10 Breathtaking Kisses of 2021

Why the kiss is the frame that sells the album

The kiss is the photograph couples scroll to first when the gallery drops. It's also the hardest frame to get right — it happens once, it happens fast, and the room reacts in the same half-second the shutter has to fire.

We pulled ten from 2021 that our team keeps coming back to. Different venues, different shooters, same quiet moment of a couple forgetting everyone is watching.

1. Julie & Jack — Chesapeake Bay Beach Club, MD

September 17th, 2021. Shot by Roman M. Waterfront ceremony in Stevensville, the light low and directional across the bay. Julie laughed into the kiss; Jack didn't break it. Roman was working a 35mm at f/2, backed off maybe twelve feet, which let the guests in the back rows blur into the horizon. No second shooter on this one — just the one angle and the patience to wait for it.

2. Meghan & John — The Marriott Ranch B&B, Hume, VA

September 4th, 2021. Shot by Quang. Rural Virginia, a ceremony under a tree older than the B&B. The frame we kept isn't the first kiss — it's the exhale after. Meghan's eyes closed, hand on John's chest, the wind doing the veil work for us. That kind of shot doesn't happen when you're rushing to the next spot.

3. Rikki & Robert — Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami, FL

November 7th, 2021. Shot by Snezhana. Tropical botanical gardens are hard — the greens go flat in midday light and everything wants to be a backdrop. Snezhana shot from a low angle, let the orchids fall out of focus, and caught Rikki's bouquet hand pulling Robert closer. It's the bouquet that sells it.

4. Beshoi & Jennifer — Mizner Country Club, Delray Beach, FL

October 30th, 2021. Shot by Viktoriia. Country-club ballroom ceremonies usually mean flat light and a heavy aisle runner. Viktoriia worked it the other direction — sidelight from the window wall, a long lens from the back, letting the altar flowers frame the kiss. The restraint here is what works. No crowd, no flash, just the couple.

5. Katlyn & Joseph — Villa Woodbine, Miami, FL

October 19th, 2021. Shot by Viktoriia. Villa Woodbine's banyan grove is one of the most filmed spots in Miami weddings, and that's exactly the risk — it's easy to end up with a photo that looks like everyone else's. Viktoriia waited out the posed kiss, then caught them half a step later, Katlyn mid-laugh and Joseph still leaning in. Unscripted always wins.

6. Jamava & Arthur — Engagement Session, Washington D.C.

October 14th, 2021. Shot by Roman M. An engagement session, not a wedding — but we kept it in because the kiss is the reason we shoot these. Roman walked them from the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial toward the mall, shot mostly wide, and let the DC twilight do the color grading for him. Engagement kisses read different on camera. Less formality, more laughter.

7. Erika & Austin — Historic Rosemont Springs, Berryville, VA

August 15th, 2021. Shot by Quang. Rosemont's a working estate with a historic house and a lot of open lawn. August in Virginia means heavy midday humidity that blows out skies — Quang shot the kiss from below, low enough to use the porch columns as a frame and the sky as negative space. It reads like a painting because of the angle, not the edit.

8. Bryan & Michael — Black Ankle Vineyards, Mt. Airy, MD

June 6th, 2021. Shot by Quang. Vineyard kiss, late afternoon, the vines just starting to leaf out in full. This is one of those frames where the couple is barely the subject — it's their silhouette against the rows. The light was doing the work. Quang knew when to step back.

9. Kathryn & John — Anderson House, Washington, DC

October 10th, 2021. Shot by Quang. Anderson House is a historic mansion with enormous interior scale — marble, high ceilings, red damask. The risk with rooms like this is that the couple disappears into the decor. Quang went in tight with a 50mm, shot it almost like a portrait instead of a ceremony frame. Kathryn's hand in John's hair is the detail that sells it.

10. Taylor & Matthew — Layton House, Florida Keys

October 9th, 2021. Shot by Jhonathan. Beach ceremony in the Keys, which sounds easy and absolutely isn't — hard top light, wind, sand kicking up on lenses. Jhonathan got a low-angle frame with the couple against the water, the horizon line exactly where it needed to be. The kiss is soft; the setting is huge. It's our favorite Keys kiss of the year.

Frequently asked questions

Ten kisses, ten shooters' instincts, one year. Want yours in next year's list? Start a conversation here.