This was the first wedding that I’ve been to in a while where I have not been the photographer in some capacity. It was nice to avoid the pressure! The disadvantage of course is that I was not always — not often — in the right place for the best shot.

It still didn’t stop my trying.

Over the last few years I have been to an Anglican church wedding, a civil partnership, a couple of registry office weddings, a Jewish wedding but never a Catholic one.

As anyone who knows me will realise, I’m not a man of faith, but it’s always interesting to see the differences.

The memorable feature of this wedding (in terms of the wedding service rather than what it meant to me to see a good friend get married!) was its obsession with the creation of new offsprings. Little mention was made of their one year old daughter…

As you might imagine of an Irish wedding, the service was only the start. The reception went on for… well, longer that I stayed awake in any case. All I can say is that at midnight, only a couple of hours after a huge meal, they were bringing out burgers for a snack.

One last thing that I wanted to mention, though it’s not strictly about the wedding. I got back to the hotel in the early hours of the morning and didn’t rush up the next day. It got to nearly ten and I realised that I had missed the breakfast. I wasn’t too concerned, since Tipperary town was only a five minute drive away, and continued to lay in bed for a little longer.

Just before ten thirty, the phone rang. Would I like breakfast? She wouldn’t take no for an answer. I love service in Ireland…