10.08.2009 | Michelle + Vince’s Wedding (Santorini, Greece)

What happens when you have about 30 twenty and thirty-somethings on an island in Greece for a destination wedding ?  You get the craziest week of your life on, arguably, one of the most beautiful places on earth !

Back in October, Michelle and Vince put on a very entertaining week for all of us who were able to make it for their wedding in Santorini, Greece.  I think everyone’s been waiting for this post, so please enjoy the read.

I’ve known Michelle and Vince for over a year.  Michelle was actually one of Jenny’s bridesmaids.  It was after my surprised Same Day Edit for Jenny and Roger that Michelle demanded to get my business card.  And the rest is history…that was the beginning of a really fantastic friendship.  I still remember meeting over coffee at Starbucks talking about their wedding plans.  Greece…wow, I didn’t know what to say.  Another dream destination was checked off my list.  And I couldn’t have asked for a better couple to celebrate it with.

Michelle and Vince have known each other for a long time.  If my memory serves correct, their crew consisted of Michelle’s elementary school friends and Vince’s elementary school friends, who all met when they entered high school.  And they have all been tight ever since.  There’s so much history between them.

For the most part, planning a destination wedding is very straightforward, but we ran into a few hiccups at probably the worst time possible — about a month before the wedding some M&A activity happened in the airline industry.  To keep things short, our original airline was acquired and that canceled a very important connecting flight for all of us.  In the last few weeks before the wedding, their awesome agent was booking everyone on alternative flights so everyone could make it on time.  I had a wee bit of an issue because I couldn’t make any of the alternative flights due to weddings I had to photograph and also my west coast trip that I booked with the family.  So, I was kind of in limbo and wasn’t sure if I was even going to be able to make it.  YIKES !  But it all worked out, thank God.

Michelle and Vince arrived on the October 3 along with some of their close friends and family.  I arrived on the 4th, as you may have seen on my previous post.  When I arrived, the gang just got back from cruising around in their ATVs.  I was pretty stoked to see and meet everyone.

After everyone cleaned up from riding, we headed into the town to grab some eats.  There was lots of Ouzo being poured by the staff there and from the reactions I saw, it was definitely an acquired taste.   After dinner, we hit up a bar called Murphy’s, which the whole gang,  apparently, left a lasting impression on the bartenders the evening before.  Just imagine a scene from Cheers when Norm walks in.  It was kinda like that.  Everyone knew Michelle and Vince and crew.  It was a good time.

The day before the wedding was a long one.  We had wedding rehearsals and then a boat cruise on the Thalassa.  We hiked up the volcano and then went back to the boat for some swimming near the hot springs. My legs were like jelly !  We cruised into the sunset and had some awesome photos from the boat.

October 8 – The Wedding:

What a gorgeous day it was.  Kevin was kind enough to cover the morning breakfast gatherings with each respective group (guys and girls) so I can get some more rest for the big show.

Kevin and I started both at Michelle’s room.  Why not split up Kevin with Vince and myself with Michelle, like normal coverage ?  Well this was not an ordinary morning prep.  Vince is a master hairstylist, so it was only natural that he create Michelle’s hairdo for their wedding day.  Watching Vince in his element was really interesting.  He actually has a serious side haha  He’s a true professional.  She looked awesome.

Once he was done, Michelle went to her friend Chuana’s room for for her make-up application, where Kevin and I were treated to an interesting session of ‘girl talk’.  It was a riot ! If you’re looking for a super talented MUA, I would definitely recommend Chuana.

Vince looked sharp.  He got his pump on before suiting up.  Push-ups…crunches.  Total jokes, this guy.

Once everyone was ready, the shuttle came and took us to probably the highest point of the island to the ceremony site – Heliotopos Hotel.

Gorgeous !  It was a beautiful and intimate ceremony with tons of laughs and some tears.  After the family photos, we took a nice walk over to more interesting areas below the Hotel.  The lighting was amazing and we were almost late catching the bus to take us to the reception.  It was soooo hard to leave !

The reception took place at Pyrgos Restaurant. What a gorgeous venue and view we had.  There was lots of food, drinking and dancing.  On the wheels of steel was our homeboy, Jordon a.k.a. DJ TILT. Actually, he wasn’t there in person, but Vince had Tilt’s podcasts plugged in for all the craziness that night !  Jordon is awesome !  It’s because of his mixtapes and podcasts that allow me to get through all my late night editing.  Definitely check out his site !

Unfortunately, one of Vince’s really close friend, Archie, couldn’t make it because he was recently promoted and happened to use up a lot of his vacation time for Vanessa and Jason’s wedding in Jamaica. Vanessa is Archie’s sister-in-law.  But he was with us in spirit…actually in the form of a cardboard cut-out haha

Michelle and Vince had their reception in Toronto a few weeks later at Atlantis Pavilion.  It was awesome to reconnect with everyone.  While I was traveling out west, I was working hard on getting something ready for Michelle and Vince’s wedding reception.  My partner’s in crime, Vince’s sisters, helped me surprise them with a sneak peak of their amazing wedding.

I could have wrote a novel on their wedding, but I’d rather show more images of their amazing week.  So, enjoy the surprise slideshow I made for them for the reception here in Toronto.  Kevin and I had so many photos from their week, so to condense it down to about 100 images was a huge undertaking.  Hopefully, you can feel the energy and love that week.

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It was priceless watching their reactions.   I was so happy we were able to pull that off.  I did a slideshow for Jenny+Roger’s wedding and Vanessa+Jason’s Toronto reception.  I had to do it for Michelle+Vince too !

We partied until the early morning and it was just was insane !  I even had my camera ripped out of my hand only to watch it smash to the ground — my flash in pieces.

But it was all worth it.  Good thing for back-ups of back-ups…and insurance of course.

Congratulations again to Michelle and Vince !  Thank you for trusting me with your wedding celebrations and ending my 2009 season with a huge BANG !  It’s been an incredible year and this was an awesome way to go out.  Kevin and I had an amazing time getting to know everyone on a personal level.  You two are two of the most real people I have met in a long time.  It’s always a blast getting together with you two and I’m looking forward to a long lasting friendship.  We hope that you two felt like stars.  I can’t wait to start working on your album.  It’s going to be insanely gorgeous !

Much love,

-Joee

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Providers:
Hair: The Groom
Make-Up: Chuana | Charm Artistry
Ceremony Site: Heliotopos Hotel
Accommodations: Loizos Apartments
Wedding Planner:  Lila Konstantinidis | Weddings In Greece
Reception Venue (Santorini): Pyrgos Restaurant
Reception Venue (Toronto): Atlantis Pavilion