When the Proctor family contacted me to book their family beach session, I was delighted to find out that these photos would be a surprise gift for their mother, Lauren, on her 92nd birthday! We headed out to beautiful Oak Island, NC right before the sun set on her big day. Lauren, you were an absolute pleasure to meet and I hope you had a wonderful birthday! Proctor family, thank you for inviting me into the photo shoot celebration, I had a blast!

What a beautiful family!

The next few photos just make me happy, happy to have met Lauren, happy to celebrate her birthday with the crew, happy to witness such a close knit bunch. It was a really good day. From Lauren showing off her "best side" of her face to showcase her dimple, to making sure we got a shot of her in her shades (family members jumping in the air to get her to laugh, in the reflection), to the laughing objection to her son's hat on her hat, her personality and joy is simply undeniable! One of my favorite moments had nothing to do with her family at all, but it was the moment that Lauren went over to a complete stranger wearing a jacket with a military patch on it, thanked him for his service and proceeded to have a lovely conversation with the man. She is sincere, happy and genuinely interested and makes you feel appreciated. What a wonderful way to end the shoot :)

Happy birthday wishes to you, Lauren!