Top Wedding Photography Trends for 2025: What Brides Are Loving This Year

As the world of weddings continues to evolve, so does wedding photography. In 2025, brides are looking for creative, meaningful, and authentic ways to capture their special day. From fresh styles to innovative techniques, here are the top wedding photography trends that are set to shine this year.

1. Editorial-Style Storytelling

Wedding photos are becoming more than just a collection of moments; they’re transforming into curated stories. Editorial-style photography combines documentary authenticity with high-fashion vibes, making every couple feel like the stars of their own magazine spread. Expect bold angles, unique compositions, and an artistic flair that elevates traditional wedding photography.

How Fire by Night Photos Does It: I love to blend documentary storytelling with cinematic artistry, ensuring your photos feel natural yet polished. By focusing on your unique story, we create an editorial feel while capturing the essence of your day. Paying special attention to the colors and lighting that are unique to the moment ensuring that your moments are raw yet feel like your watching a movie.

2. Emphasis on Authentic Moments

In 2025, authenticity is everything. Couples want photographers who capture the real, unscripted emotions of their day. From stolen glances to unplanned laughter, candid photography remains a top priority. This trend reflects a desire to preserve memories exactly as they happened, imperfections and all.

How Fire by Night Photos Does It: My documentary-journalistic style is designed to capture the raw emotions and genuine moments that make your wedding day special. We focus on blending into the background to let the day unfold naturally.

3. Mixed Media Photography

Brides are embracing the blend of digital and film photography for a rich and textured visual experience. Film offers a nostalgic, timeless quality that pairs beautifully with the sharpness of digital. Many photographers are also experimenting with Polaroids, Super 8 video, and other vintage-inspired mediums to add variety and character to wedding galleries.

How Fire by Night Photos Does It: I offer a mix of digital and film photography as well as Super 8 Wedding films and highlights upon request, bringing a touch of nostalgia to your wedding album while maintaining the highest quality in every shot.

4. Sustainable Wedding Photography Practices

As sustainability continues to influence weddings, photographers are adopting eco-conscious practices. From digital-only galleries to energy-efficient equipment, couples are prioritizing vendors who align with their values. This trend reflects a broader shift toward environmentally friendly wedding planning.

How Fire by Night Photos Does It: We’re committed to eco-friendly practices, offering digital galleries, energy-efficient workflows, and sustainable materials for any printed products.

5. Intimate Elopements and Micro-Weddings

Elopements and micro-weddings are here to stay, and they’re shaping photography trends. With fewer guests and more intimate settings, photographers can focus on the couple and the details. Creative shots in breathtaking landscapes, unique venues, or even cozy backyard ceremonies are becoming more popular.

How Fire by Night Photos Does It: I offer micro wedding collections upon request if you know that your wedding will be less than 6 hours long. These collections specialize in capturing the intimacy and beauty of elopements and micro-weddings, ensuring every moment is documented with care and creativity.

6. Dramatic Lighting Techniques

Lighting is playing a central role in wedding photography, with trends favoring dramatic contrasts and creative setups. Whether it’s backlit portraits during golden hour, moody nighttime shots with sparklers, or soft candlelit receptions, 2025’s couples are leaning into the power of light to set the mood.

How Fire by Night Photos Does It: My cinematic editing style enhances dramatic lighting, and we use professional techniques to create stunning portraits no matter the time of day or lighting conditions.

7. Personalized Photo Booths

Photo booths are getting a major upgrade in 2025. Couples are choosing highly customized setups that reflect their personalities or wedding themes. From vintage-style booths to interactive 360-degree cameras, these fun additions offer guests a unique way to celebrate and provide couples with even more memories.

How Fire by Night Photos Does It: I have a list of vendors that I LOVE to partner with to help set up custom photo booth experiences, ensuring the fun and personality of your wedding shine through.

8. Colorful and Vibrant Palettes

Neutral tones have dominated wedding photography in recent years, but 2025 is seeing a shift toward bold, vibrant color palettes. Couples are infusing their weddings with rich hues, and photographers are embracing the challenge of capturing these dynamic colors in a way that feels timeless.

How Fire by Night Photos Does It: My editing process enhances vibrant colors while maintaining a timeless look, ensuring your photos feel bold yet elegant.

9. Focus on Bridal Details

Detail shots have always been part of wedding photography, but in 2025, there’s a stronger emphasis on capturing the unique elements of the day. From intricate lacework on a dress to heirloom jewelry and bespoke invitations, these close-ups add depth to the story of the wedding.

How Fire by Night Photos Does It: I’m lowkey obsessed with all the wedding details. Both the bridal details as well as all the little things that you have painstakingly picked out to represent you at your wedding and I take the time to capture every thoughtful detail of your wedding, ensuring no special element is overlooked.

10. Same-Day Edits and Sneak Peeks

Couples are eager to relive their wedding moments as soon as possible. Same-day edits or next-day sneak peeks are increasingly in demand. Photographers who can quickly deliver a handful of polished photos help couples share their joy immediately with loved ones and on social media.

How Fire by Night Photos Does It: I offer sneak peeks within 24 hours, so you can relive the magic and share it with your loved ones right away.

11. Immersive Drone Photography

Drone photography continues to gain popularity, offering breathtaking aerial shots of venues, ceremonies, and natural landscapes. In 2025, more photographers are using drones to capture creative angles and provide a comprehensive view of the day’s setting.

