Wedding Photos of Dark background

The following “Dark background” 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 “Dark background” 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.

In Tarvisio, Udine, Italy, a couple shares a kiss bathed in fantastic light. The off-center, minimalistic shot captures their intimacy against a dark background in a romantic portrait session.

Tender Tarvisio Twilight: Couple's Kiss Captured in Intimate Silhouette

Breathtaking wedding ceremony captured in Golden, BC, Canada. Silhouetted bride and groom stand face to face, radiating love and joy on their special day.

Eternal Love in the Golden Light: A Silhouetted Wedding Ceremony in BC

Face to face dark background Silhouetted couple Golden BC British Columbia Canada British Columbia Wedding Portrait

In Trieste, Italy, the bride and groom share a tender moment as she shields herself from the rice toss with her bouquet, against a dark background.

Eternal Love in Trieste: A Portrait of a Bride and Groom

eternal love Trieste Italy wedding confetti trieste photographer shower Rice toss Friuli-Venezia Giulia

A newlywed couple celebrate their marriage in Grado, Gorizia, Italy as they are showered with rice at the exit of the ceremony against a dark background.

Rice Rain: A Grado Wedding Celebration

marriage bouquet bride and groom Grado groom Grado wedding Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Lifestyle couple portrait taken at Kasteeltuin Geldrop showcasing a beautifully composed scene. The couple stands in a small ray of sun with their eyes closed, against a dark background of trees and a hint of dark blue sky.

Glamorous Love | Kasteeltuin Geldrop Showcases Couple's Spellbinding Engagement Portrait

trees Geldrop Engagements Noord Brabant Couple love engaged couple Noord Brabant portrait photography

A creative wedding day portrait captured at the Choue venue, La Seigneurie d'Alleray. The groom is seen finishing his preparations, bathed in a spotlight against a dark background, creating a striking image with high contrast.

Spotlighted Groom: Preparations Illuminated at Choue's La Seigneurie d'Alleray

groom Seigneurie dAlleray creative portrait spotlight high contrast Choue Groom Portrait Artful

Romantic couple captured in a pre-wedding portrait at Hotel Chalet Tirol in San Rafael de Heredia, Costa Rica. The Costa Rica wedding photographer beautifully frames the duo amidst lush foliage, creating a dreamy, artistic image.

San Rafael de Heredia's Hotel Chalet Tirol: A Dreamy Engagement Portrait Capturing Romance amidst Costa Rica's Lush Foliage

San Rafael de Heredia framed behind tree dark background Costa Rica lush foliage Costa Rica engagement photography Hotel Chalet Tirol

A wedding day picture taken at Domaine du Castelet in Castres, France. The image shows an adult hand reaching out to a little girl's hand against a dark background in black and white.

Enchanting Eternity: An Intimate Connection Amidst Shadows

Castres hand reaching Tarn dark background child Castres Wedding Photography Domaine du Castelet

A couple in dark attire embraces during their Gothic wedding in Mannheim. The black and white portrait captures the intensity and romance, against a dark background.

Intensity and Romance: Gothic Wedding Embraces in Mannheim

dark attire black and white Mannheim dark background Gothic Weddings Mannheim Wedding Portrait Worms

In Scheggino, Umbria, Italy, a portrait session during a wedding day documented the couple's tender affection, captured in a meticulously crafted image of them embracing cheek to cheek in the midst of nature's backdrop.

UMBRIAN SERENADE: A Portrait of Love, Nature, and the Wedding Embrace in Scheggino

Umbria dark background Italy Scheggino cheek to cheek Umbria Artistic Portrait tender affection

A couple is seen posing in the wine cellar of The Star Barn at Stone Gables Estate, utilizing a reflective mirror and colored gels in the image creation process

The Star Barn at Stone Gables Estate: Couple Poses in Wine Cellar, Creative Image Creation Process

Stone Gables Estate wine cellar Elizabethtown Wedding Venue Reflective Mirror The Star Barn night portrait PA Couple Poses

A romantic lifestyle engagement portrait session in Milan in the early morning, surrounded by small lights against a dark background

Engaged couple enjoys romantic Milan morning with twinkling lights

Milan Engagement Portrait Milan dark background formal dress small lights romantic portrait Black clothing

At the historic Hospital de Santiago in Úbeda, Jaén, Spain, the couple posed in a dramatic pre-wedding double framing artistic portrait with a dark background

The couple's engagement portrait was a dramatic work of art, captured at the historic Hospital de Santiago in Úbeda, Jaén, Spain, with a dark background and a double framing effect

framing double framing work of art jaen engagement portrait Ubeda dark background historic building

