Wedding Photos of Departure

The following “Departure” 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 “Departure” 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.

Fireworks light up the sky as attendees depart the ceremony at Espai Les Panses in Valencia on New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve fireworks at Espai Les Panses in Valencia captivate attendees as they depart the ceremony

The bride and groom, leaving their wedding reception in Kansas City, Missouri, were captured in a documentary-style photograph, sitting in a car covered in rain water with "Just Married" written on the window behind them

In Kansas City, Missouri, a documentary-style photograph captured the newly married couple in a car covered in rain water with "Just Married" written on the window

Missouri Kansas City wedding photography rain drops newly married Kansas City car just married

In Delhi, India, the bride bid her last goodbye as she left in a getaway car, with her window partially open

The bride waved goodbye to her guests from the getaway car window as she left her wedding

Delhi Wedding Photography India Delhi departure black and white Last Goodbye auto window

The night ended with the bride and groom sharing a kiss at Ruth Bancroft Gardens before departing with their guests on the bus

The newlyweds concluded the evening with a romantic embrace before taking their leave alongside their guests

departure Walnut Creek Photographer California CA The Ruth Bancroft Garden bus end of night

The bride and groom exit the Church in a decorated Land Rover in Manchester, Vermont

The bride and groom exited the church in a decorated Land Rover convertible, standing in the back and riding down the public streets of the city

vermont wedding photographer convertible Land Rover autumn wedding departure Vermont Manchester VT

Leaving the house in Ardeche, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, was difficult for the bride due to the mud and the difficulty of walking across the wooden boards

The bride had a difficult departure from the house, walking across wobbly, sketchy wooden boards above the mud

rain muddy Ardeche bride departure footbridge Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

At Cesenatico Da Vinci Grand Hotel, Italy, the just married bride and groom inside the wet vintage car, just before leaving to the party

The newlyweds were departing for their celebration in a vintage car, bathed in the rain

Forlì-Cesena Forlì Cesena Photographer departure vintage car Italy Cesenatico Da Vinci Grand Hotel leaving reception

A top Beijing wedding photojournalism example from an outdoor China wedding event as The brides wedding car had just left, and the brides mother was crying

departure Beijing beijing bride wedding car vehicle Outdoor

St. Dunstan's Church, West Peckham, Kent nuptial day award-winning image of The bride and one of her bridal party share a funny moment during the couple's rain soaked departure in their open top vintage sports car

St Dunstan Church Kent vintage soaked Funny moment West Peckham

Castello Formentini, San Floriano del Collio, Gorizia nuptial day award-winning image of the Confetti moment during outdoor departure

departure bride and groom confetti Outdoor Castello Formentini castle

Occitanie wedding photography at the Calvignac in the Lot showing the Departure of the bride and groom in a vintage car, to the cocktail party - Bride and groom and guests wave their hands in farewell

bride and groom hands departure cocktail party Occitanie wedding photo Occitanie

Artistic wedding image from Zhejiang of the bride waving goodbye to her parents from the back of a car

A wedding image of the bride, her face in the shadows, as she waves goodbye to her parents from the back of a car

bride waving departure back of car shadows zhejiang wedding photographer goodbye to parents Zhejiang

Home wedding photography in Wolverhampton, UK | Bride in the car leaving her family home - emotional departure

Home wedding photography in Wolverhampton, UK - photo of the Bride in the car leaving her family home - emotional departure

auto cry Emil Boczek family automobile uk weddings uk wedding photographer

Bride and groom's departure from the ceremony.

Carl Bower bride Longmont outdoor wedding departure Longmont outdoor ceremony groom backyard wedding

Den Haag Wedding Photographer - the bride draws a heart with her finger on the inside of the limousine

Den Haag Wedding image of the bride drawing a heart with her finger on the inside of the limousine

car Den Haag departure heart Den Haag Wedding drawing Night

Wedding photograph of bride and groom riding away in convertible car | Wedding day moments captured in Northamptonshire, UK

Wedding image of the bride and groom riding away in convertible car

Northamptonshire confetti convertible car Northamptonshire Wedding Photography departure UK

Pictures of a couple leaving church under confetti by a top Rio de Janeiro wedding photographer

Joyful Departure: Newlyweds Embracing Amidst a Confetti Celebration

joyful newlyweds church BW wedding photographer confetti RJ ceremony Brazil wedding picture

Asia photo of the bride waving goodbye to her mother through a rain streaked window

car raindrops hand wave departure waving purple

Lower Silesian Wedding Photography | Image contains: car, cans, street, color, table, red

car cans color red departure vehicle

Lecce Wedding Photographer | Image contains:black and white, rice, bouquet, leaving the ceremony, portrait, bride, groom, outdoors

departure doorway bouquet ceremony rice bride

Hampshire wedding photographer designed this photo of guests sending the bride and groom off with sparklers in the dark

sparkler sparklers Color Hampshire departure guests car

Singapore wedding photographer captured this photo of the bride waving goodbye to her parents from the car window

hands Color bride parents father parent departure

A heavily decorated taxi ferries a wedding couple through an urban area of Monpellier Herault with blocks of flats in the background

car transportation vehicle street color departure

Rome Wedding Photojournalism | Image contains: black and white, classic car, outdoors, wedding guests, mountain

hill departure black and white waving vehicle road

Zuid Holland wedding photographer caught the moment that the bride and groom were being wished farewell by a group of kids after the ceremony

girl hand boy windows child window car

Documentary Wedding Photography in Morbihan | Image contains: city, car, outdoors, color, street, couple

car market street driving departure city

Just married and in an Athens traffic jam for this street lit from the back black and white image of a wedding couple driving away to their starlit future

vehicles departure traffic black and white cars transportation car

Rome Wedding Photojournalism | Image contains: bride, groom, classic car, selfie, black and white, leaving the ceremony

departure bride vehicle car picture black and white

Lower Saxony wedding photographer caught the action in this photo of the bride and groom releasing the dove after the ceremony

animal groom ceremony Lower Saxony smiling bride bird

Bari Documentary Wedding Photographer | Image contains: motorcycle, sidecar, outdoor, couple, black, white, driveway, groomsman

departure waving transportation sidecar bride black and white

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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.