Laura & Greg ~ Wedding At The Sanderling

How did you get engaged?

Greg’s family went to Estes Park Colorado on vacation during August 2008 and although I had to work and couldn’t go with them for the whole time, I was able to fly up for a few days. It ended up raining all weekend, much to Greg’s dismay, and his plan of proposing at sunrise overlooking the mountains was not meant to be. The sun finally came out on the last afternoon we were there, and Greg and I took a little hike up the mountain and he proposed as we sat and enjoyed the view during sunset.

Why OBX for your wedding day?

My family has been vacationing in Corolla since I was 6 years old! It’s my favorite spot and I have always wanted to get married on the beach. Greg joined my family on vacation there in May 2008 before we were engaged, so when he proposed in August, it wasn’t hard to convince him to have the wedding on the beach!

How did you decide on your ceremony and reception location?

I looked into just about every option there is on the north part of the Outer Banks! Since we were planning the wedding from out of state, I decided that it would be worth the expense to hold the ceremony and reception somewhere that helped with the planning and coordinating, rather than selecting all of the vendors myself. The Sanderling Inn seemed like a perfect fit since it was close to our vacation homes, and they provided most of the ceremony and reception elements. I didn’t have to find a caterer or a rental company for chairs/tables, and that made it so much easier. We also like the fact that the ceremony and reception were in the same location so our out-of-town guests wouldn’t have to worry about getting lost twice in one day, and it saved time between the ceremony and reception.

How many guests did you have?

We invited about 100 guests and ended up with almost 60 guests at the wedding and ceremony. This was a perfect number and felt very intimate. One of the things that I loved the most about our wedding was the fact that almost everyone was there for the entire week leading up to the big day! We rented 5 houses in Corolla Light and really enjoyed spending the week visiting and relaxing with our family and friends. This way we didn’t feel so pressured at the reception to spend time with all of our out-of-town guests, we could just relax and enjoy ourselves!

How long did you allow for the wedding planning process?

We were engaged for almost 10 months, but this was because I couldn’t take time off of work until June, not because we wanted that long to plan. It turned out to be plenty of time and I was able to accomplish everything a little bit at a time, rather than being completely occupied with wedding details for a shorter period of time. I think I could have easily planned the event in 6 months – the limitation being that most locations are booked about a year in advance, especially for the summer dates.

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

My strategy was to figure out what would make the day perfect for me, and then not worry much about the rest. I wanted to have the ceremony outside and have the reception by the water, so The Sanderling Inn was the perfect place. I love pictures and scrapbooking, so having a great photographer was really high on my priority list, and Greg and I actually flew to NC a few months into the planning process to interview photographers. I’m so glad we did – some people that we met with would not have meshed well with our guests, even though their websites looked nice. We were so happy with Island Photography – both their presence during our day and our photos!

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

Walking down the aisle with my Dad and seeing Greg waiting for me. I was so happy I couldn’t stop crying!

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

Start my day earlier! We had a 4:30 PM wedding time, which turned out perfectly, but I didn’t start the “getting ready” phase early enough and we almost ran behind.

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

Do your research on the things that are important to you. Explore all of your options! There are lots of wonderful people to work with in the Outer Banks. Find someone you trust and ask for recommendations for contacts in other areas. For example, we asked the event coordinator at The Sanderling Inn for DJ suggestions, and she sent us to a certain DJ who turned out to be wonderful. Getting married in the Outer Banks is a tremendous experience – don’t miss it!