The pre-wedding portrait session of a minimalistic couple in San Francisco was captured in a tender embrace against a dark background

In San Francisco, CA, a tender embrace against a dark background captured a minimalistic couple's lifestyle portrait session

tender embrace dark background San Francisco Lifestyle Engagement Portrait San Francisco minimalistic portrait

They smiled and hugged in the golden sunset light while the dark background contrasted their cheerful faces in a lifestyle engagement portrait in San Floriano del Collio, Gorizia, Italy

In San Floriano del Collio, Gorizia, Italy, the engaged couple hugged and smiled in the golden sunset light against a dark background

golden sunlight Gorizia hug from behind San Floriano del Collio Italy Gorizia Lifestyle Engagement Portrait dark background

From a high angle shot with a dark background, a woman in Beijing, China lovingly places a gold bracelet on the bride's wrist in the comfort of her own home

A high-angle shot with a dark background captures the intimate moment of a woman gifting the bride with a gold bracelet in her own home

China Beijing BEIJING photographer Helping hands gold bracelet high angle shot dark background

In Toronto, Ontario, a wedding dress is hung from a solo hand held overhead, with a dark background providing a striking contrast to the white of the dress

In Toronto, a white wedding dress is dramatically held aloft against a dark background

dark background wedding dress Toronto Toronto photographer

The bride's gaze draws the viewer in, her warm embrace illuminated by the sun against the dark backdrop of Villa Le Piazzole in Florence, Tuscany

The bride and groom are captured in a romantic and intimate portrait, with her warm embrace illuminated by the sun against a dark backdrop and her gaze drawing the viewer in

Hotel Villa Le Piazzole Tuscany Italy Florence Florence Photographer warm embrace dark background

The couple was framed by dinosaur bones at the Science Museum-MN, with a dark background

At the Science Museum-MN, the bride and groom posed framed by dinosaur bones, against a dark background

MN St Paul Minnesota Science Museum of Minnesota dark background Minneapolis photographer dinosaur bones

An engagement portrait of a soon-to-be-married couple set against a dark canyon backdrop created with a dramatic, rim-lit effect

A couple engagement portrait session at Red Rock Canyon, dark background with faces rim lit in darkness

Nevada dark background nevada engagement session Red Rock Canyon rim lit

A shaft of soft light illuminates half of the bride in her Chandigarh bridal portrait, with a dark background for contrast

The delicate interplay of light and shadow in the bridal portrait creates a striking visual effect

shaft of light soft light dark background Chandigarh Chandigarh Photographer

At the Beijing bridegroom's home, a detail picture with strong spotlight with a dark background highlighting the couple's hands intertwined and the rings prominently displayed

From a Beijing bridegroom's house, a detail image with intertwined hands with a spotlight and dark background

BEIJING photographer dark background Beijing hands spotlight

At night, a couple embracing in front of the Hotel Zug's gazebo arbor is illuminated by lights against a dark background

The Hotel Zug's gazebo arbor is illuminated by lights at night, highlighting a couple embracing in the dark

Zug Photographer Switzerland Zug Hotel night portrait gazebo Lights Zug

In Rome, Italy, the bride and her makeup artist stand out against the dark background in a captivating bridal profile

Italy cosmetics makeup artist dark background Rome Rome photographer rome bride

Izmir post proposal portraits from a Turkey couple engagement session with a dark background and center framing

Izmir photographer dark background İzmir engagement session Turkey couple Furkan Akarsu Turkey İzmir

Washington DC lifestyle couples portrait photography at Multiverse National Gallery with a dark background and rim lighting

DC portrait photography rim lighting Multiverse National Gallery DC lifestyle couple gallery Multiverse

An outstanding South Lake Tahoe wedding picture with this California bride and groom at a Private House with lights overhead

lit Lake Tahoe California bride and groom South Lake Tahoe lights overhead South Lake Tahoe wedding picture

A striking Highlands Ranch wedding picture of a Colorado bride reflected in a mirror as she gets her makeup done on her wedding day

Colorado CO wedding day Blue dark background mirror Highlands Ranch

A China elegant wedding day detail picture of the brides foot against a dark background

Vuca Zhang Detail Picture Liaoning dark background brides foot elegant China

A Liaoning stylish wedding day detail picture showing the Teacups at the hotel venue with a dark background

Teacups China Vuca Zhang Liaoning stylish wedding dark background hotel venue Liaoning

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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.