SHOWCASE | WEDDING HUGS
Kissing, Cuddles and Congratulations
I’ll be honest: my favourite thing to photograph at a wedding is a good hug. Hugs make a wedding for me. No two are the same—some are about support and reassurance, some quietly mend old fallouts, and most are pure love and elation.
They come in all shapes and sizes: a quick squeeze, a long, shoulder-shaking cuddle, a three- or four-person bundle that nearly knocks someone over. From a photography point of view, they’re a brilliant challenge because you never quite know when a hug is about to happen—or which way it will land.
The biggest decision in the split second before an embrace? Which side it’s going to be. You line up for a left-shoulder cuddle… and at the last moment it flips into a right-shoulder bear hug. Damn. Then another clinch comes flying in, you go right, they go right—boom. That’s the frame.
This is where candid, relaxed wedding photography shines: reading the room, anticipating body language, staying close without getting in the way, and being ready for that exact heartbeat when faces meet and shoulders drop. Hugs are the moments people feel again when they look back at their gallery—unscripted connection, real emotion, timeless memories.
I have so many hug photos I love to revisit, but here are a few of my favourites, in no particular order.