Luxury Wedding Trends in 2025
March 4, 2025
Luxury weddings in 2025 are about to get personal. What I mean is they’re all about your unique personalities, your authenticity, and the experiences you want to have on your wedding day. Couples are moving away from traditional, one-size-fits-all celebrations and investing in high-end details that reflect their values and unique wants. From multi-day experiences led by wedding planners to the resurgence of film photography, from what I can see these are the luxury wedding trends in 2025.
Multi-Day Wedding Celebrations
Luxury couples are extending their wedding celebrations beyond a single day. Although single day celebrations are still popular, weekend-long weddings—or even multi-day affairs—are becoming the norm, giving couples and their guests time to enjoy each other. From pre-wedding welcome dinners to post-wedding brunches, these extended celebrations allow for more intimate moments and additional opportunities for stunning editorial-style photography. My reflection is that off the back of 2020, people value quality time more than ever, so why rush?
As a high-end wedding photographer, multi-day weddings provide the perfect chance to document the full story with a mix of editorial portraits and documentary moments, ensuring every moment is beautifully captured.
Weddings Centred Around Values
Couples in 2025 are embracing weddings that align with their personal beliefs and values, whether their family and friends have exactly the same beliefs or not. Whether it’s a fully vegan wedding with sustainable catering or a Christian wedding with meaningful spirit led worship, luxury couples are making choices that are deeply personal and families are respecting that. These weddings often feature vendors that share or respect these values, carefully curated menus, and ceremonies that reflect the couple’s faith.
This shift towards intentional weddings means photography needs to be just as thoughtful—capturing the authenticity and details included in these meaningful choices.
The Resurgence of Film Photography
In an era of photography where barely anybody uses flash and most photographers take their ISO to 30,000 and beyond, film photography is making a comeback in luxury weddings. I’ve always tried to replicate the aesthetics of fashionable film photography in my digital edits, but clients are wanting the real thing now too. There’s a growing appreciation for the timeless, organic look that film can provide—soft grain, muted tones, and a depth that digital photographers can’t always achieve. It’s risky, but blending film and digital photography creates a stunning partnership, offering couples a mix of nostalgia and sharpness in their wedding gallery.
Having had my work recognised in Italian Vogue, I understand the nuances of lighting and composition needed to ensure film photography delivers the luxury aesthetic my clients expect. At the moment I’m offering 35mm film with every wedding photography package, and hope to expand into medium format and even more advanced film cameras in the future
Direct Flash & Off-Camera Flash Group Shots
With editorial-style photography continuing to dominate, direct flash is having a huge moment. Inspired by high-fashion photography and nightlife, this technique creates bold, energetic images—perfect for capturing the atmosphere of a luxury wedding reception.
Off-camera flash is also elevating group portraits. Rather than traditional posed shots, carefully lit group photos with “Rembrandt” lighting feel dynamic and cinematic, fitting perfectly into the high-end aesthetic that today’s couples desire.
Check it out below:
The first image was taken using only the available light in a dimly lit wedding venue (Childerley in Cambridge). In low-light conditions like this, photographers often resort to raising the ISO significantly, opening the aperture as wide as possible, and capturing the shot. However, as you can see, this approach results in a lack of detail on their faces, and the overall image quality suffers.
For the second image, I quickly set up a softbox on a boom stand, metered the flash output to match my desired camera settings, and took the shot. The difference is striking—there’s far more clarity in their faces, and the image as a whole looks significantly better. If we weren’t so short for time or if I had a second shooter at this wedding, I might have set up an accent light behind the subjects to separate them from the background, but I was happy with this result.
More Investment in Photography
Luxury couples in 2025 are placing more value on photography than ever before. While trends come and go, and smartphone cameras continue to improve, couples are increasingly recognising that photography is one of the few lasting ways to preserve the memories of their wedding day. With trends shifting towards storytelling but with editorial aesthetics, couples are allocating larger portions of their budget to high-end wedding photography. They’re prioritising photographers whose work is a seamless mix of documentary storytelling and editorial flair, ensuring their day is captured with authenticity and artistry.
This realisation around not compromising with wedding photography is why couples book high-end photographers like myself, who have photographed celebrities, worked in fashion, and mastered lighting in even the most challenging conditions.
Second (and third!) Shooters Are Back in Business
With couples wanting every angle captured, second shooters are making a strong return in 2025. More couples are seeing the value in having a dedicated second photographer to document reactions, behind-the-scenes moments, and alternative perspectives. This ensures even less moments Are missed—especially in multi-day weddings where events cross over in different locations.
My Luxury Wedding Package includes a second shooter for this very reason—because for a truly extra wedding collection, multiple perspectives are essential. It’s only usually recommended for Asian and East Asian multi-day weddings, but third shooters can also be booked for bespoke packages.
Wedding Albums & Tangible Memories
With the rise in investment in luxury wedding photography, couples are also opting for high-end wedding albums and printed artwork. I’m guilty of taking thousands of photos on my phone and rarely printing them, but for a time so special as your wedding, printed products are IN. Rather than leaving their wedding photos to live on a screen, people are choosing fine art albums and bespoke wall art to display their memories in the most authentic way possible. Some opt for huge statement pieces on walls, others a collage of multiple framed images, and others albums to flick through with loved ones.
As a photographer, I always encourage my clients to invest in luxury wedding albums—because their wedding story deserves to be seen and appreciated for generations. We’ve actually got one album always out, and then one in the attic (away from toddler hands and in case of accidents!).
The Future of Luxury Weddings
Luxury weddings in 2025 are about thoughtful storytelling, a priority on quality photography, and not holding back. Couples are investing in multi-day celebrations, values-driven choices, editorial photography techniques, and tangible keepsakes.
For those looking to capture their wedding in a way that is both authentic and editorial, I’d totally recommend choosing a luxury wedding photographer with the experience, artistic vision, and technical expertise to create something truly extraordinary.
If you’re planning a luxury wedding in 2025 and want photography that tells the full story of your day with style and authenticity, let’s talk.
