Happy Holidays, a Real Greek Elopement – Maria & Brandon

Posted on: 25/11/2010

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Maria and Brandon’s Real Wedding photographs literally take my breath away.  If this is what eloping looks like, I would have booked my plane ticket as soon as he proposed!  These stunning destination Real Wedding shots warm my heart on this cold winter morning ‘up North.  Bask in it…

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Let’s hear from the beautiful bride: Our story is not one for the faint of heart!  We met, were engaged and married all within 6 months.  I was a meteorologist and news reporter for a local CBS & FOX affiliate and Brandon is in Special Ops for the US Air Force.  While planning our wedding, we decided that we wanted it to be just the two of us at a location that I have always wanted to go to- Santorini, Greece!  The sapphire blue Aegean Sea & charming white and blue-topped buildings have always held a special place in my heart, and I never thought I’d get to visit, but Brandon made it possible.

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The trip over was quite an adventure in itself.  We had a connecting flight in Paris, then Athens, then finally a short plane ride to Santorini.  Our first flight was late, and we missed our flight from Paris to Athens, but we arrived safely in Santorini.  However, our luggage, including my wedding dress and Brandon’s suit didn’t.  He was frantic and called the airport every other hour while I was calm and said I’d end up buying a white dress from one of the local shops if I had to.  Lucky for us, the luggage arrived just 17 hours prior to our wedding!

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The night prior to our wedding, Brandon gave me a gift that he said he couldn’t wait to give me anymore.  It was a Greek statue of two people embracing.  He had picked it up over 5 years ago in, you guessed it, Greece, while heading back to the US after his very first deployment.  He said that he bought it with the intention to give it to the woman he married because it represented union, love, and togetherness.  He said he had to hold back the tears when I told him that I wanted to get married in Greece.

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Our ceremony was held on May 3, 2010 at the historic St Irini church.  Many locals claim it is the church that the entire island itself was named after.  The weather was beautiful- the sky was almost as blue as the Aegean, but after the ceremony ended, a fine mist came rolling in and provided us with some amazing photos.  Our photographer was Ashley Johnson, an Englishman who moved to Santorini for it’s beauty and alluring atmosphere.  He took us out on an adventure around the island to capture more images at some hidden spots around the island.

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((Note from Brides Up North: I adore this photograph!)

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After a few days in Santorini, we jet-setted off to Paris for the remainder of our honeymoon.  Since Brandon is in the military and will be deploying often, he insisted in hiring a photographer in  Paris to capture more images that he could take with him while he deploys to remember our wedding.  It was rainy, cold and windy, but we made it through the evening with the wonderful photographers from One and Only Paris Photography.

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Contact Brides Up North today to see your Real Wedding on these pages!

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~ HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all my US readers!  Happy Holidays ~

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