The Wedding Reporter ~

© Steve Gerrard Photography

I pulled into a space marked for visitors of the registry office only and killed the ignition. The chaotic sound of rain pummelling the metal roof of the car seemed to echo the irrational beat of my heart hammering against my chest, the sound resonating in my ears as it reverberated through my entire body. Droplets slid down the windscreen in a haphazard, kamikaze fashion. The palms of my hands felt equally as moist.

I picked up the phone and dialled the one person that could level out this situation.

“Hello?” he asked curiously.

“I’m scared,” I said, which seemed the most succinct way of describing how I felt.

“What of?” He was clearly doing something else at the same time as talking to me, my phone call a distraction to his Thursday morning routine.

“Everything. I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know these people. How can I just turn up to someone else’s wedding? What will I say to people?”

“You’ll be fine.”

I caught a glimpse of a couple getting out of a car behind me, decorating themselves in various bits of camera kit and walking away in the direction of the entrance.

“Oh God, Steve Gerrard and his wife are here. He’s like a photography rockstar. And she’s really pretty.”

“Well that’s good, you know who he is so you can talk to him,” said the wingman, not belying his disappointment that it wasn’t the other Stevie G.

“I can’t talk to him!” I heard myself squeak. “I’m no one!”

A hint of impatience crept into his voice. “Well you’re obviously someone or else they wouldn’t have asked you to be there.”

“I’m scared.”

“Fine. Come home then and go back to work. Sit at your desk for the rest of your life processing planning applications and carry on talking about what could have been. You’ll be nice and safe there and never feel scared again.”

“I love you,” I said. “See you later.”

I shrugged into my coat, double checked my details sheet and stepped out of the car into the mist of light drizzle. With a deep breath and the beeping sound of the car locking, I headed into St Albans registry office to begin documenting Emily and Stef’s wedding and start a bona fide career as a wedding reporter.

~

I will always remain indebted to Stef and Emily for inviting me to be part of their glorious wedding celebration in my first official role as The Wedding Reporter. It was a learning curve of epic proportions and the kind of experience that restores your heart, soothes your soul and fills your head with happy memories.
Long may they continue to create such joy throughout their marriage.

You can read Emily and Stef’s wedding report in full right here.