Here is a short list of 25 wedding photo ideas for 2025.
When it comes to your wedding day you’re going to want to hire a wedding photographer. Now depending on their level of experience and what it is you want from your wedding photographer it’s a good idea to have some sort of list of images you’re going to want. As an experienced wedding photographer with over 300 weddings on 5 different continents around the world. I’ve put a short list of some must-have wedding photo ideas for you. Maybe some of these photos don’t align with your vision and that’s ok.
No matter what happens on your wedding day you have to live in the moment. You have to enjoy the wedding for what it is. You don’t want to be overthinking things on your wedding day. With my experience of shooting weddings in London to all over the world, I always try to educate my couples that they’re in safe hands and that taking photos of all the most important elements of the day and everything in between is my priority. I’ve put together these ideas for photos so you can get some inspiration and ideas for your big day.
1. Your Wedding Stationary (Including Wedding Invitation)
There are a couple of ways you can have your wedding stationery and wedding invitations photographed. You could send all of the stationary to your wedding photographer in advance of your wedding, have your photographer shoot it in the morning or during dinner or finally you could give all the necessary components to your photographer to take away and they could shoot it at home in their studio or home. Love these details by JBC Wedding Stationary.
So bear this in mind for your big day and bring all of the components you’d like to be photographed to your wedding venue and make sure you order a few extras for your keep sakes and for your wedding photographer to shoot for you.
2. The Rings
Another obvious thing you might want to have photographed on your wedding day. And although I’ll also photograph the ring exchange as it happens during the wedding ceremony, I’ll also find ways to capture the rings in other settings like this one here at this destination wedding in Ireland.
3. Make Up Moment
I always arrive a few hours before the wedding ceremony is about to begin. This gives me enough time to spend time with people and get a good feel for the day. Just like at this Scarlet Hall Wedding for Maria + Joe. I love to document as much of the getting ready process as possible, including the make-up touch-ups. I love this image of Maria whose make-up was done by Suzie Gee Make Up. You can see here Maria making the final adjustments before the wedding ceremony.
4. Getting Ready (The Bride)
I love the getting ready part of a wedding day. It’s always a really exciting part of the day. Here you can see Megan putting on her earrings during my time as an Ireland Wedding Photogrpaher. They got married just outside Dublin at a stunning venue called the Powerscourt Estate. All these significant details can seem not so relevant, though they tie all of the images throughout the day together.
5. The Wedding Shoes
As well as all of the beautiful details you’ll be wearing on your wedding day. I’m sure you’ll have taken considerable thought into what shoes you’ll be wearing. At this Mount Falcon Wedding, I photographed for Rebecca, she wore these beautiful Louboutin shoes with the signature red sole. I love this image as it captures the shoes but in a dynamic way. Of course, I’ll shoot them in a more creative way too. Though I love the natural moment of the shoes being put on.
Once your hair and make-up are complete and you’re in your wedding dress. I love to make beautiful portraits in a non-fussy way. I don’t make this moment awkward and as an experienced wedding photographer, you’ll be in safe hands. You’ve made all this effort to look as good as you do and I want to capture it for you just like I did here for this York Minster Wedding for Abby.
7. The Veil
There are so many ways to take photos of a veil. I love to shoot as naturally as I can throughout the day including the details. I’ll shoot it close and I’ll shoot it far. I love this image as it is a photo of a veil but with movement and context. Speak with your photographer and ask them how you’d like your details and veil to be captured. Just like I did here for Binh at Villa Erba on Lake Como.
8. The Bridal Bouquet
A bridal Bouquet is likely the most important accessory for a bride to have. It’s something that will be with you for most of the day. A lot of time and effort will have been put into how it looks and how it ties in with the rest of the wedding. This one is just beautiful by Ratti Flora an Italy-based florist specialising in Lake Como Weddings. I’ll of course during the day make some beautiful images of the bride with the bouquet. However, I love to isolate the flowers and make a photo of the bouquet all by itself, bringing in some context of the location and background.
9. Getting Ready (The Groom)
It’s not at every wedding that I photograph the guys and the groom getting ready. However, I think having even just a few images of the groom getting ready is a really good idea. When you get your images back it’s a nice way to see the story and the build-up from both sides. I love this black and white photoof Theo getting ready for his wedding in France. Also when you get your wedding album, having images from both sides of the wedding party really adds to the story.
10. Candid Moments
It’s one thing to want beautiful and stunning photos from your wedding day, though how much of it do you want to be posed and how much do you want it to be natural? As a candid wedding photographer, I love to shoot moments as a priority. I love to shoot all the moments you might miss and those that you’re right up in and never want to forget.
One of my favourite parts of a wedding day is when I get to spend a short amount of time with my couples to get some photos of just the two of them. Although I do have a strong documentary approach to my work I like to have an editorial twist to my craft. I always want my subjects to be themselves and I never allow my couples to feel awkward. I love to bring the location and atmosphere into the images too just like this Italy wedding for Binh + Rami.
12. The Wedding Party
I love to shoot the bridesmaids and the groomsmen separately and it’s common for me to be asked to have these images. Though I absolutely love shooting both parties together It’s one of my favourite wedding photo ideas. So if you’re planning your own wedding and are considering creating a photo list, I’d recommend getting one of all members of the wedding party together.
