I'm Chris — the photographer in the waistcoat and bowtie you'll spot somewhere in the background of your wedding day.

My first wedding was in 2003. I was a student working weekends at Jessops camera shop in Belfast when someone asked if I'd photograph their big day. I said yes.

After graduating with a degree in Multimedia from Ulster University I took a gap year in Canada — photographing skiers on the slopes at Banff and teaching kids to make videos at Camp Quanoes on Vancouver Island. When I came home I worked briefly alongside another wedding photographer and tried my hand at wedding video before realising stills were where my heart was. By 2008, weddings were my sole focus.

Six hundred weddings later, they still are.

I shoot on Sony cameras and I always have backup gear with me. Always. That came in useful the time I fell into a fountain at Magheramorne Estate — dry camera, dry clothes, back shooting within minutes. When I'm working with film, I'll be using the Canon camera I spent all my wages on back when I worked in the camera shop as a 20 year old student. It feels right that it's making an appearance again on wedding days.

I'm a bit of a photography gear nerd — and that really helps when you're dealing with tricky weather or a venue with difficult lighting. Because I know my camera gear and my lighting gear inside out, I can keep my attention where it belongs. On you, and your favourite people.

You'll know me by the waistcoat and bowtie. Beyond that, I'm there to blend in.

I'll spend the morning with you and your wedding party, getting to know the key people — chatting to the mums and dads, finding out who's who. That matters, because it means for the rest of the day I know exactly who to watch. The auntie who's liable to burst into tears during the vows. The wee granny who's always been your biggest supporter. The cousin who's famous for busting out cartwheels on the dancefloor. The best friend who catches your eye at exactly the right moment.

For part of the day I'll give a little gentle direction — getting the family groups together, making your couple portraits fast and fun, and getting everyone back to the party as quickly as possible. The rest of the time the camera's up to my eye and I'm watching, waiting, catching the glimpses that happen when nobody's performing for a lens.

A lot of grooms have told me the couple portraits were an absolute highlight of their day — something they were dreading that turned out to be loads of craic. That never gets old.

When I'm not at a wedding you'll find me at home in Lisburn with my wife Diann and our two teenagers. We've a house full of animals — a cat called Mollie, a new dog called Lassie, and five hens that spend most of their time escaping their run and eating Diann's flowers. The eggs are worth it though.

I grew up on a dairy farm, which probably explains the milky tea. I'm a board game obsessive, and I love pottering in the garage with my tools — fixing things, making things, taking on a project around the house every off-season. I always seem to make things considerably worse before I make them better, but the satisfaction when it finally comes together makes up for it.

When it comes to holidays, we skip the beach and head straight for the mountains. The Canadian Rockies, Norway, the Alps, the Dolomites — anywhere with a big sky and a decent hiking trail. It probably started in Banff. Some things stick with you.

Photography never really switches off. I still get excited about a new lens the way I did at twenty, working weekends at Jessops. Some things don't change.