This falls outside my field; but in the absence of responses from others, I'll throw in my 2 cents.

Yes, photographs will communicate emotion more viscerally and more immediately to a wider audience than would mere graphic design. It would take a rare painter to equal an average photographer for a job like this one.

We've all watched weddings all our lives – weddings of actual people; and we empathize or fantasize by imagining ourselves in their place. Especially among brides, it seems there's a strong desire to emulate. But we're all trained to respond to images of weddings and brides. The less stylized and abstract they are, the more evocative we'll find them.

That's my hunch. Browse some Pinterest boards about brides and weddings, and you'll quickly see for yourself what kinds of images people have selected and respond to emotionally.

At the end of any day a picture is just a picture and the emotional conveyance is somewhat meaningless unless you know those involved. Instead of wracking your brain on the perfect picture you should instead work on the time honored tradition of psychological presentation. Started off by the add avoiding anything with red letters, mentally telling the consumer to stop as it is ingrained into our society. Focus on mainly greens, the bolder and brighter the better this encourages the customer to move forward to the next step and contact you. What happens from there depends on your sales team. If you need help further choosing a sales team or more info on human behavior or advertising feel free to reach out to me with a call.

I would want it to tell the story of the two people getting married. Have the couple fill out a survey on what they like to what they want. I would also have video testimonials on your website from a few people who you have already done work with. People want to see real people these days and not actors. They want to see themselves in the pictures and connect with the photographer.

I think a real photo to show happiness of the couple and their families will stimulate emotions of joy and love!

As a marketer, I look for photos that evoke nostalgia tied to specific emotions. For example, brides may be caught up in the story of love, family, and devotion that their grandparents shared. A poster of an older couple cuddling on a sofa with a photograph of their wedding clearly sitting behind them draws the new bride into the story of the marriage that she desires.

Make sense? Think of the story your target audience tells themselves, the emotions they want to resolve through your services, then tie together in the poster.