Wedding Photos of Ruins

The following “Ruins” 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 “Ruins” 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.

In Ephesus, Turkey, this engagement portrait features a couple in black attire amidst ancient ruins, striking poses under the hot sun. Stylish and romantic.

Ancient Ruins Elegance: Capturing Love in Ephesus, Turkey

A beautiful wedding photo taken at Bodrum ruins featuring a happy bride and groom exiting the outdoor ceremony amidst a shower of confetti and flower petals. The couple stands side by side, smiling, and surrounded by their guests.

Joyful Newlyweds: Bodrum Ruins Celebration with Confetti and Flower Petals Surrounding the Happy Couple

flower Bodrum couple confetti newlyweds happy Bodrum Outdoor Ceremony

A romantic couple in Sarzana, Italy, share an intimate session in ruins, seen through a shattered window. A vintage black-and-white portrait captures their love beautifully.

Whimsical Love in Sarzana: Vintage Romance Through a Shattered Window

Sarzana Engagement Photographer vintage Italy shattered window ruins La Spezia black and white

Lifestyle couple portrait beautifully composed at Château du Haut Barr - Saverne. Silhouette of a couple in a castle, with a red spotlight accentuating them, near a stacked square stone wall against a deep blue sky.

Beautifully Composed and Lit Engagement Shoot | Château du Haut Barr - Saverne

Saverne engagement photography Grand Est photographer Château du Haut Barr Grand Est stone wall couple couple portraits

Engaged couple gracefully pose in a dance-like embrace amidst the breathtaking ruins of Ephesus, Turkey, creating a timeless portrait of their love

Capturing Eternal Love: Engaged Couple Embrace Amidst Breathtaking Ephesus Ruins

Ephesus Engagement Photography dancing ruins Turkey Ephesus gracefully pose

The couple posed for a picture at Oberhofenpark in Göppingen, surrounded by the symmetrical brick columns and ruins of the ancient building

The couple posed symmetrically between the many brick columns of the ancient ruins, creating a timeless black and white portrait

symmetrical brick columns ancient building Goppingen Engagement Photography ruins Oberhofenpark Göppingen

Scene setter couple portrait inside the amazing ruins of Convento Santa Clara at Antigua Guatemala

Guatemala couple portrait in the ruins of Convento Santa Clara

Guatemala Guatemala Photographer Convento Santa Clara Central America ruins Mauricio Urena

Epic San Francisco pre wedding portrait for a Couple by the Sutro Bath ruins

San Francisco pre wedding CA couple Sutro bath San Francisco Sutro Bath ruins

Maceió, Alagoas environmental pre wedding image session showing the couple are embraced in the ruins of a factory

Pre Wedding Image factory Alagoas Alagoas photographer ruins Maceió alagoas couple

Sintra Pre Wedding Photoshoot w Fine Art Style in Lisbon, PT of a Couple being framed in front of a ruin chapel

Sintra PT Couple lisbon couple Lisbon chapel ruins

Turkey engagement photo session in formal dress under an arch with a light

ruins formal dress engagement Turkey engagement photography opening archway historical building framed

Pre wedding photography showing a Boituva couple framed in graffiti

Pre wedding photo with a Boituva couple framed in graffiti

ruins couple portrait session Boituva graffiti Boituva engagement photography couple framed abandoned building

La Iruela, Jaén Pre-Wedding portraits of a couple holding hands at the ruins of the old building

old building Jaen engagement photographers pre wedding session Jaen Jaén La Iruela ruins

Cabo de Gata Almeria Sunny day in Almeria for couple engagement portrait session

pre wedding session Almeria framed couple cave Almeria engagement photographers ruins Cabo de Gata

Engagement Photos from Turkey Cappadocia pre wedding session in a cave

Cappadocia symmetrical cave Cappadocia historical ruins

Engagement portrait of a couple standing arm in arm in front of St. Dunstan in London.

Engagement portrait of a couple standing arm in arm in front of the historic ruins

couple standing ruins St Dunstan London engagement photography arm in arm London

Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh pre-wedding portraits - posing for photos Amongst the ruins.

The couple posed for beautiful pre-wedding portraits amidst the ruins, with the dreamy sky serving as the perfect backdrop as they celebrated their love and commitment to each other in the stunning and romantic setting

posing Edinburgh Engagement Photographer Edinburgh ruins Arthurs Seat Edinburgh pre wedding portrait

Rio de Janeiro, Brasil engagement session with bricks and stones

The engagement session took place at ruins, with the couple surrounded by the abandoned buildings bricks and stones

Rio de Janeiro stones RJ e session abandoned buildings Brazil bricks ruins

Slovenia couple stand in the dappled sunlight, surrounded by the ruins of an abandoned building

A young couple stand in the dappled sunlight, surrounded by the ruins of an abandoned building. Their pre-marriage session portrait radiates love, anticipation, and hope for the future.

Slovenia Slovenia Engagement Photography ruins dappled sunlight abandoned building

Pre-wedding photography in Colombia - Villa de Leyva

The couple sat atop a stone wall at the ruins, the wind blowing through her hair as he played a romantic saxophone melody

Colombia Engagement Session wind blown hair Villa de Leyva stone wall saxophone ruins Colombia

S&O sexy night time engagement photo session of a couple in Prague

Engagement photo session of a couple in industrial ruins building at night, man holding woman amidst gritty, urban surroundings

Prague engagement photo industrial Prague engagement photography prague couple Night gritty man

India couple shoot for their pre-wedding engagement portraits

Couple shoot at the ruins for their pre-wedding engagement portrait with dark tones and a moody atmosphere

moody atmosphere India engagement portrait ruins dark tones India Engagement Photography India couple

Shadows and Light engagement pictures of a couple silhouetted | Murcia photographer pre-wedding photo shoot session

The couple's engagement photos were filled with shadows and light, silhouetting them against the ruins of a graffiti-filled wall that the spotlight shone brightly on

light Murcia engagement photography graffiti spotlight ruins wall silhouetting

Washington DC pre-wedding engagement pictures | black and white couple photography session

This is an engagement picture that was taken in black and white and is centered on a brick building ruins

ruins bw portrait DC engagement photography brick building ruins center framed Washington DC

izmir engagement photography shooting of couple at ozbek

The couple poses for their engagement photography shoot amid stone chimney ruins in the countryside, with a blue sky adding a beautiful and natural element to the scene

stone chimney ruins blue sky countryside ozbek natural scene İzmir engagement photography

Victoria Australia engaged couple used an abandoned industrial building for their pre-wedding portrait

Australia pre wedding portrait abandoned Jiake Yang engagement photos Australia ruins industrial building Victoria Australia

Engagement session in Brazil historic ruins in the Forest

Brazil trees forest Brazil engagement session pre wedding location Brazil ruins

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.