Wedding Photos of Friends

The following “Friends” 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 “Friends” 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.

The photographer captured a beautiful moment of the bride embracing one of her great friends during the getting ready process at Cote How, The Lake District

At Cote How in The Lake District, the bride showed emotion as she embraced a great friend during the getting ready process

The bride-to-be was surrounded by 3 of her closest friends at Château de Maumont, France, as they busily prepared her for her special day with hair styling

Giddy with excitement, the bride-to-be was surrounded by her three closest friends as they beautified her for her momentous occasion with hair styling and makeup

France hairstyling Charente Photographer Magnac sur Touvre friends Charente Château de Maumont

The groom about to fall when his friends lift him up at the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai

The groom was lifted off his feet when his friends hoisted him onto their shoulders on the dance floor

Taj Mahal Palace Mumbai wedding photography groom lifted up friends Mumbai sitting on shoulders

Bride and groom enjoy a quiet moment during their drinks reception as friends enjoy a drink together at the Crosskeys Inn, Northern Ireland

A couple enjoyed a moment together alone at their drinks reception party while male friends chatted and drank nearby

friends drinks County Antrim County Antrim Wedding Photographer quiet moment Crosskeys Inn Northern Ireland

With an overhead angle, the bride puts on her dress helped by her mother and her friends in Marseille

Friends help the bride put on her dress as the camera captures the scene from a high overhead angle

marseille photographer friends Marseille overhead angle dressing bw bride dressing

The Sevilla Bride and her friends were having a good time, joking around and showing off their legs while they all smiled

The bride and her friends were all smiles as they enjoyed a showing off of legs comp

Seville Photographer legs joking around smiled Seville friends showing off legs

At Bendida Beach Bulgaria, the bride and friends react at the end of the ceremony

The bride and her friends shared warm embraces under the outdoor sunshine at the end of the ceremony

Thracian Cliffs Bendida Beach Bulgaria Bulgaria wedding photographer Kavarna Black Sea warm embraces sunshine

A Sichuan wedding day detail picture showing Relatives and friends competing for the green balloon, and The person who catches the balloon will get the brides gift

Cheng Guo Sichuan competing relatives brides gift China balloon

A top featured image from Green Acres in Minneapolis among the best wedding photography showing a group hug

Minneapolis friends Green Acres Minneapolis wedding photography group hug reception venue

Mumbai wedding reportage photographer captured this moment showing The bride surprising her groom by dancing with her friends

Mumbai wedding reportage Mumbai photographer groom Mumbai India friends dancing

An extraordinary Harome wedding picture by a pro UK photographer at The Starr Inn in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire revealing The Bride is surrounded by happy guests beckoning her on a packed dance floor

North Yorkshire dance floor Harome wedding picture women The Starr Inn uk bride happy guests

Best Paris documentary wedding picture of the bride dancing with her friends

bride DJ lights France Paris documentary weddings dancing dance friends

An exceptional Town Hall Vidauban wedding image by a pro Var photographer exhibiting The bride and groom embrace their friends

Town Hall Vidauban wedding image embrace Var photographer outside Ludovic Lieffrig friends France

An exceptional Buitenplaats Amerongen wedding photojournalism sample by a professional Netherlands photographer communicating the Friends laughing, dancing and toasting with the bride

friends toast dancing laughing Buitenplaats Amerongen wedding photojournalism Netherlands photographer

An extraordinary Jaen wedding image by a professional Spain photographer at Restaurante Cueva de los Majuelos showing friends of the groom lifting him overhead as he is wrapped in plastic

Spain Restaurante Cueva de los Majuelos Cueva de los Majuelos wedding venue restaurant Spain groom wrapped in plastic overhead

An exceptional Netherlands wedding image by a pro Utrecht photographer at Buitenplaats Amerongen exhibiting Friends admiring wedding ring of bride

NL bride showing ring Netherlands friends admiring Buitenplaats Amerongen weddings

An exceptional Denver wedding image by a pro Colorado photographer exhibiting the Bride getting her dress on with help of friends

Denver Colorado friends Bride getting dressed bathroom Colorado photographer

An exceptional Chicago wedding photojournalism sample by a professional Illinois photographer communicating the bride hugging friends at the IL hotel room during the getting ready

friends Illinois photographer Illinois getting ready IL hotel room

Best France documentary wedding photojournalism image from Domaine du Fohet of the groom and his close friends having fun on the dance floor

Domaine du Fohet weddings friends fun Domaine du Fohet Oliver Saillard France groom

An extraordinary Spoleto wedding image by a professional Umbria photographer at Villa Pianciani showing The bride was crying during the ceremony held by her friends

friends Villa Pianciani Umbria photographer crying Spoleto wedding image Sofia Rebicek Umbria

A first rate wedding detail picture from a West Yorkshire marriage event at Thwaite Mills wedding venue showing the UK bride and her friends shoes and feet as they walk in the rain

friends West Yorkshire raining feet wet walk Patrick Mateer

World's best creative wedding photography from Sichuan, China at banquet time The newlyweds are ready to propose a toast to their relatives and friends When the newlyweds are ready to pick up their glasses

Cheng Gu creative Chengdu Sichuan toast Sichuan wedding photography China newlyweds

World's most visionary and best wedding photography from Chengdu, Sichuan as the bride goes out, her friends hold the skirt for her, a beautiful walking dynamic, and the lines of the skirt are also very beautiful

bridesmaids Chengdu Cheng Gu walking Sichuan wedding photography gown holding the skirt

World's best creative wedding portrait photography from Marsala, Sicily resulting in a Picture of the newlyweds with their friends holding their phones and using their own lights

Sicily wedding Picture Marsala Italy wedding portrait bw friends Marsala newlyweds Sicily photography

World's best creative wedding photography from Chateau des Chézeaux, Indre showing The bride, helped by her friends, is getting ready

France wedding photography Indre Indre bride sunlight shoes Chateau des Chézeaux venue creative

A Blue Hill, Maine documentary wedding photographer captured this moment showing The bride dancing with her friends and family

Maine Maine documentary weddings friends Kate Crabtree bride moment ME wedding photographer

A top documentary wedding photographer from New Hampshire created this image at the Omni Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods of The newlyweds announced to their family and friends at the end of the Indian wedding ceremony

NH photographer indian NH newlyweds announced Bretton Woods Indian wedding ceremony Omni Mount Washington Resort

A California documentary wedding photographer captured this moment at The Mountain Terrace in Woodside showing that is Nothing happier than a bride dancing and singing with buddies

happy California photographer friends dancing Woodside buddies bride

A Netherlands documentary wedding photographer at Markiezenhof in Bergen op Zoom captured this picture of the bride with her friends after the ceremony

Netherlands documentary wedding NL wedding photographer friends bride Leonard Walpot Bergen op Zoom Markiezenhof

View this important moment in Hyderabad wedding picture of The brides reaction caught in the moment as water is being splashed on her by her family and friends during her Mangalsnanam ceremony

Hyderabad wedding photographer splashed family Hyderabad weddings Mangalsnanam ceremony Hyderabad Brides reaction

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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.