Are you planning a short-notice, small wedding or elopement?

Many couples don’t want to wait. They are planning to get married in the very near future, eloping, or rushing a small ceremony with their photographer, some close friends, and family but dispensing with or postponing the reception party.

View WPJA photo stories from smaller weddings - WedElope | Choose love, not fear!

Wedding Photojournalist Association

2019 Diamond Awards for Engagement Photography

For over 16 years, exceptional engagement photography has been awarded by the Wedding Photojournalist Association®. The WPJA Diamond Awards are presented to members who have demonstrated creativity during their pre-wedding portrait sessions with couples.

Penny McCoy

Brazil Ouro Preto pre wedding portrait in a tunnel of trees

Vinicius Terror

Couple Portraits at Trasimeno Lake - Pre Wedding Engagement Session

Mirko Vegliò

Deborah Coleman

Porto Alegre - Rio Grande do Sul - Brasil engagement session silhouette

Renan Radici

Ben Chrisman

Engagement Photo Session - Image contains: Vittel, FR Strict vintage portrait

Julien Maria

Proposal surprise in downtown Minneapolis - Wedding and Engagement Photographer

Penny McCoy

Saigon, Vietnam Portrait Photoshoot with couple about to get married

Vu Nguyen

Engaged couple walking along Malibu beach during their pre-wedding session

Vinci Wang

Connecticut Couple sitting in grass during their engagement portrait session

Kevin Trimmer

CHANG LE SEASORE WOODS ENGAGEMENT PORTRAIT - Their kissing in the phone

Henry Xu

Muslim Pre Wedding Photography - Asian, Indian and Sikh wedding photographer - Portrait of an engaged couple by the river

Masoud Shah

Brugges, Belgium - The love you spoke of - bicycle couple portraits

Danny Klimetz

Ilha de Paquetá, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Couple Portrait Session before the Wedding — They were made for each other! What a beautiful sunset in this engagement day!

Clara Sampaio

Engagement Photos from Durango, Bizkaia, Spain - Portrait contains: vertical, black and white, couple

Monika Zaldo

Alicante Engagement Photographs with wine and reflections in glass

Toni Miranda

Portugal Engagement Photography - Portrait contains: window, glass, stained, kiss, chin, vertical

Daniel Monteiro

The Pergola, Hamstad Heath London Couple portrait at the pergola

Sheraz Khwaja

Xiahai Chenghuang Temple Photography - The engaged couple were kissing in front of the incense burner of the temple.

Will Tee

Providence, RI Photographer - Couple under bridge posing for engagement pictures

Kevin Trimmer

Pre Wedding Phuket Engagement Photograph of couple kissing

Liam Collard

China Pre-Wedding Engagement Portrait | Fujian couple playing on the grass hill.

Lily Zeng

Before the rain gets heavy - Vietnam City Engagement Photographs

Van Tran

Crystal Palace Engagement Photo Session with Couple

Emre Nesli

Albufera de valencia engagement shoot in flooded fields

Jose Miguel Perez Nunez

Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic engagement photo session | A couple enjoys the quiet views atop the historic Charles Bridge at night.

Kurt Vinion

Gantry Park LIC - Fun Couple portrait with city skyline behind them

Tim D. Yun

A couples silhouettes are captured in the foggy blue light in this Tuscany engagement photo session

Alessandro Colle

Dalat, Vietnam Silhouette pre wedding portrait under the big trees.

Trung Vo

Spain prewedding, engagement photography - A couple inside a tropical jungle

Miguel Onieva

This playful engagement portrait of the bride and groom playing leapfrog was captured on the cobblestone streets of Chelsea, NYC

Chloe Delmonte

Engagement Photography for Rhinefield, New Forest | A spotlight through the trees

Robin Goodlad

Vinci Wang

Engagement Photography for Rome - Italy | A kiss in silhouette and black and white

Zsofia Rebicek

quanzhou couple kiss for their engagement portraits in black and blue

Junxin Zeng

Travis Haughton

Allison Williams

Baltimore City Engagement | Industrial Photo Session with a young couple getting married.

Kathleen Ricker

Rota, Spain Pre-wedding portrait | esquina couple in love and kissing

Pedro Volana

Miami, Florida couple and lightning during engagement shoot in the water.

David Zaoui

Angelica Virgen

Fujian China Formal Engagement Portrait Session in the Snow

Vinci Wang

Death Valley Sand do walkers - enjoying the view during their engagement portrait session

Dorota Karpowicz

Providence, RI couple against window during their engagement portrait session with a RI, NY, VT, MA, NH and CT wedding photographer.

Kevin Trimmer

Heath, West Sussex Woodland love portrait of a couple in the trees and sunlight.

