The winners of the 2025 International Wedding Photographer of the Year Awards (IWPOTY) have been announced, with UK photographer David Scholes awarded the Grand Winner title for his humorous capture of a young wedding guest and the wedding cake
9th International Wedding Photographer of the Year
Adelaide, South Australia, Dec. 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UK Photographer David Scholes wins the 2025 International Wedding Photographer of the Year Awards with charming, unexpected capture.
David Scholes' Grand Prize winning entry submitted to the Single Capture / Reportage Category
The winners of the 2025 International Wedding Photographer of the Year Awards (IWPOTY) have been announced, with UK photographer David Scholes awarded the Grand Winner title for his humorous and beautifully composed capture of a young wedding guest peering curiously at the wedding cake.
Outscoring more than 2,500 submissions from 568 photographers across 61 countries, Scholes’ winning photograph stood out to the judges for its simplicity, storytelling, humour, and beautifully balanced composition.
David explains..
“This photo was taken at Mitton Hall in the Ribble Valley. 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.”
David continues..
“The couple and their favourites were having cocktails and canapés on the terrace and I had been out there too, for quite a while. After an hour or so I felt I was starting to over shoot what was happening there, and thought I'd get a few shots of the room set up and cake. The cake was on a table in front of the back window which has a narrow path behind which is joined to the terrace where the guests were. 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 can 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”
View the winning gallery: https://iwpoty.com/2025-winners-gallery
Maddie Mae's 2nd Place Entry overall - Engagement / Non-Wedding Day Category Winner
About International Wedding Photographer of the Year Awards
The International Wedding Photographer of the Year Awards allows photographers from across the globe to showcase and enter their work in a wide variety of categories. When entering, the Photographer will select the category they believe best suits the image being entered. The image will be judged based on its merits within that category. The International Wedding Photographer of the Year Awards is open to all photographers, Professional and Amateur.
Further information, high res images and press kit
Press inquiries
International Wedding Photographer of the Year Awards
https://iwpoty.com
Luke Simon, Award Curator
email: contact@iwpoty.com
phone: +61439890198
