How to Do a Wedding First Look at St Pancras Station

A first look is the moment you see each other before the ceremony, privately, instead of at the end of an aisle. For couples marrying at Camden Town Hall, or anywhere around King's Cross, St Pancras station is the obvious place to do it. It is covered, it is beautiful, and it is five minutes from the Town Hall door. This is how I plan one there, using the first look I photographed for Thong Yen and Ludwig in October.

Why St Pancras works

• It is weatherproof. The station sits under a huge glass and iron roof, so rain changes nothing. You will not be standing in a park hoping the clouds hold.
• The light is kind. The glass roof spreads daylight evenly, and the red brick warms everything it touches. Skin looks good here at almost any time of day.
• The setting means something. The Meeting Place, the tall bronze of a couple embracing at the south end of the station, was made for exactly this kind of moment.
• It is on the way. Camden Town Hall is directly across Euston Road, so the first look costs you no travel time at all.

Exactly where to meet

Meet at the Meeting Place statue on the upper concourse of St Pancras International, at the south end beneath the large station clock. It is easy to describe to a nervous partner, easy to find from the Underground, and the arcades along the brick wall beside it give you quieter corners once the first look is done. The nearest station is King's Cross St Pancras, which is on six Underground lines.

How the moment works

The one who arrives first stands by the statue facing away from the direction their partner will come from. I am already there with them. One friend, chosen in advance, messages me when the other half is on their way, and I meet them and walk them over. A tap on the shoulder, a turn, and that is it. I give almost no direction for the first minute, because the first minute is the whole point. Once you have had it, we take a few relaxed portraits nearby.

He waits

She arrives

Handling the crowds

St Pancras is busy, especially on a Saturday afternoon, and that is fine. People are travelling, not watching. I frame tight or work from low angles so the crowd melts into the background, and I use the arcades along the red-brick wall, where columns and lanterns hide the concourse behind you. If you want the statue completely empty, you need a very early start, and for most couples it is not worth it.

St Pancras is a working station, so I keep things small: handheld, no tripods, no lighting, and always moving out of people's way. If you are imagining a bigger production, with a film crew or styled set-up, check with the station before you plan around it.

Under the statue

Timings for a 2pm Camden ceremony

Camden asks couples to arrive fifteen minutes before the ceremony to see the registrar, so everything works backwards from that. This is the schedule we used:

• 1:15pm: arrive at the statue, fifteen minutes early, so we can start on time.
• 1:30pm: the first look, then a few portraits under the roof.
• 1:40pm: walk across Euston Road to the Judd Street entrance.
• 1:45pm: check in with the registrar.
• 2:00pm: the ceremony.

Ten minutes of first look sounds tiny. In practice it is plenty, because a first look is one moment, not a photoshoot. Your guests head straight to the Town Hall, so nobody is left waiting.

A few small things that help

• Decide who arrives first and tell your photographer, so the timing is clear.
• Choose the friend who sends the “on my way” message the day before.
• Wear your ceremony shoes, but carry a comfortable pair. The concourse is long and the day often ends with a walk.
• Leave your phones in a bag. You will not need them for this part.

After the first look

Once you are married, the area around the Town Hall is full of good portrait spots, from the marble staircase inside to the quiet streets of Bloomsbury to the south. I've mapped them in a wedding photo walk from Camden Town Hall. A first look, the ceremony and a walk like that all fit into two hours with our Ceremony collection from £300.