2025 Recap
Best of 2025

2025 was SUCH an incredible year. I had the pleasure of photographing so many incredible folks and their families. It was a year of small moments, silly bloopers and fun details. The shift in couples wanting more editorial images with a candid twist was fully solidified this year– making my 40% poses, 60% candid approach a really great fit for all my 2025 brides and grooms.

So now without further ado let’s take a look back on 2025 for my annual “Best Of” photography post!

And if you’re looking for a wedding photographer to capture your wedding or elopement in 2026, shoot me a message. You never know, you might find yourself in next years blog post!

Weddings & Elopements

The Portrait Session

I’m starting this post off with the bangers. These are the portrait session photos– usually taken in 15-20 minutes around sunset.

A lot of my couples really prioritized their photo time this year, with folks wanting to ensure we got the best golden hour, glow-y light. Everyone wanted a bit of direction (especially with a slight editorial spin) but at the core to feel like themselves in their photos.

Tailoring portrait session time to each individual couple is one of my favorite things to do and means that every wedding I photograph in a new and different way. It’s the best part of my job– no matter how many weddings I photograph, everyday feels completely different and unique!

You’ll see that reflected in these photos– some galleries are filled with funny bloopers, some are more relaxed and intimate, some are overflowing with energy and movement.

Getting Ready

Getting ready in 2025 was all about small, quiet moments. The majority of my couples opted for less coverage in the morning portion, with more of a focus on the middle part of the day and ensuring they could be present with guests and loved ones.

A big trend for 2025 was couples getting ready together. This is something I did for my wedding and absolutely loved it. It was so nice to spend time with my partner rather than being separate the whole morning and really calmed my nerves.

The First Looks

The majority of all my couples did first looks this year. Most of them remarked on how stress-free it made the day. Everyone also commented on how the reveal at ceremony was still perfect and special.

Something a bit new this year was a lot of my couples chose to do vows during first look. I absolutely love doing private vows. It’s such a great idea for anyone feeling a little nervous about speaking in front of all your guests or just wanting to keep some things more private.

Another big hit this year was doing first looks with family members. Quite a few brides did first looks with their dads and they were so sweet.

As always I am absolutely team do whatever you want, but if you’re still on the fence about whether a first look is right for you, check out this blog post!

The Ceremony

So many gorgeous ceremonies this year! Was absolutely spoiled with the variety of backdrops and stunning landscapes. This year I really prioritized those big wide shots to show the vastness of couples ceremony spaces AND the intimate, sweet family and friend reactions.

2025 was also the year of the dip kiss! I think almost every couple opted for either a first kiss dip or one in the center aisle!

Wedding Parties

2025 seemed like the year of anti-wedding party. I think I had more couples opt for no wedding party than any other year. However, all the folks I did photograph were so incredibly welcoming and fun.

I did have quite a few requests for more editorial wedding party photos, which was a fun new challenge!

I also really wanted to experiment with the in-between moments with wedding parties. I think in the past I didn’t think of this part of the day as being particularly “documentary” but when I remembered that these are actually my couples most important, hand selected people, it really clicked for me that I wanted to search for the small moments during this part of the day.

Family Photos

This is a portion of the day I am so incredibly proud of.

I used to speed run through this part of the day with the goal of getting my couples to cocktail hour as quickly as possible, but in 2025 I slowed down just a little and focused on my couples getting to spend this quality time with their families.

We still did all these groupings in usually 20 minutes or less, but now my camera never went down– focusing on the in between and small moments between my couple and their loved ones– sometimes it was fun silly moments, other times sweet hugs.

I also now love to have my second for a part of family photos getting the moments happening in the wings while I’m doing the formal portraits.

Cocktail Hour

Cocktail hour was huge priority to my couples in 2025– both attending and having it documented. And I am so stoked about this!

Cocktail hour is when the best candids happen. It’s usually the first time people get to hug the couple. Guests are more relaxed and at ease. It’s the best!

I had a lot of requests this year to take more formal posed photos of guests, so this usually happened during cocktail hour. More on that in the 2025 trends section!

