3 Biggest Mistakes Couples Make with their OBX Wedding Planning

There are some things in life that it’s ok to say afterwards, “Well, live and learn!”. Your wedding day is not one of those things! You’ve got one shot at this big day and every step should be taken to ensure it is a grand success and not an experiment. The following 3 Biggest Mistakes happen over and over and over here on the Outer Banks, but they absolutely don’t have to. Take them to heart.

Mistake #1: “We can wait to book our venue and wedding vendors later.”

 Yes, you can plan a wedding on the Outer Banks in two weeks or less, but you are going to severely limit your options. It might be like arriving in the last hour of an awesome Seafood Festival, and the only thing left is hot dogs and shrimp flavored cotton candy (mmm…tasty!). Making plans as early as possible to have access to everything on the wedding menu before those options are gone. Think about it; this is one of the biggest days of your lives and you want to make it everything you have been dreaming about. That dream needs to be pulled off by a team of vendors that could be swiped by another couple if you do not get to them first. And that goes for your preferred venue as well.

The Outer Banks is a “very” popular wedding destination with lots of options and wonderful, talented wedding vendors and venues, but not limitless. It is ideal to confirm your key bookings a year in advance to insure you get first dibs on the very best. Sure, your date and time might be available two weeks out from the date, but the chances are not good. Plan now and secure your important bookings as far in advance as you can! You will be so glad you did.

Mistake #2: “We can get by without hiring a Wedding Planner.”

 There are so many reasons this is one of the biggest mistakes!  Believe me, after thousands of weddings over the last 17 years here on the Outer Banks, I have seen it all. “We can get by without hiring a Wedding Planner” may be true since you probably could “get by” without one, but is the biggest day in your lives is something you just want to “get by” with? Even at the smallest of weddings, there are so many details to attend to and lists of tasks to accomplish. Just trust me, the best investment you can make in your wedding is a skilled Planner. They will make your life, as well as everyone involved, an enjoyable experience with far less anxieties and disappointments.

I have watched “some” couples “get by” and have an amazing day, however I have seen the majority of couples wishing like crazy they had secured a good Planner to make their experience everything (and more) than you envisioned. Debbie Norris-Hamblen (Event Savvy Planning + Design), one of our very best local veteran Planners, once told me “Not having a Wedding Planner for your big day is like trusting the passengers to pilot your flight. You may still get to your destination, but oh what a bumpy anxious ride it will be from take-off to landing!”  Hands down, if my daughter were getting married on the Outer Banks, the absolute first thing I would hire is a gifted Planner. Totally worth their weight in gold!

Mistake #3: “Let’s get married at noon on the beach in August!”

 To be sure, a noon or mid-afternoon ceremony in April is far different than one at that time in August. I grew up in Florida, I love hot weather, but it is brutal to watch a groom melting as he waits for his bride to come down the aisle. There are many reasons to avoid mid-day ceremonies in June, July, August, and September on the Outer Banks, not the least of which is obviously, it is just too hot!

You and your guests will most likely be distracted from enjoying the big moment because you are melting.  Chances are also very good that your photographer will not be happy trying to capture great photos with all the squinting and shiny, sweaty faces. Not to mention the hard shadows of the sun straight overhead.  We all know it is fun to get married barefoot, but mid-day in July can make it almost impossible since the sand gets hot enough to blister your feet and there is a real chance for someone to get dehydrated and pass out (believe me, I have seen this happen!).  There are also way more people on the beach mid-day than there are late afternoon or sunset making your ceremony much less intimate. 

Wrap Up: My hope is that this blog will help many of our future OBX couples side-step some of the biggest mistakes commonly made here with destination weddings. Be sure to avoid these planning blunders in order to secure the life moment you’ll treasure forever! #goforit Rev. Jay Bowman