Steve Gemmell
Sep 2, 20202 min
Thursday, August 29, 2013
I am a Herts Wedding Photographer who also photographs weddings in London and all of the home counties and occasionally, when asked further afield. Anywhere on the planet in fact!
Last Friday’s marriage of Wayne and Angela wasn’t too far away in Putney, South London. As I always do when there is any risk of getting caught in traffic jams, I stopped over the night before the wedding. The Lodge Hotel in Putney turned out to be a very pleasant stay and in the morning I enjoyed some breakfast outside in the sunshine before heading off to St John the Evangelist Polish Roman Catholic Church.
I had met Father Stanislaw Kowalski at the rehearsal the previous evening and he was very helpful and welcoming on both visits which always makes a wedding photographer’s job less stressful and more enjoyable. Unusually for a RC church it was originally built for the Church of England in 1859. It suffered bomb damage during the second world war and was closed for four years. In 1977 it was leased to the Polish Roman Catholic Church and freehold was granted in 2007. A big concern here are the difficult parking restrictions and despite having fed the parking meter £10 and having a reassuring chat with the traffic wardens I still had visions of the dreaded penalty notice on my return to the car. Thankfully this didn’t happen even after my slight overstay of the 2 hour max limit. Phew …
Angela and Wayne’s reception was held at Glenmore House in Surbiton, a fine old Georgian building, recently refurbished with a great bar and friendly efficient staff. Wayne and Angela are off to the Caribbean for their honeymoon, lucky people. It was a pleasure to photograph their wedding and I wish them a very happy married life together.