Reception

Reception events were so heartfelt in 2025. Had so many tearful toasts and emotional parent dances. It was a year of stripping down everything that didn’t feel authentic and really just focusing on genuine moments.

It was also the year of infusing so much fun and personality into reception– I had dance floors filled with costumes, shotskis and even a knife swallowing demonstration.

In between moments

In between moments are some of my favorite things to capture throughout a wedding day, small touches, quick glances– these little moments tell a big part of my couples story. These moments are transition pieces and often tell the quieter parts of the day. Want to read more about my philosophy on in-betweens and candids, check out this post!

Family moments

So many heartfelt and sweet little family moments this year. My couples had such an amazing connection with their closest people. There was really a sense of community at all the weddings I photographed. Here are some of those little moments that had a big impact.

Goofy moments

My couples are folks that don’t take themselves too seriously. They are all about laughing and having a great time at their wedding. From shots (and shot-skis) to kiddos stealing chocolates from the dessert table to chest bumps on the dance floor –  here are some of my favorite moments that had me giggling behind the camera.

2025 Wedding Trends

Here are some things I noticed to be popular or heavily requested in 2025 that you might want to implement in your 2026 wedding!

Big Group Photos

Big group photos were huge in 2025 and I think will be seen often in 2026. A lot of my couples wanted quick family photos but then a big shot of everyone to capture all the faces.

These are so fun for me to capture. I always tell my couples they will be imperfect, but I think that’s what makes them so special.

Colorful Florals

Florals were full of color and whimsy in 2025! Saw lots of cascading designs and pops of color!

Unique Detail Photos

In 2025 I got many requests for detail photos, but everyone wanted them with a slightly unique spin. I really loved flexing my creativity and capturing details in a way that told the story of the day– sometimes that meant incorporating things already in the venue or utilizing different lighting to evoke the way the morning felt. I also really enjoyed capturing table details at the end of the night– something I think will be really popular in 2026!

Family Remembrance

Lots of sweet elements honoring passed family members in 2025. I love that couples found ways to incorporate folks that weren’t there with them physically.

Film at Weddings

Film saw a huge resurgence in 2025! Both by couples requesting film on their wedding day and having guests take part.

Film is something I’ve been slowly incorporating into my business so was so excited to see folks get excited about it again!

Live Music

I’ve never had the pleasure of photographing so much live music as I did in 2025! From full bands to saxophones on the dancefloor to strings at ceremony, it was so fun to have music incorporated into so many weddings.

Ring Shots

I was sent several Pinterest photos of ring photo inspiration in 2025 which made these shots super top of mind for me! I just couldn’t stop photographing people looking at newlywed rings.

I think it was such a fun way to capture a special detail rather than just in a box in the morning.

Solo Portraits

I also got lots of Pinterest inspiration of solo portraits of my brides and grooms. I love that folks were wanting some individual photos of them looking incredible on their wedding day.

As always, I tailored these to my couple– some more fun and movement based, some editorial and edgy, all totally them.

Guest Images

The biggest request I got from couples in 2025 was to capture formal portraits of guests so they could use them as party favors. And I absolutely love this idea. What more does a wedding guest want than a beautiful photo of them all dressed up?

Most of these photos were taken by my incredible second photographers during cocktail hour while I was doing family and wedding party photos, shout out to them!

Portrait Sessions

Weddings and elopements are my main bread and butter, but I couldn’t do a wrap up post without posting a few of my favorite portrait sessions.

There were quite a few engagement sessions, some incredible seniors and two past wedding clients who I got to photograph their sweet families.

Some favorite behind the scenes photos <3

I try to take a selfie of some kind with every wedding couple. It doesn’t always happen with how busy and fast paced wedding days are, but here are some of my favorites from when I’ve actually remembered.

And that’s a wrap on 2025! Truly would not have been such an incredible year if it weren’t for all my amazing couples. Thank you all for being so rad, welcoming and unequivocally you.

Here’s to 2026!

And if you’re looking for a wedding photographer to capture your wedding or elopement in 2026, shoot me a message. You never know, you might find yourself in next years blog post!