File:The Wedding Of Paul And Anna (22495542016).jpg

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I have never been so nervous in my life.

Wedding photography is something I never wish to do, be part of, or even have to think about. I am not a fan of weddings and I have no desire to ever have to photograph one. Then one of your friends tells you he doesn't have a wedding photographer and would be very, very grateful if you would bring your camera to his wedding and take a few images. I mean, what can one say? My entire being wanted to cry out "not a chance, I don't like weddings and I don't want to do it." What I actually said was "you can't not have your wedding photographed, of course I will do it."

So a couple of months ago, I photographed my friends wedding. Now I have been a photographer for a good 7 years now, but let me tell you, I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I wanted to do the best job I possibly could do, even though he told me that he only wanted the day recorded and nothing special. Therefore, I went into professional photographer mode and started to prepare weeks in advance. I attended the rehearsal, that I was very nearly late for, and managed to spend a little bit of time with the vicar. I had no idea on where I would need to stand, when I could actually take photos and whether everyone would be looking at me and the inevitable distraction I would cause with a clicking shutter. I barely slept the night before and when I arrived at the church the following morning (three hours before anyone else), I was terrified.

The groom and best man were the first to arrive and I kid you not when I tell you that I looked more nervous than he. We went for a quick pint in the pub across the road, which did little to calm my nerves and actually made me a little wobbly. Slowly, people started to turn up and I began to take photos. It was still another hour or so before the bride would get there. Family began to arrive, then the bridesmaids, then some of our mutual colleagues from work. I took a few photos, mingled around the church looking for places and angles. Then, the vicar told me that she was on her way and I made my way outside to wait. When she turned up, the bells began to ring and my camera began to fire.

The wedding was over i what felt like an instant and I had absolutely no idea on just how many images I had taken. People clung around outside in clutches, chatting and laughing. To this day I remember nothing of the service or much of the day in general. I had been invited as a guest but had lunged into full photographer mode the moment the day arrived and I cannot say that I enjoyed it. After the main service, we all went over the road for lunch, but even then I was responsible for taking photos. It wasn't until the evening that I was able to delegate the responsibility of image taking to a young apprentice. My friends daughter was a keen photographer, but had never really used an SLR before. I spent half an hour or so teaching her the ropes and then set her free on the party-goers, whilst I had a drink and took a deep breath.