Christina knows I titled this blog post out of love! 🙂 She has been planning this big crazy wedding forever it seems, so it was almost surreal when the weekend finally arrived. Christina, Don, and their families were so gracious and sweet to us, which was convenient since we spent literally the whole weekend with them! We attended their rehearsal on Saturday night so we could learn about their Greek Orthodox ceremony and the key moments to look out for, then got to enjoy a scrumptious dinner prepared by the culinary students at the high school that Christina works at! They even had handmade, edible centerpieces and a chocolate fountain to dip everything in!

Then we spent 10 hours with them on their wedding day, and got up early again the next morning for a Glam Session on the beach where Don proposed. Whoosh! No wonder it took me 3 weeks to blog this thing, I’m still exhausted!

Christina and Don are self-proclaimed “nerds” and brought so many personal aspects to their wedding that reflected their mutual interests. They really are a match made in heaven. Wait til you see their quirky table names! Without further adieu…

Ceremony: St. Stefano’s Greek Orthodox Church
Reception: Mirror Lake Lyceum
Florist: Jana Stall from Events in Bloom
Caterer and Cake Artist: Olympia Catering and Events
Disc Jockey: DJ Astatos of Arista Entertainment
Makeup Artist: my dear friend Jennifer Stowers
Hair Stylist: Kristine from Disco Dolls Studio
Etsy goodies:
Don’s ring – Lou Lou Berry
Garter belts – The Chica Boutique
Bride’s feather purse – Red Ostrich
Cake topper – Celeste Welch
Cake server and forks – The Taffy Box
Groomsmen’s Cufflinks – Classic Cuff Links, Cuff Cuff, Cufflinks, Southern Living 26

Christina took the comfy route and wore sparkly Converse shoes. All the bridesmaids got to wear black ones, including the flower girls!

Fun story: when Don came into Christina’s life she felt the phrase “When God closes a door He opens a window” really applied to them. So she started referring to him as her “window”. Don is an architecture buff and told her that the term for window was “fenestration”. So she had the inside of his ring engraved, “My Fenestration”. 🙂

Even the flower girls are technology savvy:

Ever seen the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding? We arrived at the church early, which apparently is a faux paus for Greek weddings. So the limo, still loaded up with all the ladies, headed to Publix so we could be silly and go in for a bottle of Windex. It was hilarious and we caused quite a scene. 🙂

I’ve been photographing these girls up in Tallahassee for 4 years now, so they knew the drill! (even though Ryan technically took these shots)

Don and Christina picked out personalized cufflinks for all the groomsmen. I didn’t realize how many options there were until looking at all the Etsy shops! Too bad women don’t have a reason for them cause they look like fun to collect!

I loved that the bridal party made a huge circle with the bride and groom at the base. At the rehearsal the priest gave them all tips on “how not to pass out”. A Greek ceremony is a solid hour, thankfully no one was in high heels!

The crowning was such a beautiful moment:

And then the Dance of Isaiah, walking around the altar 3 times to take your first steps as husband and wife:

Birdseed! I had it falling out of my hair even after I got home that night!

They named each table after something that was important to them, and designed it like it was from the Periodic Table (this is where the nerd part comes in)! Then on the back of each one they wrote a story about why it was important to them. I thought this one about Babylon 5 was particularly funny.

I loved their cake, especially where they placed it and their unique puzzle piece topper!

Greek dancing was one of the coolest parts of the reception. Especially when everyone started throwing money at the bride and groom! This is Christina’s mom and brother flinging bills at Don:

Then, to show he’s ready to enter a Greek family, Don has the whole dance floor to himself to show off some moves. Including kneeling down to drink shots that get placed on the floor….fun!

Not sure if I can explain this one, but it’s just awesome. Right?

Photobooth Fun!

I loooove these shots I got of their last dance. It totally wasn’t staged either!

Ahhhh bright and early at the beach! It was super chilly, I felt bad with a scarf and gloves on when Christina had a strapless dress!

Thanks guys for a great weekend! VideoShow to follow….