SMALL WEDDINGS + ELOPEMENTS | choose love, not fear

Intimate Weddings & Elopement Photography

Since 2002, the WPJA has been connecting couples with the best, most artistic wedding photographers from around the world.

Casey Fatchett Wedding Photography
BW wedding photography by Mauricio Urena
Portrait of Wedding Photographer Ruth Wytinck
At-work image of Europe-based Destination Wedding and Elopement Photographer Sofia Camplioni
Studio portrait of New England small wedding and elopement photographer Nicole Chan
Portrait of Weddings by Ryan & Kate Studio Wedding and Elopement Photographer - Kate Hagerty
BW portrait of Mark Wallis, Europe wedding reportage photographer
Portrait of Munster Wedding Photographer Kevin Kheffache of Ireland
Studio Portrait of Wedding Reportage Photographer Cris Lowis
Studio portrait of wedding photographer Tanushree Vaidya
Yuliya Skya, wedding photojournalist
Singapore wedding, engagement and elopement photography by Timothy Sim of The Good Citizen
Tuscany and Siena wedding photography by Gianfranco Bernardo of Italy
Emma Petersen Wedding Photography Studio
Charline Eberhardt, documentary style wedding and elopement photography

Genuine Photo Contests

The WPJA hosts multiple wedding photography contests each year, awarding only the most captivating and engaging photos.

View winners from past contests below:

Intimate, Micro Wedding Planning & Elopement Articles

Kobe Vanderzande, of Limburg, is a wedding photographer for

There’s nothing quite like an intimate wedding reception in a tent, with its uniquely informal atmosphere, customized decor and proximity to the...

Not everyone has a lagoon or glacier next door, but there's no rule saying you can't have a small wedding in the great outdoors. Take advantage of natural...

The Authenticity of
Wedding Photojournalism

Dejan Zagar, of , is a wedding photographer for Bled Church, Bled, Slovenia
David Clumpner, of Montana, is a wedding photographer for

WPJA Contest Photos - January 25th, 2023

Any wedding photographer is going to want to please their clients — but they also want their work to be appreciated on a broader scale. This is one of the reasons why the Wedding Photojournalist Association members love our regular photography competitions. These popular contests give our photographers the opportunity to submit their best images in hopes of being selected as a winner and being recognized for their creativity and effort. Our contests are judged by a panel of notable and respected working photojournalists and picture editors in the news industry, which adds an element of prestige to our awards.

Kids fighting to get hold of the microphone at a Buurse wedding reception party
Emotional moment when someone talked about a father who passed away, at a Bordeaux, France wedding reception
At Hillfields Farm, Ceremony Location, the bride's children run up to the other Bride to give her a hug after an emotional speech
At the Brittany France city hall, the groom is happy and pumps his fist
At Rosewood San Miguel de Allende, San Miguel de Allende, GTO, Mexico, wedding guests take photos at the 360 degree photo booth
As the couple exited the Cathedrale de Langres, they were showered on the sunlit steps by rice flying overhead
As the DJ's lights backlit the striking silhouette of the guest carrying a rose for the bride in his mouth, Domaine de la Gerberie in Vendée, France was transformed into a dramatic theatre
The bride and groom watched a little one hugging the man giving the speech in Corrèze

Artistic Guild - Creative Portraits and Details - February 11th, 2023

The Artistic Guild competitions are distinctly different from our other WPJA contests because this category is specifically for photographers who use their talent to create digitally-enhanced images, staged portraits and dramatic detail images. This competition attracts documentary wedding photographers who also view themselves as artists who are constantly looking to create their next masterpiece.

The couple are captured in a beautiful black and white image, looking lovingly at each other at the end of the day in the middle of the big open field at Chartreuse de Dane, Auch, France
The Walden bride and groom posed for a portrait atop a rooftop, a grand celebration under a bright sky with clouds
The bride and groom captured in a getaway portrait session with a breathtaking view of the water at Col de la Chambotte in Aix les Bains
The bride Siena is descending the stairs, her face hidden by the stairwell, in a stylish black and white image.
This creative wedding image captures the detail of the Bride's shoes and legs hanging over the edge of a wicker chair in Florence, Tuscany
The winter sunlight streaming through the window illuminates the wedding bouquet at Silchester Farm, Hampshire, creating beautiful shadows
This romantic portrait captures a couple dancing at sunset in the province of Noord Brabant
Portrait at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ with the couple and the bride's reflection in an art installation

Diamond Awards - Pre-Wedding Engagement Portraits - March 13th, 2023

Couples who are searching for a wedding photographer often want a pre-wedding engagement portrait session as well as wedding day photography services. Engagement photographers need to rely on their skill and expertise in order to help their couples select a meaningful location for their portrait session. These awards allow engagement photographers to submit their most moving engagement images in hopes of being recognized for their creativity and skill.

A rural scene of tall grass is the backdrop for a portrait of an engaged couple, taken in Belgium, Thimougies
The couple in Guadeloupe enjoyed a pre-wedding lifestyle portrait in the sea around Port Louis, playing with long red fabric ribbon
The couple cuddling in front of the lake, framed by trees and a cloudy sky above them, is the focus of the lifestyle engagement portrait taken in Orléans
The couple embraced lovingly in front of a sky filled with clouds during their lifestyle engagement portrait session in Tournai, Belgium
The couple relaxed on the swing hanging from tall trees, captured in a lifestyle engagement portrait at Dome House in Cotia, Brasil
The couple in Albi, Tarn, France, posing for a lifestyle portrait, with the groom whispering secrets into his soon-to-be wife's ear
The couple posed close together, their faces almost touching, in a pre-wedding lifestyle engagement portrait in Baeza, Jaén, Spain, with the sunlight bursting between their heads
The engaged couple enjoyed a pre-wedding portrait at Khao Yai National Park, with him giving her a piggyback ride and both of them smiling widely

TLC - True Love Captured - March 3rd, 2023

This WPJA photography competition is focused on the emotions that are on display throughout any wedding event. The images showcase the powerful emotions that the couple are experiencing, and any of the feelings that any wedding guests may go through. The TLC contests follow a long-standing WPJA category tradition of capturing raw emotions.

The bride's tearful joy and the groom's humorous charm were beautifully captured in a wedding photo at Snowmass, Aspen Colorado with a backdrop of fall colored trees during their outdoor ceremony
The wedding photo taken at West Haven, Connecticut captured a touching moment of a groom shedding tears as his mother lovingly does his hair for the big day
The photographer captured the beautiful moment of a wedding guest giving the bride a big hug and a kiss on the cheek at the Private Home in Congham, Norfolk, UK
The bride's beautiful reaction to seeing her special best man seated in the front row was captured by the photographer at Chácara Caiambá - Pedro Leopoldo - Minas Gerais
The black and white photo of the friend hugging the bride, and groom has tears of joy whiped at Kasteel Maurick Vught - a beautiful and touching moment at their wedding
The happy couple leaving their civil ceremony in Biarritz, France with their little boy beaming with joy at his parents' marriage, is captured wonderfully in this wedding photo, showing the love from his mother
The photographer captured a beautiful moment at Montlouis sur Loire, as the two mothers of the couple tearfully embraced outdoors
The wedding photojournalist captured a beautiful moment as the bride embraced her friends in a group hug at the reception of Hardy Farm in Fryeburg, Maine