Vincent and Ashlei, "The Journey has been amazing..."

THE MOST UNIQUE LOVE STORY I'VE RUN INTO
The Hawaii Wedding of Vincent and Ashlei

I've been in the wedding industry since I was 23 years old, I'm 32 now. And I've met a lot of wedding couples, coordinated thousands of weddings, and have heard almost every love story imaginable. Back when I first started putting together weddings, people met their loved ones through friends and setup dates. Fast forward to the present, most people meet their loved ones through the Internet. Well, Vincent and Ashlei didn't meet through the Internet, but they met because of the Internet. Confused? Read on.

It happened one fateful night when Vincent's cable modem broke, paralyzing his computer from accessing the Internet. Vincent called up his service provider, angry, but patient. The first customer representative didn't speak English very well, and Vincent's pateince flew out the window! We've all been there. He wanted to speak to someone who could understand him and help him now! He wanted to speak someone in this country! Not surprisingly, Vincent got put on hold.

Vincent and Ash, at Ko'olina, on the rocks

Meanwhile, in a cubicle far away from Vincent's house, Ashlei sat busily with her headset strapped to her head. She probably thought, this was just another day in the office filled with angry customers who wanted to to yell at someone. She was right, someone was ready to yell at her, but this wasn't going to be another day. This day, she would meet the man she would marry.

At that moment, a call came through, it was the customer service rep that was servicing Vincent. She couldn't understand a word that came out of that customer service reps mouth, and she didn't really want to take the transfered call, but she noticed that the phone number was coming from her area code, so she felt a little compassion. Good choice.

Vincent nervous, no way...

During the vows

As soon as Ashlie took Vincent's call, Vincent started to explain his situation. Lets just say, he explained like we would, rather harshly. Ashlei patiently listened, and genuinely wanted to help him. She offered that her company would replace the broken router immediately. Vincent though was still skeptical. He told her that he did not want to be tricked into extending his service, or purchasing a brand new cell phone, he just wanted his broken router replaced. Ashlei assured him that's what he would get, and that's all what he would get. Vincent, satisfied with her solution, calmed down, thanked Ashlei and hung up, content.

Vincent and Ashlei share their first breath as a couple, a Hawaiian Tradition

In a very short time, Vincent's router arrived on his doorstep, and he was happily surfing the Internet once again. He wanted to thank Ashlei for the great customer service, but more so to also apologize to her for being less than admirable over the phone, But there was a problem. He didn't have her phone number, or direct line. But Ashlei had his.

Soon enough, Ashlei gave Vincent a call to make sure that everything was okay. Vincent told her everything was fine, apologized, and asked for her phone number. There was a slight hesitation, but Ashlei gave him her number. Unbeknownst to Vincent, Ashlei had given her number to him because she was high on pain killers, as she had just recently gotten into a bad car accident. She admits, she was not thinking clearly.

Cut the cake!

Ashlei giving some attitude

From there it was destiny. One phone call, led to another, then to another, then to their first meeting sometime after. Their was a bit of nervousness in the very beginning. Ashlei, despite talking to Vincent for awhile, wasn't sure if he was a serial killer. So she told her friends where she was meeting him, and when, and also where to go to find her body (his address), if she turned up missing. Vincent on the hand, didn't fear that she was a killer. Like all men, his fear rested on how she looked. Well, Vincent didn't turn out to be a serial killer, and Ashlei turned out to be the cutest thing he had ever seen.

I don't usually do a shot like this, but I did this time around

Vincent and Ashlei were a blast to hang out with, and to marry. They both are football fans, witty, and have always something to talk about. They didn't rent a car, so I picked them up in the blue limo (my blue double-cab Tacoma), and drove them to Ko'olina. Elias performed a great Hawaiian ceremony of them, to top off the ceremony, Vincent and Ashlei cut a small wedding cake they had purchased for their wedding.

The only thing that was a bummer that day was the weather. The weather was perfect, except that it was a very voggy. Vog, is volcanic fog, and it has a habit of turning blue skies a little white. But, it also makes for very unique red sunsets. I actually like the whitish skies in some of these shots. I think it has a very nice clean feeling. Since they both are wearing white, it's quite cool.

So what do you think about their love story? Pretty cool huh?

Sunset at Ko'olina

I really like this shot here. This one goes on the wall

So in case you didn't figure it out by now, Ashlei works as a customer service operator. Vincent, well, you can basically stereotype him from how he looks. What do big strong guys usually do? Fight fire for a living, and save lives. What else do you think?

Vincent, Ashlei, it was a pleasure being part of your special day. Do keep in touch. I swear, you have some story of how you met. Keep on creating even better memories.

Steven Young
The Hawaii Wedding Reporter
http://www.dreamweddingshawaii.com/