You know it’s going to be comfy when your couple shows up in flip-flops for their eSession. But you REALLY know you’ll understand each other when they’re in Chacos.

Lauren and Andrew are a great couple who you can tell are just meant for each other. They’re getting married next July but wanted their engagement photos while there was still a little fall in the air and some color in the leaves. Well, we got it in just in the nick of time as the weather turned a few days after we got together. So they picked it right. In fact, it was a beautiful evening and almost the perfect weather. But it’s always kinda nice to have a cloud or two in the sky for a little drama.

They were truly scouts as I took them all over the place and they just kept on smiling. I had a few new spots in mind (with downtown construction as it is, you never know when your favorite spot may hold a construction dumpster!) that I wanted to try out downtown and light was getting a little weak but still held out.

So here are just a few of my favorites. I’m blogging from a cafe in Williamsburg where I’m sure tomorrow’s bride is close by doing a “rain go away” dance for tomorrow. Is it fair to ask for the rain to stop after a summer like this? Well….for a few minutes at least! Please?? After all it has rained for about three days straight now.

The Hotel Roanoke is of course one of Roanoke’s most beautiful and prominent landmarks with its stately Tudor design and panoramic setting. A trip inside is always such a pleasure for me as I get this overwhelming sense of history and grandeur whenever I walk through the front door. It’s not hard to imagine all of the elegant social history that this beautiful building has hosted in the 125 years it has stood its ground atop the hill.

But don’t think that this most gracious accommodation is old an stuffy, because it’s not. While you can host one of the finest weddings in Roanoke at this fine establishment, it is hip enough for any young crowd. A big fan of aqua blue, I just couldn’t help being a little swept away by the tide at a Bhat Mitzvah I photographed there recently. I believe that the theme was “Under the Sea” and I must say that once the lights went down, everyone was submerged.

Here’s just a few shots of the decor. Fun and fabulous!

It is the end of summer. Ok, so I’m a few days late. Been busy!

But it really is fall, despite the 90 degree temperatures that hit us every few days. I think I’m really ready for some cool weather and fall colors. Everyone seems to think that we’re not going to have much in the way of fall colors due to the lack of rain this summer. But I seem to remember a similar summer about five years ago and the colors that fall were spectacular. I remember driving on the parkway through Floyd and Bent Mountain, and that area had some bodacious looking reds and oranges. I think I’ll trek back there for sure just to see if we have a repeat.

So, today I marked the end of summer with a few shots of the sunflowers I had out back. Of course, they have died out, but who could really blame them. After all, they spent all summer wrenching every bit of water they could out of this uber-parched dustbowl. They did a very good job, because there were lots of seeds in the flower heads. I’m actually surprised that there are still some in there. The Cardinals usually have torn them to shreds by now. There have been a few smaller birds eating on the sunflower buffet, but I haven’t seen a Cardinal there yet. Maybe they still think it’s summer.

I love the texture, color and smell of dried flowers and leaves. I can just lay down in a pile of raked leaves on a sunny fall day and nap my afternoon away. Most of the mountain bike trails will be full of leaves soon, and the smell when you ride through them makes me think of the hot summer days when they were providing much needed shade.

So here is to the end of summer, no more lightening bugs to catch…..

but plenty to see if you just look