The Life of a Showgirl: How Taylor Swift Landed Me a Dream Wedding in Santorini

If you go to the gym at the same time every week, you know how it goes. You start recognizing the same faces. You may not ever talk, but you become familiar with them. That was the case with one girl I always saw lifting around the same time as me. We would exchange friendly smiles and quick hellos, but never anything more.

Until one day, she walked in wearing an Eras Tour t-shirt. This was during the first leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, and I was dying to get to a show. As fate would have it, we ended up grabbing weights at the same time, and she didn’t have her headphones in. I told her I loved her shirt and asked if she had gone to the show. She lit up immediately. Yes. She told me she was obsessed with Taylor, even had a TikTok account dedicated to all things Swift, and was planning to attend the LA show in a few weeks.

I was equally obsessed. We swapped TikTok handles, and before long, we were sending each other memes, videos, and all the Swiftie content. A little while later, she mentioned she was engaged. I told her I was a wedding DJ. She said she was planning on having Taylor throughout her wedding playlist and even walking down the aisle to one of her songs. I joked that she needed a Swiftie DJ, and she laughed, saying, "Well, except we are getting married in Greece."

At the time, it didn’t feel like a real possibility, but I offered to help her anyway. I told her I could create a custom mix for her processional song and put together her dance floor set so the local DJ could just hit play. That way, she would have the Swifty vibe she wanted. Around that time, she moved from Texas to Florida, so most of our planning ended up happening over text and calls.

By the summer of 2024, her September wedding was getting close, and I could feel the stress. She didn’t have a coordinator, and there were still so many logistics up in the air. On August 4, we had a planning call, and she was so overwhelmed. I made a joke that I should just hide in her luggage and come to Santorini to run the day for her and DJ the wedding. Her tone shifted, and she said no seriously, if you can make it happen, I will fly you out. I need you.

Her wedding was on a Wednesday, and I had weddings on Monday and Friday. Plus, I was working a dance convention in Pittsburgh the weekend before. It felt impossible. But I told her I would check my calendar. I called my boss and explained the situation. She was excited for me and told me she would see what she could do about reassigning the Monday wedding. The next day, I panicked and told her never mind. I didn’t want to cause problems. But my boss refused to let me back out. She told me this was too incredible of an opportunity and she was going to make it happen. Between her reassigning the Monday wedding and my bride jumping on travel plans, it became very real very fast.

The travel was wild. Dallas to Pittsburgh for the dance event. Then, Pittsburgh to Iceland to London to Athens to Santorini. I flew all through Monday and arrived close to midnight on Tuesday. One day to rest and explore, wedding on Wednesday, then Santorini to Athens to Istanbul to Dallas in time for my Friday wedding back home. Somehow, I managed to avoid jet lag thanks to an app called Timeshifter, which told me exactly when to sleep, nap, or caffeinate.

When I shared all of this with one of my friends, she immediately expressed interest in going. I asked my bride if I could bring her as a plus one, and she agreed. Miraculously, my friend was able to book all of the same flights the next day. It was such a gift having someone alongside me for the long travel days and to enjoy the epic adventure with. We made core memories that I will never forget. From sprinting through airports to laughing our way through stressful connections, she made it all ten times better.

The wedding itself was a micro wedding with about forty of their closest friends and family. Every single person there was amazing and so kind. The venue was stunning, the couple was stunning, and yes, it rained on the wedding day. To top it off, the bride was fashionably late. But even with the rain and the delay, as soon as the bride arrived, the sun came out and everything came together beautifully.

One of my favorite moments happened right before the ceremony. I filmed a quick clip as my bride and her dad were about to walk down the aisle. In the background, you can hear the custom Taylor Swift processional mix I created for her. That video went viral, and the comments were full of people asking about the mix. That is when I decided to make it available for other Swiftie brides who wanted the same magic.

What makes this story even sweeter is that thanks to my friend who tagged along, I finally got to see the Eras Tour myself! We made it to the very last show in Vancouver! A total dream come true on top of everything else. And another EPIC adventure!

I will never forget this trip. I will never forget the people I met, the joy of watching a bride’s dream come true, and how one random gym encounter turned into the most epic adventure!