13. The Young Ones
I love seeing kids at a wedding. It’s such a big day for them too! This Cheshire wedding saw this flower girl watch her mum get married in the most beautiful setting. I love to capture the kids as I know as a parent myself how quickly they grow up. So it’s great to know that these images will be getting looked at in the not-too-distant future realising how young the kids look.
14. Drone Wedding Photo
It’s not always possible to shoot drone photography on a wedding day, though as far as wedding photo ideas go this one is great. Maybe it will be raining or perhaps your wedding is taking place really close to an airport so flying a drone will not be possible. This is a great example though from a wedding I shot on Lake Como at Villa Erba in the summer. It’s a great idea as you get to see the setting of your wedding day from a different perspective.
15. Walking Down The Aisle
For me walking down the aisle isn’t just walking between your guests to the altar. It’s a journey from just before the walk begins as you can see in the image above to your final destination at the end of the aisle. So I love to capture it all from the anticipation at the start of the walk. So when it comes to booking your wedding photographer make sure they are aware of all of the before and after parts of each significant part of the day.
Walking back down the aisle might seem like an obvious photo that you might want in terms of wedding photo ideas though depending on your photographer’s level of experience it could be missed. So make sure you speak with your wedding photographer about this shot if you like it. I just love this moment from this wedding I shot in France of the couple being newlyweds for only a few seconds!
17. Laughing At Weddings
Joy and Laughter are two huge ingredients at weddings and I’m always on the lookout for laughter to document with my camera during a wedding day. I’m not suggesting that your wedding photographer won’t capture moments just like this at your wedding, though like I’ve said before. If you want to see more images like this then tell them the importance of laughter amongst you and your wedding guests during your wedding.
18. The First Kiss
Another classic here. Having shot so many weddings before I’m always aware of exactly when the first kiss is going to happen. That’s what experience can get you. Maybe this kind of photo isn’t among your favourite wedding photo ideas, though if it is perhaps ask your photographer to make sure they liaise with the celebrant, vicar or whomever is conducting the ceremony to make sure they’re out of the way during the first kiss moment so that they can get the perfect shot. I loved this outdoor wedding at Scarlet Hall. Can’t wait to shoot here again this summer!
19. The Table Decor
I have so many photos of table decor from my years of shooting and it’s always great to get great shots of the room before anyone is in there. Weddings are all about people and that’s why I’ve used this image as the example for this wedding photo ideas article. I’m always trying to create unique images throughout my work. So capturing the table decor for my bride and groom was on my list to capture so I was happy to capture it with some of their wedding guests in the shot too. This was a beautiful wedding on Lake Como and the decor was just incredible by Rattoi Flora.
20. The Wedding Cake
How incredible is this cake by Poppy Pickering Cake Design? One of the most traditional elements of a wedding day is the wedding cake. But it’s traditional and still going strong to this day. So it’s most likely that you’ll want to get a good photo of your wedding cake. Again in this image, I’ve tried to incorporate some natural and human elements into the shot. I have so many more great photos of this cake but I’ve used this one to show how I like to get people into my photos as much as possible.
This is such a great photo opportunity and one photo that you will love to look back on. I just love this one of Matthew and Lauren in Villa Zagara in Sorrento. The best advice I can give for this is just to enjoy and embrace the moment. Let your wedding photographer do the work and capture the atmosphere and moments. Super excited to get back for my next Sorrento wedding.
22. The Cutting Of The Cake
Another classic wedding photo idea and its doesn’t have to be a cheesy moment. It’s easy to just throw this off as a throw-away moment so I always try to get the best lighting conditions to make my cake cutting photo, just like this one at Achnagairn Castle in Scotland.
23. Sparkler Exit
Sparkler photos at weddings are a great idea and add a new dynamic to your wedding day. Things can get a bit tricky if your having a summer wedding as these photos are best made once it gets dark. However in the summer when it gets darker much later it’s tricky as most people are pretty drunk at this time after having such a great time at the after-party. So coordinating this gets difficult. However, if you liaise with your wedding planner and photographer you should be able to work something out to bring this wedding photo idea to life!
24. Wedding Ceremony Location
When it comes down to your wedding ceremony, it’s likely that you’ll have picked a spot or location that you love. I shot this Dolomites weddingfor Karassa + Bryan in northern Italy. Although I’m aware that not all wedding ceremony locations will be as dramatic as this, you’ll still want your wedding photographer to get some good photos of your ceremony spot. If it’s indoors, cosy and romantic or outside in the British countryside make sure you get some images that show the atmosphere of your wedding ceremony location.
25. Time With Your Guests
Spending time with your guests will likely be one of the most important parts of your wedding photography you’ll want to capture. It doesn’t matter if it’s a city wedding in London with 300 guests or an intimate small family wedding of just 10 people. These moments will be cherished and the images will live on for many generations. So I take extra care and put in extra effort to capture images just like this.
I hope you enjoyed reading this and you’ve got some inspiration for your wedding day. If you’re planning a wedding anytime soon or know of anyone else I’d love to hear from you.
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