Personally speaking, black and white wedding photography holds a special place in my heart because when I started out in the business, in the late 1950s and early 60s, THAT was pretty much hyte state of the art. That's how I cut my teeth and it was extremely high quality stuff!

We shot with 4x5 press cameras, multiple lighting and the images were sharp but smooth- silkily wedding dresses, detailed lace, rich black but detailed tuxedos- lots of dramatic effects and regardless of the heavy and bulky all MANUAL gear, there were plenty of spontaneous candids to go with the elegant formals. The images were virtually grain-less and there were lovely papers with lustrous and silken finishes to accentuate the fabrics and the skin tones. Well- so much for nostalgia!

Back in the day, that's what most reputable and popular studios offered. Color photography was costly to produce as per wedding albums and custom color prints and there was the issue of permanence- the old “type “C” prints were known to fade, even in dark storage.

Why I say “nostalgia”?- my issue here is not what I want to offer as a photographer, what I consider artistic or what I love to do. I want to talk about what the CLIENTS-the BRIDES AND GROOMS want and why the may opt for black and white, color or anything else. Understanding this may help us address the OP's question..

SNOB APPEAL: Some folks- customers, say that black and white photography is more artistic- they may have a point? When, however, I would discuss this concept, many of them, those that requested black and white work, most did not allude to line, texture, contrast, mood or any of the photographic or artistic concepts we associate with monochromatic imagery. They just heard it's more artsy or the just wanted something “different” .

PHOTOJOURNALISM? There was a trend, in some “high society circles” where they wanted pure journalistic coverage. They had an aversion to any kind of posed images, they considered the photography an intrusive element in their wedding day and somehow equated sort of grainy, dim, black and white images with authentic photojournalism. Yet they would plan delicate pastel colors for their bridesmaid's gowns, the flowers and be ultra-fussy about the COLOR of the tablecloths at the reception- go figure! One bride, brought me a copy of LIFE magazine with war images and insisted on THAT “look”. In the heyday of Hasselbald medium format, I shot her wedding with three Leica M cameras on Tri-X film, pushed to 800 and processed in Ethol UFG- she was elated! I even shot a roll of Royal-X pan (@6400) at the ceremony, processed in DK-50 there was grain the size of mothballs! LOVELY!

Some folks want that “retro-look” like “Mom's or Grandma's wedding album”! Sometimes it's Mom or Grandma who comes up with this theme.

So here I am- here we are...in the nowadays. I am still, believe it or not, in the ALBUM business, so album design and theme are a big deal in my business. I sit down with each couple and find out what they expect- it is important, to me, to reflect THEIR taste in THEIR coverage. Most of them just let me do my thing. I might include some monochromatic images if I feel they are appropriate for certain shots. I do explain that I don't advise shooting or converting to black and white just for the sake of doing that. In the last 20 years, I have not had a request for an all black and white wedding coverage- I would do it if requested.
At one point in time, I charged MORE for all black and white coverages for a logical reason. I still had maintained a complete black and white darkroom and would hand process and print the entire job on fine archival papers in the traditional manner. They wanted authenticity and they were willing to pay the difference. I discontinued that about 10 years back as the chemicals and materials became more and more inaccessible and of course, many disappeared entirely.

I no longer worry about the longevity of mu color prints- I worry more about the longevity if some of the marriages I have photographed- even the ones in my own family. In December, my lovely wife, long time business partner (da boss) and best fried and I will celebrate our 50 the year of marriage. I am a lucky guy! She deserves the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart, the Victoria Cross (Canada) and the Noble Peace Prize for putting up with this nutty photographer for half a century and helping me run this insane business. I only wish this kinda good luck to all the brides and grooms out there- in black and white and color!

Best regards, Ed