Artist captures moment bride sees live painting in progress—Doesn’t go well

A bride’s reaction to her live wedding painting while it was in progress, before finally seeing the finished product, has gone viral with over 56 million views.

Live wedding painter Rebekka Lord-Johnson was at a wedding in Victoria, Australia, in November 2024 when she captured the bride’s contrasting emotions. Not long after the bride arrived at the venue, she wanted to get a glimpse of Lord-Johnson’s mastery in its early stages. When she did, however, she wasn’t sure what to think.

Footage shows the bride’s confusion at the painting, which was only of the background by that point. Lord-Johnson told Newsweek that it “wasn’t what either of us were expecting” at the time, and she didn’t want it to sway the bride’s perspective.

Trust the process, as they always say. Once Lord-Johnson started painting the bride and groom in the center of the artwork, it truly came to life.

“I normally start my paintings with the portraits, so the painting looks refined from the beginning,” she said. “In this case, the timeline was a little later, so I needed to save some time by roughly blocking-in the background.”

The painter even tried blocking the bride’s view so she couldn’t see it yet. That didn’t work, and the newlywed was left looking rather disappointed.

Her reaction left Johnson-Lord feeling very stressed. However, she knew she could create the perfect wedding portrait that the couple would cherish.

She continued: “There is nothing like a little adrenaline to make a beautiful painting. I love some healthy skepticism from the guests, but it’s a little different when it’s the bride and groom. I was even more determined to make it beautiful for her and her husband.”

The painting took approximately five hours to complete on the night, and after the wedding, Lord-Johnson spent an additional 15 hours refining the details.

Needless to say, when the bride returned to look at the painting later in the evening, she was stunned by what she saw. Her jaw dropped and she couldn’t stop praising Lord-Johnson’s talent.

Footage of her reaction was shared on TikTok (@bek.lj and @the.wedding.painter on Instagram) and has since gone viral with over 56.1 million views and 8.8 million likes in a matter of days.

When Lord-Johnson looks back now, she says the bride’s reaction will forever be one of her favorites. Following her first reaction to the unfinished artwork, the painter was “so happy” to see the joy she had at the end.

“My job is always rewarding, but I was ecstatic with her reaction,” Lord-Johnson told Newsweek.

“Sometimes it makes me a little uncomfortable when they look at the unfinished painting because naturally, I want them to love it right away. However, it’s the magic of the process, and I love that they get to be a part of watching it come together,” she continued.

Lord-Jonhson has been blown away by the online response to the video, which has led to so many positive responses on social media. While some people felt the bride judged the painting too prematurely, the artist understands exactly why she would have that initial reaction.

Ultimately, her final reaction was all that mattered to Lord-Johnson.

“What they may not understand is that she was so excited to see the painting, so it makes sense that seeing a roughly blocked-in background would elicit an anticlimactic reaction. She knew to come back at the end, and that’s the reaction you see next in the video,” Lord-Johnson said.

The post has amassed over 4,900 comments at the time of writing.

One comment reads: “This might be the best live wedding painting I’ve seen.”

Another TikTok user wrote: “That is beautiful! I can’t imagine working under that pressure, you smashed it!”

While another person added: “That’s why artists hide their work till they’re done. The stress is totally understandable though.”

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