I have worked for many private clients over the years. I can tell you honestly,  that few clients have left as big of an impression on me as the families of Jim and Beverly.  It all started  a  few months back with an unassuming call from Marie, the sister of the groom. We talked for several minutes about what she was looking  for at  her brother’s wedding.  I could hear the sence of importance in her voice. I would later learn that Marie along with Adela, Jim’s personal assistant had done a great deal of searching for just the right person to create a  sand sculpture for this special day. At some point in the conversation something happened that was quite unique and remarkable,  Marie began to share the story of Jim and his fiance Beverly along with the fact that Jim was widowed, having lost his first wife  who was only 50.  I was moved beyond words. I explained that a majority of my projects take several days to complete, but that I was willing to take on this single day project, should she decide to move forward.  Marie concluded the conversation on an upbeat tone expressing her excitement about the project. She now planned on pitching the idea to a small group of collaborators that included  Adela, Jim’s assistant.

A few days later I heard back from Marie, this time by way of email. Again there was a overwhelming sence of excitement, even evident  in her digital transcript. She had gotten the approval from the family members that she was seeking.  The project was on. It was at this time, that I began to share in her own sence of excitement.  Just knowing how important this sculpture was to her and  for both families raised my heart rate more than just a few beats.

Failure is not an option & anything is possible  Are not just words or even  just a slogan to me. It is a philosophy that I adhere to and take very seriously every day. On a follow-up call to discuss the design of the sculpture, Marie had hesitantly mentioned the possibility of incorporating an airplane into the sculpture because of Jim’s love of flying.  After responding immediately with “YES!”, I followed up with the question” what type of airplane?” Within minutes I got a photo of a scale model of Jim’s personal plane from Adela, who secretly snapped the photo, I imagine, right under his nose.

Jim's Plane

About a week later, I received a sample of the sand from the beach that I would be creating the sculpture. While the sand was crystal white and  clean, it lacked the physical properties of good sculpting sand. Many sculptors at this point might have called the client and cancelled the project or convinced the client into a more expensive and time-consuming option of importing sand to a public beach. Instead, I simply altered the design slightly to accommodate for the less than stable sand. The final design that I submitted to Marie for her approval included all the options she requested. First was the classical enchanted  sandcastle, second was Jim’s airplane. The whole design was unified with  clouds  and a banner trailing behind the plane with the names of the bride and groom. A few moments after submitting the design for approval, I received a call from Marie. While the sketch was quite simple, she immediately saw my vision for her idea and shouted, ” I love it!” I can tell you, it really feels good to connect with a client  like that with the very first design submission.

Off to the beach Over the next several weeks Marie continued to stay in contact, discussing the details of the wedding. Prior to my departure for the project she had one last request.  Because I was going to be building this sculpture on the beach in the middle of the setup for their ceremony, there was a  need to inform the groom to avoid any awkward confrontation during the build.

The Plan We decided that I would meet the families at a local beach bar the night before the wedding. I introduced myself as long-lost cousin Sean from Poughkeepsie. I’m not one hundred percent sure, but for the most part, the family members  initially bought the story. I knew things would be a bit tougher when it came to introducing myself to Marie’s brother Jim, the groom. Jim definitely wasn’t buying my story one bit but was a great sport about the prank and played along. I could tell Jim was feeling a bit un easy by my presence. Perhaps Marie  has a history of pranking her brother?

Jim & Beverly off the hook

Off the hook  After about an hour it was time to reveal my true identity to the whole family. Marie and Adela gathered both families  at one of the larger outdoor tables and I made my announcement. ” I’m actually not long-lost cousin Sean  from Poughkeepsie, I actually don’t even know where that is”, I said. ” I’m actually a world-famous professional sand sculptor that had been commissioned to create a wonderful  sand sculpture for Jim and Beverly on their special day.” It was pretty cool to see the look of both relief and excitement in Jim’s and Beverly’s eyes. Jim would later tell me that he thought I was a comedian sent in to give him a good roasting! The rest of the evening, I was able to spend some quality time getting to know all the family a little better. Some family members  actually continued to refer to me as cousin Sean. That was pretty cool.

A perfect day  The next morning I got off to an early start. Having examined the sand samples weeks earlier, I knew I had my work cut out for me. The crew at the Portofino Island Resort where the wedding was to be held, provided me with everything I needed to complete my sculpture. They even  gave me a crew of extremely hard-working laborers who tirelessly filled my water buckets. Collectively they hand delivered over six hundred gallons of water to the sculpture site. About seven and a half hours later the sculpture was finally complete. I had  a few minor scares during construction. At about the midway point the entire sculpture shifted almost six inches but remained completely intact. If I didn’t see it myself, I would have never believed it possible. Had the weather not been as perfect as it was that day, the wind a little stronger, the temperature a little higher, all of my hard work that day would have ended with disaster. I definitely had the assistance of a higher power that day.

The random encounter  One of the coolest parts of my job is meeting and getting to know new people. Sometimes completely unexpected circumstances create truly memorable moments. Prior to the ceremony, I was clearing the area around the sculpture  when a woman and her two young boys walked up to the sculpture.  She mentioned how she had heard some people down the beach talking about this cool sculpture and had to come and check it out. I could see that the sculpture had an immediate affect on her. It was obvious that it had brightened her day. We talked about the art of sand sculpture and how my daughter had inspired be to get into this business  almost twenty years ago. It was at that point that she revealed to me that she had recently lost her two-year old daughter to leukemia. Dealing with that type of tragic loss is a  struggle that she must face every day. Knowing that even for a few moments my sculpture lifted her spirits was a  very special moment. 

Jim and Beverly's Wedding

The ceremony   As the ceremony got under way, the sun was just beginning to set. As the bride to be made her way down the aisle, the sun seemed to follow her. By the time she met her future husband at the end of the aisle the sun cast a magical spotlight on the wedding party. Officiating over the ceremony was Jim’s future brother in law John. I’m not sure if this was his first time officiating over a marital ceremony or not but  he did an amazing job. Once the nuptials were read and the wedding was official, the bride and groom made their way to the ocean’s edge followed closely by the wedding party and guests. As the couple passed the sand sculpture, they both caught my eye and flashed the thumbs up sign as they admired the sculpture. When they reached the water’s edge,  sea shells were ceremoniously tossed into the surf. I had never before seen such gesture at a wedding. What a fantastic idea.

Sea shells at the sea shore

The Reception This is the part of the story where I’m  usually packing up my tools and heading off to the airport for the next project.  If this was a typical client on a typical day, that may have been the case. That said,  this was not a typical client and as I mentioned, it was a perfect day. Marie welcomed me to  be a guest the reception.  I must admit I had a great time. Now this may not seem like a big deal to the average reader and honestly I don’t care. This is my blog and I just wanted to let the world know it was a big deal to me. Special thanks to my new friends from your long-lost cousin Sean …. from  Poughkeepsie.