It’s not every day you get to photograph your dad’s wedding.

This day was so special for so many reasons. My dad is a widower. He lost his wife Abby to cancer, and the grief of this loss was enormous. It’s the kind of grief that makes you wonder if you’ll ever love again.

Enter Mary. As fate would have it, Mary was all-too familiar with that exact same flavor of grief. She met my dad for a date, and the rest, as they say, is history.

I was thrilled that my dad had found love again, but little did I know that Mary would step up for ME in a massive way. After coming out as gay to everyone, I found myself facing the painful rejection of my own mother and, as a byproduct of that rejection, nowhere to go for Thanksgiving. Originally, the plan had been to go to my mother’s house in North Carolina.

Once she heard the news, Mary did not hesitate. She invited me, my kiddos, and my brothers to have Thanksgiving dinner in Athens, Georgia. She was already hosting most of her family, but she made extra room for us, and I’ll be forever grateful.

As luck would have it, the next day, she and my dad volunteered to watch the kiddos so I could go on a very last-minute coffee date with the woman who would turn out to be the love of my life.

And I am filled with gratitude.

Welcome to the family, Mary!

Venue: The Garden