Christi and Ryan’s Wedding with Sugar Snap Events

How did you meet?

Ryan and I met online. I was new to the area and hoping to meet new people. Ryan had lived here his whole life and was happy to show me around. We went on our first date on Valentine’s Day.

We only planned a short dinner date, but it went so well that we didn’t want the night to end after that. We ended up going to a pub, playing Golden Tee, and talking all night. We’ve been pretty inseparable ever since.

How did you get engaged?

It was December 30, 2009. Ryan came home from work one day and found me on his couch still in my pajamas. He told me to get dressed quickly because we were leaving. I barely had time to throw on jeans and a hoodie (forget about makeup!) before he was urging me to get in the car.

Ryan didn’t tell me where we were going, but we ended up at The Dayton Art Museum. We had been to the museum several times for different events and Ryan’s favorite painting is also there.

The museum was just closing when we got there that day, but Ryan parked the car anyway. We walked up the ramp that overlooks the city, the same place Ryan took me when we first started dating to point out Dayton landmarks.

Then Ryan kissed me, and when I opened my eyes he was holding the ring and asked me to marry him. I was so surprised to see the ring (it was perfect!) that I had the typical reaction and almost forgot to say yes.

Why OBX for your wedding day?

When we were planning our first big vacation as a couple, we wanted to go somewhere neither of us had been before. We were browsing online and as soon as we found the OBX, we knew it was the perfect spot.

We’ve come back each summer since then. We love its beautiful beaches and the area’s history, but our favorite part of the OBX is sunset at Jockey’s Ridge.

When it was time to plan our wedding, we looked at a few local venues near Dayton. However, our hearts were telling us to go with the place we loved so much.

The beach, the waves, the sun, the blue sky over the water… how could we get married anywhere else? An added bonus was getting to share the OBX with some of our family members for the first time.

How did you decide on your ceremony and reception location?

Because of the distance from our homes, we knew our wedding would be fairly small so we needed a smaller venue on the beach where we could have our ceremony and reception in the same place. To keep the planning simple from so far away, I was hoping to find a venue that could do it all.

After several days of browsing the internet, we found The Pearl. The colors inside The Pearl are so soft and the natural lighting was just beautiful. We knew our oceanfront ceremony and private reception would both work there. It was everything we wanted.

How many guests did you have?

24

How long did you allow for the wedding planning process?

We planned for just over a year. We met with all of our vendors the summer before our wedding. Because I’m a teacher, I took advantage of having the summer off to really pull together our vision for the day.

Most of the plans were finished a year before the wedding, but then I was able to work on all our DIY projects over the course of the year. It was just enough time to plan without feeling rushed. Booking a year in advance also helped us lock in lots of our first choices.

Share with us some planning details that were important to you.

We wanted everything to feel very simple, but purposeful, beautiful, and fun too. A lot of times you hear that no one will notice the details except for the bride, but I wanted ours to stand out.

We made our own invitations and program fans so they’d be exactly what we wanted. We went with a postcard guestbook instead of a traditional one. We searched all over for the perfect starfish table to hold our ring bowl during the ceremony.

We ordered handmade wooden roses to sprinkle on the tables instead of petals and preserved orchids for our aisle. We tried to tie everything together without going over the top.

A big part of planning that we couldn’t overlook were our vendors. We went with Sugar Snap Events for our flowers and Island Photography because we felt like they were on the same page with us. They just “got it” right away and clicked with us.

They felt fun to work with and that was important to us for something that can be as stressful as a wedding. Hiring them let us focus on the little details since they had taken care of the big ones.

Looking back, what was your favorite moment of your wedding day?

It’s hard to pick just one moment. While the reception and dunes were fun, I think my favorite part was meeting Ryan under our altar. Walking across the sand with my dad and then catching hands with Ryan for the first time really did take my breath away.

The ocean breeze, the crashing waves, the sand between my toes, and seeing Ryan waiting for me all felt amazing. I had to stop and remind myself to take it all in. It seemed like I blinked and the ceremony was over.

If you could do one thing different either in the planning or actual day, what would it be?

I would have allowed just a little bit longer to get ready pre-ceremony. I had hoped to have some time after hair and makeup, but before getting dressed, to relax and eat a little before the wedding. Just bumping things up thirty minutes earlier that morning would have made a big difference that afternoon.

What advice would you give to another bride planning her wedding in the Outer Banks?

First I’d just say congratulations for picking one of the best places on earth to get married. Then I’d say pick your venue and vendors early so you can get exactly what you want. Make sure you meet with them in person if at all possible to be sure you click and will be able to work together on your wedding day. It should be fun!

Overall though, stay true to your vision and make the wedding really about you and your husband. YOU get to decide what your wedding looks like. We wanted to go to Jockey’s Ridge instead of hiring a DJ and dancing all night. A lot of people didn’t “get it” but it felt right for us so we went with it. I’m so glad we did!

Did you have a theme or style that you carried through the planing process?

We tried to tie everything together with our colors, flowers, and shells. Even though we were getting married in the OBX, we didn’t want all of our details to be beachy. Our guestbook table was very beachy with starfish and shells, but our dinner centerpieces were more traditional with orchids and only hinted at the beach with starfish to hold the table names and taffy favors.
We also used the same floral theme from our invitations on our guestbook table, table names, and cake. I think little details like that helped tie everything together.

How did you choose your menu?

The menu was one of the planning details where we really had to trust our venue. Even though we had tasted The Pearl’s food, the menu really depends on what is caught locally day to day. We picked grilled chicken and whatever fish was fresh the day of our wedding.
We ended up having swordfish and it was delicious! We went with three appetizers: our favorite (crab cakes), a fish (salmon), and a vegetable (asparagus wrapped in prosciutto). The cake was my personal favorite—red velvet with cream cheese.

What was the style of service?

Plated

Did you have a specialty drink at the bar?

Instead of a traditional champagne toast we used a Pearlini: champagne, peach schnapps, pink lemonade, and grenadine. We loved the sweeter flavor and pink color in our toasting glasses!

Personalization

We personalized our reception by moving it to the dunes after our first dances. We love sunsets on Jockey’s Ridge and flying kites with our dogs so we spend most evenings there when we’re on vacation.
We decided to stay true to us and do that for our reception too. Our dogs even got to join in on the celebration. It was slightly windier than usual, but we still had a great time. The pictures are pretty amazing too!