1. What venue choices did you make for your ceremony and reception?  Did they work out well?
    We had our wedding at First Assembly in Manteo and our reception was held at Tale of the Whale in Nags Head. What gorgeous pictures right there in the gazebo, soundfront!

2. What time of year was your event?  Did you honeymoon on the Outer Banks as well?  
    We were married in December.  When you marry someone who makes their living on the water you have to adjust your life around that.  We did not honeymoon here, we took a cruise…fantastic!

Here are a couple of examples of the beautiful winter hues you'll find on the Outer Banks...





3. What type of accommodations did your wedding party and out of town guests use?  
    All of our guests used hotels.  No one came in large groups, so hotel rooms made more sense for them.

4. Did you plan the event yourself or use a wedding planner or event day coordinator?  
    We planned everything ourselves, it was a lot of work (and stress) but we had everything WE wanted and have no regrets or “gee, wish we'd of...”.

5. Favorite and/or funniest moment?  
    My new husband and my mom had a special dance.  ... Picture my mom, 48 at the time and just 5’2”--if she’s wearing heels.  A quiet and reserved woman, not one for being the center of attention EVER.  Then there's my husband.  6’2” and a real 'man’s man', longing to be the center of attention everywhere he goes.  Odd pairing to say the least, right?  But wait, there's more...  
    My parents, married 39 years this March, vacation every other year in Branson, Missouri.  Every trip they take in all the shows, and this particular year they came back bragging about all the dances they'd learned.  So, I got to thinking… ”groom and mother-in-law dance.”  And what other dance is there in 1998 than… you guessed it… the Macarena!!!  It was hysterical and my mom did such a great job.  10 years later I still laugh watching the video.  Don’t let anyone tell you “you shouldn’t do that.”  It’s YOUR day, make YOUR memories.

6. Best budget splurge? 
    The open bar and DJ was totally worth every penny.  When thinking about a wedding on the Outer Banks in December, you are probably thinking only about ½ the people will show up because let’s face it, December is not the most attractive time to be here.  What we didn’t account for was the freakishly warm 75 degree spell we had that year.  EVERYONE on the invite list showed up.  Needless to say we had to start the wedding late due to everyone continuing to fill the church, we ran out of food at the reception (my mom and dad had to do take out orders from Sam and Omie's as they were the only place open near by), but the “bar was open” and no one seemed to care we didn’t have food (except for my mom and dad – I love them). 
 
7. Best budget savings/value?
    We, too, saved on flowers.  Our wedding was in a church that had already been decorated for Christmas so we had no expense on flowers but the church was gorgeous with poinsettias all around, as well as a fully lit and decorated Christmas tree.  The place couldn’t have been more beautiful if we had paid for flowers.  It was perfect!

8. How was your experience with vendors? Any tips or suggestions? 
    Only tip is to get everything in writing.  You are talking to so many different people, and the vendors are dealing with so many different brides and customers that no one can remember exactly what they said or heard with every single person.  Everyone we dealt with was great. 

9. Any aspect of planning or the big day you wish you’d done differently?  Anything you forgot to consider?
    As mentioned before, I didn’t consider great weather for December, wish we had more food!

10. Your #1 piece of advice for brides-to-be planning their upcoming Outer Banks Weddings?  
    As the last guest blogger stated, this is your day.  Do the things that mean something to you and I promise it will mean the same to others.  As an example, everyone kept telling me “you are getting married in the church, you need to walk in on the wedding march.”  I’m a little bit stubborn and was insistent this wasn’t going to happen.  I am a Daddy’s girl, first and foremost, and I don’t want to do the same thing everyone else does just because.  I wanted this to be that special moment between me and my dad.  My entire wedding party walked in to the song Butterfly Kisses.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the place including me and my dad.  I can’t tell you the number of people that came up to me and told me how much that touched them.  Make this YOUR special day and I promise it will become special to all those that attend as well.

A big thank you to our latest OBX bride guest blogger!  Keep an eye out for our next 'Advice from OBX Brides' installment!