And, as the saying goes, all good things come. And last Saturday was a good thing. Despite an overcast morning, the skies cleared by mid afternoon and the Virginia Beach boardwalk was like mid summer (except for less than balmy temperatures).

They are a wonderfully cute couple and the most fun to work with - especially in the sometimes awkward position of posing on a busy street. Bailey suffers Kyle's irrepressible humor with true love. He and I laughing together had to be an extra burden, but she was a trouper.

Looking forward to the bridal portrait, and the wedding of course.

He is 87 years old and is going...if not strong, at least solid. He grew up the son of a tailor (who did some work for the local mob figures) outside of Chicago at the beginning of the Depression. He is a veteran of WWII and took part of the Normandy invasion. I grew up listening to his stories and imagining scenes out of Battle of the Bulge, or The Longest Day. It was not until I saw movies like Saving Private Ryan that I truly understood just how far from the truth my imagination really was. The fact that he did all these things at the same age that I was making a fool of myself in college was one of the most sobering realizations I have ever had.

But, now he is 87. He has gone from using a cane to walk, to a walker and finally to a wheelchair. His spine is a curved, arthritic mockery and his hands are gnarled and twisted. He also has descended into dementia at an alarming rate over the past year. We have seen the inside of far too many hospitals and assisted living facilities in that time.

I have seen my father in a way I never have before - vulnerable and confused. Childlike at times. I am at turns his son, his brother, an old friend, or a former sales colleague - but always someone he knows. I have seen the state of geriatric care in this country and am utterly appalled. The nursing staff have been universally bright and helpful doing a job I would shirk at the slightest opportunity. However, I no longer hold doctors in the same esteem I used to - to say the least. I have seen our individual future and it has changed me profoundly.

And yet, my father is cheerful almost all the time. He greets me by name and (other than complaining about the food), is mostly upbeat. I find him often in the hall, wearing the hat he bought in Germany long ago, visiting with the staff. He often flirts with the physical therapy nurses as well - so some things do not change after all. He lights up when he talks to my mother on the phone, or better yet when we bring her to visit.

I also see the melancholy he feels when we leave, and that is the arrow that haunts me most.

This is my dad.

And everything I have learned about design came from the online magazine Before and After; a great resource for those of who have questions or simply need inspiration.

Well, John McWade - the editor of Before and After - has collected the installments of the magazine into a fantastic resource book: How to Design Cool Stuff; available here on Amazon, or at Barnes and Noble. As an added plus, if you do buy this book and flip to page 164, you will see my images and website featured in the chapter about designing a great business card.

I'm not suggesting you buy the book for this reason (though it is a fine reason), but it is a entertaining and fine resource to have. And no, I do not receive any commission on book sales. So there.

Tell your friends!

In truth, I have not worked with babies much -okay, not at all - so I felt some...butterflies at the thought. My own kids are years out of diapers, would I be able to interact with a baby. Would I become one of those awkward people who is too loud and brash - to cover up that awkwardness? Me loud? (No comment here thank you).

And all was well as it turned out. Nicole (9 months) was a delight. Happy and sweet, despite being dragged out on a miserably rainy day. Her folks were as relaxed and easy as I remember.

Apparently an old dog can learn new things!

No great wisdom here (yes, I hear the snickers), but these guys - really a man and a woman - play music that is like little else I have heard. Fuzzy bass and Parliament Funkadelic beats...

Oh, just listen to them dang it!

Beast

“Round bales” She replied with only barely suppressed derision in her eyes. 'City Slicker' that look said loud and clear. Guilty as charged I suppose. I assumed there might some cryptic farming name whose origin was lost to the bucolic ages.

Anyway, social blunder (and lord I am full of them) safely in the past, I finally met the wedding party and family, and I found the entire group to be wonderful and inviting. It is hard sometimes to meet the close circle of a wedding party and their extended families and feel welcomed.

This was not the case last weekend. Emma is a sure and commanding presence, elegantly greeting and welcoming guests with a cool beyond her age. Theron struck me as easy and comfortable in his own skin as I always secretly wish to be. The rehearsal and wedding were a true Fall gem.

And the round bale shots turned out just fine.

And one from a great new photographer who worked with me - Craig Hutson:

And yet, all was well. Saturday was beautiful, the town of Southport, NC is always beautiful, and Orton Plantation is beyond beautiful. And the bride was not half bad herself.

I visited Mallory and Jimmy last month to shoot their engagement portraits, so they were like old friends. That is the huge value of doing an engagement shoot – you get to know the couple, you and they can relax around each other. Having your picture taken is nerve-wracking for most, so a little time in front of the camera helps even things out.

It is a unique thing when the wedding party – as well as the guests – are as engaging and welcoming as the couple themselves. There was a fantastic mix of southern hospitality, good ole boy charm, and spirited hi-jinx to the group that captivated and entertained in equal measure. One of the bridesmaids (Keever Cobia), a school teacher from Columbia, SC taught me more about the merits of online blogging than any seminar I have ever attended. Check out her constantly fresh blog here.

So, a happy end to a trip with an anxious start. I look forward to more trips South.

Oh, and some shout outs to the other amazing vendors:

Art Catering – some of the best and inventive food I have enjoyed at a wedding
Cape Fear Entertainment – great music and a true master of ceremonies

The Dogs of the wedding

I am a Southerner – something I felt in purely academic terms mostly; neither particularly proud nor ashamed. Of course, Virginia is not often considered the South, certainly not by the South Carolinians I was surrounded by at the wedding down in Southport.

The appeal and nature of being from the South has grown on me over the last few years. I grew up spending summers out on the tidal basin of the Rappahannock River and the Chesapeake Bay. I am by no means a country boy, but those surroundings fill me with the warmest kind of nostalgia.

I remember going on vacation with my family to Wilmington, NC (really?) two summers in a row. The Spanish moss seemed exotic and mysterious. I brought home a Venus flytrap plant we bought at a roadside stand – because I was an unbelievable dork as a child – and waited patiently for it to eat something…anything.

This picture (and the wedding – whose pictures are coming soon) reminded me of those times. And made me unreasoningly proud to be a dirty southern boy.

 And Moriah is beautiful. A senior at JR Tucker High School, she is petite and quiet as a mouse. But her eyes are luminous and arresting, and the images we got wandering the grounds attest to this. Walt, her patient boyfriend, was again my willing assistant and pack mule. Sorry Walt.

So the effort was indeed worthwhile, and a lesson in listening to your clients was learned to boot.

Hmmm, listening to your client.

Crazy.