Olá (Hello in Portuguese)!
I’m delighted to share this post as I wish a very special couple a Happy One-Year Wedding Anniversary. It’s hard to believe a full year has passed since we gathered to celebrate their love and embark on what truly felt like the trip of a lifetime. To say I returned changed would hardly capture the depth of that experience.
These two extraordinary souls dedicate their lives to healing others as Doctors in research in the cancer world, and the work they do every day continues to inspire me. Out of respect for their privacy—a rare treasure in today’s world—I won’t be sharing many of the intimate images from their day. But what I can share are the details: the artistry, the atmosphere, and the essence of a celebration that still lingers so vividly in memory.
The wedding unfolded in the enchanting city of Porto, Portugal—renowned, of course, for its world-famous Port wines. The celebration took place at the magnificent Pestana Palácio do Freixo, a five-star palace resort gracefully perched on the banks of the Douro River. Its 18th-century Baroque grandeur blended seamlessly with the charm of a historic milling factory, creating a setting that felt both timeless and alive.
In the days leading up to the wedding, guests enjoyed a private wine boat tour along the Douro, sampling vintages that seemed to carry the very soul of Portugal. (There must be magic in the water there—because somehow, the wine never led to headaches, no matter how generously poured!) Among the many discoveries, my favorite was Vinho Verde—“green wine,” named not for its color but for the lush landscape of its origin. Its crisp effervescence and citrusy freshness paired perfectly with Portugal’s celebrated seafood and handcrafted dishes.
The weather was nothing short of perfect—sunlit highs of 75, cool evenings around 65—and the city itself radiated warmth, not just from the climate but from its people. Guests arrived from across the globe—Colombia, Peru, Argentina, the U.S., El Salvador, and beyond—creating a beautiful tapestry of cultures united in love. In that moment, surrounded by history, nature, and humanity in harmony, I felt deeply connected to God’s artistry in all its forms.
I hope you enjoy the moments I captured through my lens. Yet Portugal still calls me back—this time, to the Azores. Set adrift in the mid-Atlantic, these volcanic islands—lush with hydrangeas and steeped in legend—are often whispered to be the last fragments of Atlantis.
Plato described a great civilization beyond the Pillars of Hercules (what we now know as the Strait of Gibraltar), a land swallowed by the sea after catastrophic upheavals. The Azores, perched on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge with their dramatic volcanic landscapes, fit that description almost too well. Could it be that these islands, seemingly timeless and mysterious, are not just paradise—but the surviving peaks of a lost world? Yes, Please!
