Choosing to have our wedding in the Outer Banks was the best decision! My husband's parents live there so we weren't as long distance planning as some of you are but living in Virginia with my parents in Canada, I can appreciate the difficulty it is to plan a wedding there. Here are my reviews.
We had our hair and makeup done at Its Royalty Salon on Budleigh Street in Manteo, NC. They were AMAZING. They have a room there that is specifically for bridal parties and is decorated in such a way that it instantly relaxes you. We were all thrilled with our hair and makeup. I loved what Linda and Charlene did with me (wouldn't change a thing) but it is both my mom and mother-in-law who are still talking about how the hairstyles that were created for them. Let me explain it this way. Everytime I went to Its Royalty that week whether for trials, nails/facials with my mom, and then the actual wedding day, I felt completely relaxed. When I say it was an oasis in the midst of insane wedding stuff, I mean that I might've gone crazy without Linda, Charlene and Its Royalty. Sidenote: Its Royalty is right across the street from 108 Budleigh which is where we got ready. No chance for our hair to get ruined! (
www.itsroyalty.com)Our actual wedding ceremony was at The Elizabethan Gardens because whenever I pictured walking down the aisle in my head, I always pictured a huge lawn, trees lining it, shaded, nice breeze. How blessed am I that that I was basically picturing the Gardens! It was the best weather that the OBX had all summer. We got married at 5:00pm on Friday afternoon and it was beautiful. Anne at the Gardens was extremely helpful and accommodating. They allowed us to drive up to the site (the wedding party and guests who couldn't walk in) which was nice not to have to get dirty! One thing to keep in mind, you need to bring your own sound system but they'll run the electricity to the site for you as well as set up the chairs as per your specifications. Bride and Groom and family get unlimited entrance into the gardens which is good for planning as you lead up to your wedding. Guests obviously are allowed in free on your actual wedding day and they are allowed to go around the Gardens at their leisure which is really great for time killing! Basically it was beautiful and I'm so thankful we were able to get our date!
Our reception was at 108 Budleigh. It was gorgeous, it was the perfect atmosphere and we had a blast. 108 Budleigh has chiavari chairs and tables and we ended up renting through Allison so everything was delivered early so we could set up the day before. Be sure to either bring your own sound system or microphone (which you can plug into their sound system), that was one thing I forgot about and we ended up speaking loudly for everybody to hear speeches, MOC etc haha.
Ortegaz catered our reception. When I say that was some of the best wedding food I've ever had, I am not being biased. It was delicious! Appetizers were phylo cups with Brie cheese, there was both a sweet and savory option, and crab cakes. We had mahi mahi, vegetable medley, roasted baby potatoes, steak, and some other vegetables I can't remember! Each table had salad and bread a la Olive Garden type style. For dessert, I'm not a huge cake person and I wanted to bring in some of my spanish heritage, we had churros and icecream in martini glasses. They were absolutely delicious! Ortegaz also did our setup and were gracious and helpful to the point of getting me mustard for my mustard-less sandwich on my wedding day. I would hire them again in a heartbeat.
My photographer was flown in from Florida and she was fantastic. My pictures are beautiful, unique, and are more capturing the moment than posed. I highly reccommend her and think she is worth way more than what we paid for her to come.
Thanks!
If you have any questions, please email me amcmullin@liberty.edu
HAPPY WEDDING PLANNING!