Wedding Blog

On a record-setting hot day in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Kimberly and Ryan stood before 134 friends and family members and vowed to love, honor, and cherish each other. Kimberly and Ryan met on her very first day of school at James Madison University in 2002, and six years later, tied the knot in a beautiful “traditional with a twist” seaside wedding.

Wedding Date: June 7, 2008 (the 56th wedding anniversary of Kimberly’s grandparents)
Venue: The Sanderling Resort and Spa, Duck, NC
Florist: Blooms Design Studio
Photographer: Echard Wheeler
Cake: Just Desserts

We knew we wanted a destination wedding, but still wanted it to be somewhere in the states. We knew we wanted to get married near the beach, but we didn’t want a “seashell” wedding. We knew we wanted to enjoy time with our guests for more than one day, but we wanted it to be affordable. We knew we wanted to get married somewhere meaningful… and there were no “buts” for that factor! After about a month of deliberation, we finally settled on the Outer Banks as the perfect wedding location given that we have been vacationing there with our college friends annually since graduation. Not to mention that fact that Ryan’s first family vacation with my family was to OBX.

If we had a theme for the wedding, it was traditional, yet different from weddings we’ve been to.  When it’s in the context of all the details, the “theme” really starts to make sense!

Some of our favorites included:

Pocketfold invitations (The Twist: Self-designed and hand-made)

A black and white damask theme (The Twist: Turquoise and Tangerine accent colors)

A beach wedding (The Twist: Formal attire for the wedding party)

Multi-page programs (The Twist: Handmade with photos and vellum paper)

A soundside pier on the water (The Twist: Lights, a candy bar and a cigar bar)

Black bridesmaid dresses (The Twist: Floor length, strapless gowns from TARGET!)

Not to mention the dance floor monogram, the hand-painted aisle runner, the hand-painted direction signs, the self-designed cake, the play list completely designed by the groom, the beer canoe, the martini stacks, the pearl necklace for the flower girl (that was given to me as a flower girl gift over 20 years ago).

 We also had custom drinks: the Jersey Shore Breeze in honor of Ryan’s home state (Something Old), Virginia Vixen in honor of where we live now (Something New), Carolina Crush in honor of our wedding state (Something Borrowed) and the Maryland Blue Crabini in honor of my home state (Something Blue)!

If you can’t tell just yet, we had an amazing day and we are very proud of everything and everyone that came together to make it so perfect.

all photos by Echard Wheeler Photography

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