Maecy and Bradley at the Hilton Garden Inn

How did you meet?

Bradley and I met at Radford University in Radford, VA. Bradley was persistent in trying to get my attention and I was persistent in ignoring his advances. He did eventually win me over one night.
He refused to let me overlook his glances any more and pulled me aside to talk and grab a drink, and after forgetting my name but confidently asking for my phone number anyway (luck must have been on his side) I said yes to a date ( yes, lucky he was cute ). We have been together ever since.

How did you get engaged?

Bradley had it all planned out: He told me we were invited by some friends to have lunch at a local winery (we were to be celebrating our friends upcoming anniversary).
After lunch a dozen roses were brought to the table and I started feeling bad that I didn’t get our friends a card or anything for their anniversary, then a bottle of champagne and two champagne glasses with our saying (Always you, Always me) were sat right in front of me.
Confused at this point, I read the champagne bottle with a picture of Bradley and me inscribed with “Maecy, will you marry me?” At this point I still wasn’t making the connection with his brother recording this all, it finally dawned on me what was happening and in shock I starting proclaiming “Are you kidding me?! No really, are you kidding me?”
Brad got down on one knee and of course I said yes. A side note to this story: on our drive to the vineyard we were discussing (i.e. I was complaining) about how we weren’t engaged yet and when was this going to happen, Brad said he was dying with laughter on the inside just thinking “just you wait girl, just you wait”

Why OBX for your wedding day?

I’ve vacationed in OBX every summer of my life since I was a month old, and my family has vacationed there since they were young children as well. I love spending the summers there and really feel the OBX is a second home – and we are hoping to make that a reality soon with a beach house!
Growing up I couldn’t imagine having a wedding anywhere besides the beach and in particular the OBX. All my friends and family knew once we were engaged where the wedding would be

How did you decide on your ceremony and reception location?

My mom and I attended the OBX wedding expo in January 2010 and looked at the Kitty Hawk Pier House with Hilton Garden Inn, and knew that was exactly where I wanted my wedding to be, it was the first reception site we went to at the expo and the last, I booked it that day.

How many guests did you have?

75

How long did you allow for the wedding planning process?

Since we knew Bradley was going to be going back to school we had to plan far in advance and find a date that worked for his school schedule. I had a year and a half to plan for the wedding. I’m glad I did because it turned out to be a whole lot less stressful than if I only had 6 months.

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

Having everything organized and done ahead of time was really important to me because Bradley and I were moving in the middle of wedding planning in addition to starting new jobs/going back to school. I tried keeping a notebook and have a schedule planned for the events of the wedding.
George Wainwright, our DJ (DJ Professionals and Video), was a HUGE help in keeping things really organized with the reception planner. For the “type-A” people in the world it was awesome. I wish there was a wedding planner like that online that kept track of every detail!
Other than having an organized event- I just wanted to make sure my guest and I had fun and that was accomplished with our all night dancing, good music, 9′o’clock tequila shots, and garter toss surprise (aka granny panties)

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

I can’t choose! The day was perfect in every way. I would have to say the reception and dancing all night definitely tops the memory list. Bradley and I and our friends and family love to dance. I would do that day over and over again if I could!

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

I don’t think I would have changed anything.

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

Definitely go to the wedding expo held at the beginning of each year. I think within an hour of going through the expo I narrowed a lot of my venues and vendors down. All of the OBX is so beautiful and each vendor has so much to offer, narrowing it down without the expo would have been an outrageous task.

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

Very minimal, clean and classic was the overall theme I was going for.

How did you choose your menu?

We did a tasting and also tried to have a diverse menu to please as many pallets as possible. So some seafood, some red meat, plenty of veggies and other good sides served buffet style so guests weren’t limited to having just one entree or a specific side.

What was the style of service?

Buffet

Did you have a specialty drink at the bar?

We had a twist on the specialty drink: 9′o’clock tequila shots! at 9 the DJ played “Tequila” by the Champps. Tequila shots were passed around to all of our guests to partake in a special dance made famous by Pee Wee Herman. It was something fun and unique

How did you personalize your wedding?

With as much time as I had to plan, I quickly honed in on my inner DIY bride. I made most of our decorations for the reception, our favors, our programs, and the bridal bouquets. It’s as personal as you can get it when you make your decorations for your own wedding (not to mention saving $$) !