Sonny and Morgan – Great Hook Up

How did you meet?

We knew of each other through mutual friends as we were both students at Virginia Tech. But on the night of August 28, 2005 I went to a party with a friend. Sonny approached, joking around with me throughout the conversation. At one point in the convo, he proclaimed “I’m going to marry you on a mountain top.” We laughed at this ridiculous idea. However, it wasn’t long before we were hanging out all the time: meeting between class for lunch, watching movies, hanging out with friends and playing frisbee golf!

How did you get engaged?

As devout Hokie football fans, we know the Virginia Tech vs. Miami game is always a big rivalry. In the fall of 2009, along with a group of friends from school, we headed down to Blacksburg to catch the big game in the home stadium. Saturday was great! Despite a monster downpour of rain, the Hokies pulled it off and won the game! Little did I know that my weekend would get even better from there! Sunday, September, 27 2009 started off as a beautiful morning. The sun was out and Sonny suggested we walk around the VT campus and hit some of our old meeting spots. After walking around campus we stopped at the West Eggleston building where there is a lovely stone arch. This is the spot we used to meet between classes before grabbing lunch. This is where Sonny asked a passerby to take a picture of us. As we perfected our poses, Sonny dropped to one knee and popped the question! Between tears and giggles, I managed to utter my answer, “Yes!” The poor guy who was taking our picture was just as surprised as me and nervously fiddled with the camera, so much for the perfect shot! Good thing we had such good photographers at the wedding to make up for it

Why OBX for your wedding day?

Sonny and I are both beach babies. Give us any choice, and we will always choose the waves and sand.
How did you decide on your ceremony and reception location? We vacation in OBX when we can, and we knew we wanted a wedding on the beach because to us, you can’t get much more spiritual than that. But the reason we chose the place was the way we felt when we were standing on the fishing pier at the Hilton Garden Inn… beautiful! And Sonny has great memories of fishing off the pier when it was still the Kitty Hawk Pier.

How many guests did you have?

125

How long did you allow for the wedding planning process?

10 months

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

The most important thing to us was to not become stressed out about this experience… no Bridezillas here! I just wanted to enjoy the experience. It was important to remember that yes, this is a magical day, but nothing is more magical then starting a new life with someone that you love. During planning, I categorized the details into what was the highest priority and didn’t stress the “little things.” For me, the venue, photography and food was important. I didn’t put as much effort into seating arrangements, invitations, dress, etc. Sonny had one job… the music!

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

I think my very favorite moment was when it actually sunk in that “this” was happening! When the bridesmaids and I were finished getting ready, we were waiting in my hotel room. I could look out the balcony windows and see everyone gathering on the beach for the ceremony. Then all of a sudden my bridesmaids pulled me a away when Sonny started walking out so that I couldn’t see him before my walk down the “aisle.”
If you could do one thing different either in the planning or actual day, what would it be? Nothing! I thought my wedding day was the most amazing day and couldn’t have imagined it any better!

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

Don’t worry about the weather… just have a back up plan. You may as well spend your time thinking about the things you can control

What were your colors?

Cornflower blue and sunflower yellow

We did have favors ordered through a website, but they did not arrive in time for the wedding! So, my wonderful bridesmaids came to the rescue and made some homemade granola in cute little containers for last minute favors. Word of advice to brides who will be staying in rental homes… make sure you talk to the property management companies and notify the post-office if you are counting on receiving mail/packages through USPS. We did not have any problems receiving packages at the rental when they were sent via UPS or Fed-Ex.

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

I picked “happy colors” and wanted my wedding to be simply, pretty and happy!

How did you choose your menu?

We had to have some kind of seafood for our beachfront wedding of course. And of course I had to get the steak for my husband We also were able to go do a tasting before hand and really liked the entrees we tried, so we picked them.

Did you have a specialty drink at the bar?

No, we just did open bar for wine and beer.