Sean had just finished his last tune from hosting and playing the weekly open mic night at The Sandbar. It was 2:30 in the morning. As I returned to the front bar from the back room, Sean said he had a surprise for me.

I was pretty tired at this point and ready to be home in my bed. He the walked me over to a pretty young girl. She looked vaguely familiar. She then holds her cell phone up as she shows me a picture illuminating from the screen. I recognized it immediately. It was a portrait that I had taken of her as she was entering her senior year of high school, seven years ago.

Tate Snider. I remember her session well. She was a snowboarder and had brought in her boarding equipment for her session. We created some great images during her photoshoot.

Her family had moved to South Carolina within weeks of her portrait session, and I had not seen her since.

Now, in her mid-twenties,she was vacationing on Tybee for a few days with her friends for a bachelorette party.

She and her friends had just arrived on Tybee and were checking out the night scene in the ‘down front’ area. This is the part of Tybee located at the south end where there are a line of bars and restaurants near the Tybee pier. When they came into the Sandbar, she immediately recognized Sean by his crazy beard. Which is different than it was back then, but it was still a unique feature about him.

What’s also peculiar about this story, it was not the first time this has happened to us. A few years ago, a young army soldier came up to our apartment, pointing to the logo on our Durango he asked if this was the ‘Wen McNally’ from Virginia. He then proceeded to tell Sean that I had taken his senior portraits a few years prior. Then two years later his brother came to Tybee so that I could create his senior portraits too.

As I type this, we are driving back to Virginia from Georgia to photograph the wedding of Kaitlyn and Maxim this Saturday. I have been their family’s photographer for senior, family even their beloved Irish Setter portraits. I will be posting their wedding pictures in a few weeks.

I have always enjoyed working with our clients and have been honored to have been a part of their life and memories. Creating a lasting relationship with our clients has always been a goal for us.

We appreciate any referrals that we receive for weddings and portrait sessions on Tybee Island, in Virginia or any other destination locations. Thank you for passing our name and information along! My email address is wen@wenmcnally.com and my business website is www.wenmcnally.com