If you’ve just started wedding planning and are trying to work out what you want your pictures from the big day to look like, we’ve got the perfect inspo.
The winners of the International Wedding Photographer of the Year competition for 2025 have been revealed, and there are some truly stunning snaps.
From beautiful portraits to breathtaking landscapes and memorable shots of guests, the winners reflect the very best of the best.
The overall grand winner of the year was UK photographer David Scholes, who beat out more than 2,500 submissions from 568 photographers from around the world.
David, who is based in Lancashire, took the top prize for his cheeky shot of a young guest at a wedding, spotting the cake through a window.
The winning image was taken at Mitton Hall in the Ribble Valley, and David claims he spotted the moment on his way to get a photo of the cake set-up.
‘I don’t stop working at weddings, and even when there doesn’t seem to be much happening I will still look for something interesting that can be part of the story. This is exactly how this image came to be,’ he said.
‘As soon as I walked in and saw the cake, I quickly noticed a boy charging back and forth outside. To me, a photo of a cake is boring, but I thought if I could catch this kid in one of the window frames as he’s running and use the cake as context to frame the shot, that would make a better picture.
‘So I crouched lower and slowly moved closer – at some point switching from the camera with an 85 to the body with a 35 and tried to square my composition as much as possible so the windows weren’t wonky.
‘As I did, the kid suddenly stopped and noticed the cake – pulling the face that I’ve captured here. Shortly after this, the boy ran off. Moments like this happen at most weddings and are what I’m always looking for and challenging myself to get.’
The runner-up was Maddie Mae, an American photographer who specialises in elopements and engagement sessions.
Her shot was of Robin and Dillon, artists and filmmakers who met on an indie film set, and wanted their engagement to feel like a short film.
The engagement shoot took place over a three-day road trip, spanning 582 miles across Utah. To create this specific image, the three of them woke long before sunrise and drove in complete darkness with an experienced guide. They then hiked by headlamp to reach a massive sand dune in a cave before anyone else arrived.
‘I knew the perfect light hits the back wall only at sunrise, so the timing was critical and it was more than worth the effort,’ Maddie said.
‘The scale of the cave is enormous, so I rented an ultra-wide 12mm lens just for this image and was hunched against the back wall.’
She continued: ‘Robin wore an incredible gold dress with a long train that caught the light beautifully, and because my style is rooted in movement and emotion, we leaned into what felt natural for them. They’re playful and silly in the best way, so I had them run down the slope while Dillon kicked up sand that caught the light of the rising sun.’
Founded in 2017, the International Wedding Photographer Of The Year Awards showcases the work of incredible wedding photographers worldwide and is open to all photographers, both professional and amateur.
Categories in the competition also included Black & White, Break the Rules, Couple Portrait, Dance Floor, Epic Location, From Above, I-Do Crew, Solo Portrait, Lit and Single Capture.
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