diff --git a/docs/source/cfngin/config.rst b/docs/source/cfngin/config.rst
index d28a0df20..85f022c8f 100644
--- a/docs/source/cfngin/config.rst
+++ b/docs/source/cfngin/config.rst
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 .. _Blueprints: ../terminology.html#blueprint
 .. _hook: ../terminology.html#hook
 .. _hooks: ../terminology.html#hook
+.. _lookups: lookups.html
 .. _Mappings: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/mappings-section-structure.html
 .. _Outputs: ../terminology.html#output
 
@@ -251,7 +252,10 @@ The keyword is a dictionary with the following keys:
   with a variable pulled from an environment file.
 
 **args:**
-  A dictionary of arguments to pass to the hook_.
+  A dictionary of arguments to pass to the hook_ with support for lookups_.
+  Note that lookups_ that change the order of execution, like ``output``, can
+  only be used in a `post` hook but hooks like ``rxref`` are able to be used
+  with either `pre` or `post` hooks.
 
 An example using the ``create_domain`` hook_ for creating a route53 domain before
 the build action:
@@ -281,6 +285,33 @@ should run in the environment CFNgin is running against:
       args:
         domain: mydomain.com
 
+An example of a custom hooks using various lookups in it's arguments:
+
+.. code-block:: yaml
+
+  pre_build:
+    custom_hook1:
+      path: path.to.hook1.entry_point
+      args:
+        ami: ${ami [<region>@]owners:self,888888888888,amazon name_regex:server[0-9]+ architecture:i386}
+        user_data: ${file parameterized-64:file://some/path}
+        db_endpoint: ${rxref some-stack::Endpoint}
+        subnet: ${xref some-stack::Subnet}
+        db_creds: ${ssmstore us-east-1@MyDBUser}
+    custom_hook2:
+      path: path.to.hook.entry_point
+      args:
+        bucket: ${dynamodb us-east-1:TestTable@TestKey:TestVal.BucketName}
+        bucket_region: ${envvar AWS_REGION}  # this variable is set by Runway
+        files:
+          - ${file plain:file://some/path}
+
+  post_build:
+    custom_hook3:
+      path: path.to.hook3.entry_point
+      args:
+        nlb: ${output nlb-stack::Nlb}  # output can only be used as a post hook
+
 
 Tags
 ----
diff --git a/runway/cfngin/hooks/utils.py b/runway/cfngin/hooks/utils.py
index 5c54ae23d..fb5e78fb8 100644
--- a/runway/cfngin/hooks/utils.py
+++ b/runway/cfngin/hooks/utils.py
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@
 import sys
 
 from runway.util import load_object_from_string
+from runway.variables import Variable, resolve_variables
+
+from ..exceptions import FailedVariableLookup
 
 LOGGER = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -43,12 +46,12 @@ def handle_hooks(stage, hooks, provider, context):
     for hook in hooks:
         data_key = hook.data_key
         required = hook.required
-        kwargs = hook.args or {}
-        enabled = hook.enabled
-        if not enabled:
+
+        if not hook.enabled:
             LOGGER.debug("hook with method %s is disabled, skipping",
                          hook.path)
             continue
+
         try:
             method = load_object_from_string(hook.path)
         except (AttributeError, ImportError):
@@ -56,6 +59,24 @@ def handle_hooks(stage, hooks, provider, context):
             if required:
                 raise
             continue
+
+        if isinstance(hook.args, dict):
+            args = [Variable(k, v) for k, v in hook.args.items()]
+            try:  # handling for output or similar being used in pre_build
+                resolve_variables(args, context, provider)
+            except FailedVariableLookup:
+                if 'pre' in stage:
+                    LOGGER.error('Lookups that change the order of '
+                                 'execution, like "output", can only be '
+                                 'used in "post_*" hooks. Please '
+                                 'ensure that the hook being used does '
+                                 'not rely on a stack, hook_data, or '
+                                 'context that does not exist yet.')
+                raise
+            kwargs = {v.name: v.value for v in args}
+        else:
+            kwargs = hook.args or {}
+
         try:
             result = method(context=context, provider=provider, **kwargs)
         except Exception:  # pylint: disable=broad-except
@@ -63,6 +84,7 @@ def handle_hooks(stage, hooks, provider, context):
             if required:
                 raise
             continue
+
         if not result:
             if required:
                 LOGGER.error("Required hook %s failed. Return value: %s",
diff --git a/tests/cfngin/hooks/test_utils.py b/tests/cfngin/hooks/test_utils.py
index 64dc6f4ff..7941848d0 100644
--- a/tests/cfngin/hooks/test_utils.py
+++ b/tests/cfngin/hooks/test_utils.py
@@ -142,6 +142,22 @@ def test_return_data_hook_duplicate_key(self):
         with self.assertRaises(KeyError):
             handle_hooks("result", hooks, "us-east-1", self.context)
 
+    def test_resolve_lookups_in_args(self):
+        """Test the resolution of lookups in hook args."""
+        hooks = [Hook({
+            "path": "tests.cfngin.hooks.test_utils.kwargs_hook",
+            "data_key": "my_hook_results",
+            "args": {
+                "default_lookup": "${default env_var::default_value}"
+            }
+        })]
+        handle_hooks("lookups", hooks, "us-east-1", self.context)
+
+        self.assertEqual(
+            self.context.hook_data["my_hook_results"]["default_lookup"],
+            "default_value"
+        )
+
 
 def mock_hook(*args, **kwargs):
     """Mock hook."""
@@ -167,3 +183,8 @@ def context_hook(*args, **kwargs):
 def result_hook(*args, **kwargs):
     """Results hook."""
     return {"foo": "bar"}
+
+
+def kwargs_hook(*args, **kwargs):
+    """Kwargs hook."""
+    return kwargs