Finding my Inner Light

This is going to be a somewhat long post, especially by my standards. I just recently got married to my longtime girlfriend, Tamara Copeland, whom you might be familiar with if you've been an avid reader of this blog.

It's really amazing what true friends will do for you, especially when it's the most significant event of your life, and how they're indeed one of the most valuable gifts you'll ever receive. Real, true, and honest friends are hard to come by, and Tamara and I have been blessed with knowing so many people that we're proud to call our friends.

First, let me start with Christopher and Aimee Robinson. I met both of them when I came to Boston for the first time to meet Tamara (at Anna and Daniel Davis' wedding, no less!), and they both made me feel like a part of the family, and were warm and inviting from the start.

Chris has a way of being the life of every party, and has a very positive outlook on life, as evidenced by his constant smile, and the "Life is Good" sticker on his laptop. He's always looking for the good in things, even during bleak moments. Both he and Aimee came over the week before my wedding to help Tamara and I finish the final preparations, and he lent his interpreter talents for our wedding day. Chris also absorbed any small errands and took a load off of our shoulders, and helped make our day special. I'm grateful I'm one of Chris' friends, and definitely thankful that he was there.

Aimee is very similar to Chris in a lot of ways, as she also has an omnipresent smile and cheer, and it's amazing the amount of energy she has. She helped Tamara a ton during the week of our wedding, and also lent her considerable interpreting talents for the two of us. She was absolutely instrumental in helping us get everything done, and both Tamara and I were thankful that she was there to help us make our wedding day go by smoother. Aimee's enthusiasm is infectious, it's hard not to get excited and thrilled about something when she's around!

A BIG thank you goes out to both of them - without them, Tamara and I would have undoubtedly ended up pulling our collective hair out! :P


Second thank you goes out to Anna and Daniel Davis, both of whom flew in from Boston (like Chris and Aimee) to be at our wedding. Anna made things fun, and she too, like Chris and Aimee, has a way of looking at the positive side of things. Anna did everything she could to help us make our day special, from putting together flowers, to interpreting for our deaf audience at our wedding, to helping me hash our the final details with our wedding officiant. I also had fun dancing with her too! If more people were like Anna, the world would be a much better place.

Daniel was also most helpful too. My mother was impressed with Daniel, and gushed at me after the wedding, "Daniel was SO nice! He was always there, asking if I needed help with anything or if he could take something for me or run an errand, anything! You have some great friends from all over!" Daniel is one of those rare friends that take the time and effort to communicate with you in your native language - it's not everyday I meet someone who takes classes or learns ASL on his own to better communicate with his wife's friends. Daniel's a rare gem, and indeed, I consider him a good friend. Heck, he even got me Sonic! Anyone who likes Sonic can't be all bad. :P

Third thank you, goes to my ese, Anthony Peralez. He's been my friend for a good 8 years now, and we've been through thick and thin. I know I can always count on my ese to help me out and watch my back when things are rough, and he knows the same on my end. He was my best man for the wedding, and when he did the best man speech, he was doing his best to hold back tears and still talk, and while to some people it may have not been 100% coherent, I understood what Anthony was trying to say, and that's really all that matters. He also caught me off guard with the ring pop move when it came time to exchange our rings, but I should have expected something was up! :P

Shayla Copeland, Tamara's sister (and now my sister in law) was also instrumental in helping us in our day. She was there for EVERYTHING. Calming my wife's nerves, putting together flower bouquets, getting the music sorted for our semi-awake DJ, making sure everything was in the right place at the right time. She was, simply put, awesome. And soon, she's gonna be getting married too! I look forward to photographing her wedding for her :)

I apologize if I left out anyone. It was not intentional, but in all honesty, everyone helped us out in some way, shape or form. I know Tamara and I have the support of our family and friends, many of whom flew from places like Boston, Minnesota, California..just to see us get married. It would not have been the day that it was, without our family and friends.

Thank you, all.




Michael Samaripa and Tamara Copeland-Samaripa