Annamarie Stepney

Engagement Photos from Aachen - Image contains: couple, black and white, run, grasses

Rosa Engel

Paris, France Couple Photos - Engagement portrait session - Urban photography

Patrick Lombaert

Savannah GA Military couple during prewedding portrait shoot session at sunset

Gagan Dhiman

Siracusa engagement shoot - Drone photography of couple lying in field

Simona Cancelli

Toni Miranda

A couple in front of an old door in Kathmandu during engagement portrait photoshoot.

Sylvain Bouzat

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado - Engagement photos in pine trees

Joe Pyle

Brugges, Belgium - Couple Chained in love! - Engagement Photos

Danny Klimetz

Pre-wedding photo session of a couple at a broken-down house in Taitung, Taiwan.

Tao Hsuan Tzu

Engagement shoot in Bridge, Kent, UK with tall yellow flowers and sunlight

Catherine Hill

Geoff Hansen

Stellenbosch portrait photo shoot - Pattern created by the rock wall and the couple in a more sensual pose

Eric Corbacho

Logan Westom

board of trade, chicago engagement shoot with a couple walking down the street

Victoria Sprung

Teresopolis Engagement Photography Session - Image contains: bite, kiss, embrace, tight, shot flowers, hair, shadows

Claudia Amorim

Valencia engagement photographer captured this image of a couple embracing at sunset on a city block in Alcoy

Toni Miranda

Nam Le

Antarctica engagement portraits - Couple Posing with the Penguins

Kathleen Ricker

Koh Samui, Thailand Sunset Pre Wedding Portraits.

Liam Collard

Silhouette engagement portrait of this San Francisco couple overlooking the sun city

Raymond Nguyen

Brno Stránská skála engaged couple on a cliff overlooking a scenic filled with clouds and blue sky

Matouš Bárta

In this San Francisco engagement portrait shoot, the photographer focuses on a few branches of beach side plants while the couple embraces out of focus in the distance

Chris Shum

Aw Shucks Farm, NC - engaged at Aw Shucks Farm

James Nix

Springfield, VA Champagne Pour During Pre Wedding Engagement Portrait Session in Purple

Sunny Mathur

Istanbul engagement shoot captured this couple jumping into the clouds

Emre Nesli

Cristina Tanase

CA wedding engagement portrait on the beach sand with colored smoke.

Raymond Nguyen

The Waterworks Philadelphia Engagement Photo Session - "Tilt shift used with the sun and we made magic."

Miguel Gonzalez

Steven Herrschaft

Engagement Photos from NYC - Portrait at Dumbo, Brooklyn - Couple's night portrait

Denis Gostev

Engagement Photography for Botanical garden, Chicago - Image contains: black and white, silhouette, trees

Tamara Gavrilovic

Taiwan, Hualien Engagement Couple Session - Image contains: red, dress, formal, dress, attire, indoors

Tao Hsuan Tzu

Biarritz, France Silhouette Portrait Session for Couple

Patrick Lombaert

Bath, UK engagement photo session of a couple embracing in front of a well stocked bar

Jay Hoque

Engagement Portrait - Smack dab in the middle of the city of Downtown Los Angeles, California

Darren Hendry

Cernobbio - como lake engagement photo session in b/w.

Matteo Lomonte

İstanbul couple in a gorgeous forrest during engagement photo session in Turkey

Emre Nesli

This photo was taken during dusk near Pier 14 in San Francisco. It is a popular spot for both locals and tourists... lucky to capture a quick photo with the couple together.

Jeffrey Chan

Engagement portrait session of a couple sitting together on a stone wall in front of a building covered in vines in San Francisco.

Raymond Nguyen

Tian'an Park PreWedding Photo - Girl kissing boys ear

Lin Yang

Pre-wedding in Hoi An Vietnam with red and multicolored lanterns

Trung Dinh

Pre Wedding Couple Portrait at Cappella di Vitaleta during Sunset

Mirko Vegliò

Salt Lake City pre-wedding portraits | Couple kissing on sand at the beach with old tree stump in background

Ron Storer

Brooklyn New York Engagement Photographer - "Saw the graffiti and the light and boom."

Miguel Gonzalez

This Enagaged couple share a moment as he carries her around the Old Town Square at sunrise

Kurt Vinion

Pre wedding couple session on an abandoned train in Xining, Qinghai, China

Binbin Wong

A couple runs through water in Pirenopolis as they hold hands in this black and white pre-wedding portrait by a Goias, Brazil photographer.

Claudia Amorim

Couple hold hands while riding separate escalators in The One Hotel during this Miami Beach engagement photo session

David Zaoui

Frosinone Italy engagement shoot on the beach with candles in the sand.

Paolo Ferrera

Boston, Massachusetts Engagement Photographer - Couple in red leaves

Kevin Trimmer

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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.