SANTORINI DESTINATION WEDDING: ERIN & ANDREW

A long and winding road has led me to this: an international photo assignment in an exotic location. At one point in my life, this was a dream that I had no clue how to actually achieve. After a few different (unrelated) jobs and a whole lot of self-teaching I now feel pretty well equipped to handle traveling abroad and creating some great photos. Which is crazy. And it makes me want to keep dreaming bigger because, who knows, with a little bit of time and a lot of hard work those NEW big ideas... well, they might just happen.

There are a few key components that made this a successful work trip. First, are clients who had a creative vision and allowed for the time to create. Erin and Andrew were wonderful to work with, very patient, flexible with timing, and just fun to be around—which comes through in photos. Second, is a travel agent who planned all the transportation details and accommodations. Pat at Wizard of Odysseys made everything very easy on us. Not having to worry about travel details and transportation let me focus on photos and the details behind hauling a suitcase full of gear halfway across the world. Third, having my Erin there to help with composing photos and moving lights around was super helpful, along with reminding me to get shots that I would have missed and to be a second set of eyes. Fourth, is having an awesome setting to shoot and place to lay my head at night in Dana Villas. The rooms all had balconies overlooking the water. And the service (the chef, porters, and concierge) was wonderful. The view from our balcony was unbelievable and completely worth climbing the 215 stairs up and down (several times a day) from the main road in Thira. Fifth, Stella and Demetri at Asimina Tours put together a great experience for everyone from choosing an authentic restaurant for us to making sure the wedding venue was perfect to even helping me rent a car on the island. Finally, careful preplanning made everything go smoothly. A fellow photographer with international experience, Garrett Hubbard, recommended registering my gear with US Customs and Border Protection which made me feel a lot better taking it from country to country. I also bought a Think Tank bag that fit international carry-on specs (with all my essential equipment) so I could keep everything with me. When my checked luggage showed up a day late I wasn't worried about being able to get to work. I had no clothes to change into —but at least I had my cameras and my lenses and a ton of CF cards. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, I compiled a destination wedding checklist after reading about other destination wedding photographers experiences. Once I was in Greece, I didn't feel like I had forgotten anything or wish I had packed differently. So, just like my weddings here in the US, preplanning made all the difference.

To answer the questions I've been getting: Yes, I would do this again—both destination weddings and Santorini. Yes, it was as beautiful as it looks in the photos. Yes, I had time to enjoy myself. Yes, the Greek food was ridiculously good. My favorite part was the welcome dinner the night before the wedding—there was food and wine, music, dancing, glasses were being thrown, and the floor was LITERALLY on fire (photos coming in next post). No, we did not have enough time to see everything that we wanted to. We will call Stella when we have a chance to go back.

I'll be posting again later this week with more photos from Santorini. I have some beautiful landscapes and some more fun photos with the whole wedding crew. Erin and I also spent some time in Athens, and I'll also post some of the photos from that part of the trip.