ceremony in France

Provence bride bride preparations Wedding Photograph toenails before ceremony trimming

Miguel Onieva is an artistic wedding photographer for Madrid

Photo by: Miguel Onieva - Madrid Madrid

Madrid rain madrid wedding bride clothes wet getting ready brides dress

Photo by: Miguel Onieva - Madrid Madrid

getting ready bride bw black and white bridal wedding preparations wife

Dorota Karpowicz is an artistic wedding photographer for Alberta

Photo by: Dorota Karpowicz - Banff Alberta

before ceremony Banff wedding preparations youngster kids Children Banff wedding

Photo by: Dorota Karpowicz - Banff Alberta

wife establishment bride before ceremony getting ready bridal lodging

Hungary bride image showing her soft getting ready slippers on a tile floor

A beautiful Hungarian bride is captured with her delicate pre-wedding slippers on a tiled floor

bridal before ceremony wife Budapest bride getting ready Budapest wedding preparations

Calabria bride inspecting her wedding gown in this BW image

The bride looks tenderly at her wedding dress as she inspects it in this black and white image

bride clothes black and white before ceremony bridal brides dress gown getting ready

Danilo Coluccio is an artistic wedding photographer for Reggio Calabria

Photo by: Danilo Coluccio - Siderno Reggio Calabria

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

Alessandro Di Noia is an artistic wedding photographer for Brescia

Photo by: Alessandro Di Noia - Gussago Brescia

wedding preparations before ceremony bridal bride getting ready wife

Monika Zaldo is an artistic wedding photographer for Guipuzcoa

Photo by: Monika Zaldo - Zaldibia Guipuzcoa

before ceremony wedding preparations bw black and white getting ready bride bridal

Portland Bridesmaid fixing the brides dress before the ceremony in this wedding image

fixing Portland-ME Corey Butler ME Maine wedding image before ceremony brides dress

Pres House University of Wisconsin Madison Wedding | The bride's sister reaches down to hold her hand and calm her nerves before she walks down the aisle.

The bride's sister reaches down to hold her hand and calm her nerves before she walks down the aisle

brides friends wedding preparations wife bride getting ready Pres House University of Wisconsin Madison

Black and white photo of a young man sitting in a chair as others get ready

getting ready bridal party groomsmen spouse groom wedding preparations before ceremony

groom making of | winning black-and-white photograph

groom 'making of' in a winning black-and-white image

getting ready spouse before ceremony São Paulo wedding preparations black and white bridegroom

France bridesmaids admire the bride in her dress - Chateau Dumas weddings

the bridesmaids admire the bride in her dress

bridal getting ready before ceremony bride black and white Emil Boczek bw

One of the bridesmaids tears up while getting her hair done as the bride puts her dress on

bridal black and white Alberta bw getting ready wife

The father of the bride tears up seeing his daughter in her wedding dress

weep crying father bridal bride parent

Black and white photo of the groom getting ready in his room in front of a mirror in Shropshire, UK by an England wedding photographer.

Black and white image of the groom getting ready in his room in front of a mirror

bw before ceremony Andy Griffiths spouse bridegroom getting ready Shropshire

A photograph of a bride and her sister crying after exchanging gifts which was a reminder of their late nan

Lancashire crying bridal wife wedding preparations emotion tears

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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.