Hi there Outer Banks Brides (and Grooms!),
We were married last week in Hatteras....despite a hurricane shutting down HWY 12 and a nor'easter blowing in 2 hours before our ceremony, it ended up being a perfect day. (Not at all what I envisioned while planning our day, but it all turned out just fine!)
We chose to do a lot on our own, and several of our vendors had to change at the last minute, but I wanted to make sure to mention everyone.
Rental Home: Outer Beaches Realty. They were super informative about the status of roads, weather conditions, etc before our arrival. We always rent through them so we knew our house would be perfect, and it was. We rented "Here Comes the Sun" and with all of the recent upgrades it more than met our expections. There was plenty of parking and lots of entertainment built in...Our wedding party loved the shuffleboard table! After arriving home I realized that some of the wine glasses were packed up with my glasses and Outer Beaches was very understanding and are working with me to get them back to the house.
Officiant: Molly from A Barefoot Wedding. Molly kept in touch with me before our arrival, checking ferry schedules and road conditions and overall keeping me calm. We were originally going to get married on the beach, but with the nor'easter coming in we opted to do the ceremony on a deck overlooking the ocean. Molly told us she would gladly go out on the beach in the pouring rain, if that is what we wanted! So sweet, I would definitely recommend her!
Flowers: This was really the only category I have a negative feeling about. Jinny from Every Blooming Thing in Hatteras was supposed to do our flowers. I emailed inspiration photos, my budget and all the information to her and she said she never received it. So I sent it again, called to follow up and never heard back from her. When I did get in touch with her she said she was available when we needed her and verbally agreed to the budget I had in mind. After several attempts to get in touch with her (she would ask me to call her back at specific times but never answered at the scheduled time) I gave up. I ended up using a florist in my hometown for my bouquet and my friend made the bouts and moms corsages. I made my centerpieces from dried hydrangeas. In the end it all worked out for the best, and was much more affordable to boot!
Music: For the ceremony we used Jessie Taylor Donnally. My guests raved about her violin skills! (In all honesty I don't remember much of the ceremony and music, it all just flew by!) Jessie constantly checked in with me during the week before my ceremony and even helped me to find bartender/server replacements. I would definitely suggest her to anyone getting married in the Hatteras area!
Bartending/Servers: I originally booked On da Rox for the reception, but with the road issues they were not able to come. They did agree to issue a partial payment (which is completely fair) and were very nice to work with. I ended up asking my violin player for suggestions and she introduced me to Paulette. Paulette does not have a company name but can be contacted at 252.987.3059. She also works at Ketch55 in Avon. She and her server were a joy! There was never an empty glass or plate to be cleared, they were on top of it! I thought they were very affordable and definitely saved our day!
Cake: Atlantic Cake Company (Susan) was supposed to do our cake but again, Hurricane Sandy ruined that plan! I was so looking forward to that cake! Susan was so enjoyable to work with since we first touched base, and generously gave us a refund on our deposit. If you are looking to get married in the Outer Banks I highly suggest booking with her! (We ended up bringing a single layer cake from home and setting up a dessert bar.)
My husband is a chef so we planned on him and his sister preparing our sit down dinner (Only 26 people) at the rental home, so there is no restaurant to review. I will mention that Conners Supermarket and Diamond Shoals Seafood were both super accomodating with our needs!
Hopefully I will have some photos to post soon, please let me know if you would like more info on any of the vendors I reviewed!