We're Graduating!

(Photo credit: Mary Azzoo)

Today my husband and I will be celebrating our commencement from Oakland University. I will be receiving my Bachelor of Music Education and Alex will be receiving his Doctorate in Music Education (hence, his funny looking hat and tassle!) Oakland University has played such a huge part in both of our lives, which makes it so bittersweet to finally leave.

It was in the OU MTD Tech Lab that I first met Alex, a Meadow Brook Hall dinner where we shared our first Valentine's Day together, the Meadow Brook Music Festival where we enjoyed Wine & Food festivals along with many outdoor music concerts, the Observatory where we shared our first picnic together and laid out under the stars, and even the OU Subdivision which allowed us to purchase our first home together. It was even a friend I met at OU who encouraged me to share my passion for photography on a much more serious and public level!

It's been an amazing journey and has taken my life in directions that I never could have imagined. Looking back, there was one quote which turned my life around, making me leave a successful career in Marketing to pursue what I felt I was missing in my life at that time (which was music) and has continued to push me to pursue my dreams. I share this quote with you in the hopes that it encourages you to push past your own fears and pursue what it is that fills your soul, so...

"What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?"

It is truly amazing what we can accomplish when we eliminate the fear of failure.

Tanya & Matt's Wedding

Congratulations to Tanya and Matt who were married at Bethel Baptist Church in Kalamazoo, MI. One of the cool things about this church was how it embraced the Spanish-speaking community, which is immediately evident on the sign in front of the church. In keeping with the culture of the church and Tanya's family's culture, part of the ceremony was spoken in Spanish and included traditional Mexican rituals such as the lazo pictured above.



Keeping with the cultural traditions, Tanya also wore a beautiful Spanish mantilla veil, served homecooked Mexican food, and made cloth tortilla warmers, and bi-lingual banners as favors for guests. Tanya also chose the music for her wedding preview slideshow, titled "You Are" by one of her favorite Latin artists, Laura Pausini. Click on any image to begin a preview of Tanya & Matt's wedding day.

May Desktop Image

Every month or so I change my desktop image to a recent photograph I've taken and I thought it would be fun to share these images in my blog so that you can download them for your desktop as well! Every month I'll try to post a new image that is suitable for displaying at desktop size and resolution. Click on an image to download a copy for your desktop.



This is truly, one of my all-time favorite images. I wasn't going to offer this one as a free download, but I decided it would be a nice thank you gift to all of the people who visit my blog in support of my photography. ;-) The image was taken in Tenerife, Canary Islands where my husband and I were on our honeymoon. We were making our way up the mountain (once volcano) and found this abandon building on an overlook. I love how the cement window makes a natural frame for this beautiful view and how the perspective draws you to look further along the coastline.