How Fire by Night Photos Does It: While I currently do not offer drone photography, it is something I am looking to add this year.

12. Golden Hour and Night Photography

While golden hour remains a staple, night photography is becoming just as important. Photographers are incorporating creative lighting techniques to capture couples under the stars, against illuminated architecture, or surrounded by glowing lanterns for truly magical images.

How Fire by Night Photos Does It: I love golden hour, blue hour and night photography, and understand how each hour changes and makes the photos feel a certain way. I will utilize certain lighting techniques to create romantic and dreamy shots depending on what you the couple are seeking.

13. Cinematic Video Fusion

Photography and videography are merging in new ways, with more couples opting for cinematic highlight reels that blend still photos with short video clips. These dynamic presentations add motion and depth to the storytelling process. Be sure to tell your videographer that you are looking for something of this nature when you are speaking to them and ask to see some of their past work.

14. Focus on Family and Cultural Traditions

With more couples emphasizing family and cultural heritage, photographers are capturing meaningful traditions and interactions. These moments not only honor the couple’s background but also create heartfelt, unique images that will be cherished for generations.

How Fire by Night Photos Does It: I work closely with couples to understand and honor their traditions, ensuring every cultural or family moment is captured beautifully. I send out in depth questionnaires that I build my day and shot list off of ensuring that I never miss a shot and I can honor any family and traditions that you are implementing into your wedding or elopement.

Final Thoughts

Wedding photography in 2025 is all about personalization, artistry, and authenticity. Whether you’re drawn to vibrant colors, dramatic lighting, or candid moments, these trends offer something for every bride. At Fire by Night Photos, I embrace these trends while maintaining a timeless and cinematic style to ensure your memories remain as beautiful as your big day. Let’s create something unforgettable together!

You might be asking yourself why would I pay extra for engagement photos when I’m already paying for my wedding photos?

Engagement photos are such a fun experience for both you and your partner. There are a few reasons why I would highly suggest taking engagement photos. Not only does it allow you to have a fun date with each other, but it gives you a chance to get in front of my lens, or any photographer’s lens and see how you guys all work together.

I know I know, you are probably going to say “We are just so awkward in front of the camera. We don’t know what to do, we don’t think we need the photos.” First off, I hear you. Engagement photos are so great to get you comfortable with me, my work ethic and having a camera pointed at you. E.P. (engagement photos) allow you and your spouse to feel out the process before the rush of the wedding day. The best thing you can do for yourselves is to take E.P.s and get those jitters and nerves out before hand so you know what to expect and you can feel relaxed, at peace and looking your best for your wedding.

Another reason engagement photos are worth it is that they allow you to have a better idea as to what to expect when working with that photographer. Let’s talk shooting first and we’ll use my style as the example. If you check through my portfolio, you’ll notice that I look for the details, the unseen and in between moments of our session or the wedding day. I also LOVE incorporating movement and motion in my photos. I feel that this evokes more emotion in the shots.

Now let’s talk editing briefly. I really love the vintage, filmy look and I aim to emulate that in my work. Slightly brighter and dreamy feeling with some grain ( that texture that old photos have). Having an engagement session done ahead of time really allows you to see what you will look like and what your wedding photos are going to look like with that photographer. Lastly let’s cover that worry of awkwardness.

If you are worried about your wedding day and how you and your spouse just aren’t the most photogenic people, allow me to calm some nerves. First, we all get nervous to one degree or another. We’re human and it’s only natural. Second, it’s ok. Rather than stick you out in front of me and ask you to do those classic prom poses that feel and look awkward (we’ve all seen those photos), I always start with something silly and has you two moving. Gets your juices flowing and some of those first nerves out. Sprinkle in some intimate moments and quick kisses and silly prompts (cause who doesn’t want to tell their partner their favorite breakfast cereal in their sexiest voice in their ear) and BOOM! You’ll have engagement photos that capture you and your partner.

Let’s get you feeling relaxed and excited to take you wedding photos because you know what to expect because you had a great time taking your engagement photos.

I am so excited for this dude and the adventures he is about to go on into college! I had the honor of capturing a friend’s high school senior photos in Upper park, Chico CA. Hunter and his family have been dear friends of my family ever since his parents were in my parents young married group. I was pretty young when i met his folks and ever since then, we got to do a lot of life with them. This was such a special session to capture and watch the man that Hunter has grown into.

I remember when my brother and I would go and baby sit Hunter and his sister when they were just kids and now she’s in college and he’s finishing up his last couple months at Butte Core charter.

We started the session at his family home to take some dressed up shots of him playing the piano, him in his track and field uniform and a couple of my favorite shots with Sting from the Lord of the Rings. Now if you don’t know what that is, Sting is a named sword from the trilogy. From there we went out to Chico State where a lot of grad photos are taken. I just love the raw brick and beautiful architecture of the buildings. The campus is gorgeous with lots of trees, a fun rose garden and some great urban back drops. We went to one more location for the bulk of the session and that was to Upper Park, which is a huge park that we have in the area. Wide, sweeping open fields, a lake and all kinds of hiking trails.

The sun was entering its’ golden hour which meant that the sun lit up the fields of Upper Park perfectly giving us some of the best shots of the session. We played around with his guitar, wild flowers as well as got some fun shots of his parents celebrating becoming empty nesters and a job well done raising two great kids!

Congrats to Hunter and cheers to a season of some of life’s greatest adventures!