| THINKING ABOUT HAVING A WEDDING ON THE OUTER BANKS? |
| Our wedding was held on May 17, 2003 at the Corolla Chapel, located in the northernmost beach community on the Outer Banks. A cocktail reception immediately followed the ceremony at a soundfront home in the Monterey Shores subdivision of Corolla. Due to inclement weather the reception was held indoors. The wedding was attended by about 80 guests who travelled from as far as California and New York and as close as Raleigh and Greenville. The families of the bride and groom as well as the wedding party came out a week before the wedding to spend a vacation filled with beach trips, historical tours and ample time for families and friends to get to know each other. |
| OUR VENDORS |
| Wright Place came to our attention through an amazing coincedence. As soon as we met them we were both impressed with their professionalism, quality of their food, their willingness to work with individuals, and their enduring friendliness. We often stop by their market when we are town to say hello. The owners, Maura and Patrick Higgins, and the entire staff were and are a pleasure to work with. The food was phenominal, the service was impecable, and we still have guests commenting on how much they enjoyed the food. Maura helped us with our inclement weather arrangements for the reception and also worked with Metro Rentals to take care of all our rental needs. Wright Place can work within any budget and any style, and still create a menu that is truly gourmet. We would hire them again in an instant. We highly recommend their services! |
| What can we say about Debbie, she is by far the best photographer on the Outer Banks. Don't just take our word for it; check out our wedding photographs. We interviewed several potential photographers and there was no comparison. No other photographer had the technical skill and the ability to capture the spirit of our wedding like Debbie. From the bridal portrait to the wedding day, she and her staff answered every question (silly or not), eased our minds, and gave us great advice. Her staff is a great compliment to her professionalism and talent. She was fun and we intend to involve her talents through all the major stages of our lives from our dogs, to our children, to our 50th anniversary recommitment ceremony. We highly recommend Deborah Sawyer Photography! |
| Metro Rentals runs a top notch rental business. They are helpful and friendly, flexiable and reliable. We started inquiring on rentals pretty early in the process. Rob and the entire staff at Metro Rentals were extremely helpful in determing what items we needed and provided suggestions for inclement weather. They work with Wright Place Gourmet Market Catering to make your wedding less stressful. When you hire Metro Rentals at OBX, you know the job will be done and done right! We highly recommend Metro Rentals! |
| Our introduction to KDH was at the Outer Banks Wedding Associationss Bridal Show. We immediately clicked with Doug Leal, the owner. We were not shopping for a DJ, in fact we had not decided whether we wanted a band or dj a that time, but Doug made quite the impression on us and we eventually decided to hire him. As you can imagine we peppered our vendors with a lot of questions and a lot of requests. We had a very clear idea of what we wanted and conveyed into all of our vendors including Doug. He was very supportive and understood exactly what we wanted and we were confident in his abilities Unfortunately, Doug did not end up DJing our reception. He called Tina the morning of the wedding explaining that an emergency arose and he had to DJ a different reception. He was sending someone in his stead. Tina agreed after having spoke with the replacement understanding that all of the requests and needs for the reception had been conveyed. The replacement arrived not dressed appropriately for a reception. He brought a friend and spent more time at our open bar than at the DJ booth. We were playing a swing, jazz, big band mix and therefore asked for NO requests outside of the theme. Right after a Benny Goodman set, he played the Electric Slide, upon request!! Doug was aware of the range of music that we wanted, however the DJ that was there merely put in a CD, hit play, and walked away. We could have bought a boom box and done the exact same thing. The replacement DJ did serve as our emcee and followed our timeline and our changes to it on cue. We spoke with Doug shortly after the wedding to express our disappointment in the service we received and asked that he get back with us if we had the wrong impression. We have not heard from him since. We were so unimpressed by the service and follow-up, that if the check was not cashed (first one of our vendors to cash their check) immediately after the wedding, we would have stopped payment and discussed other payment arrangements. With all this said, our wedding was wonderful. The music that we prepared was perfect and everyone had a great time. You don't notice the details when you are in the middle of your own wedding, but we wanted to make sure that others were aware of our experience. |
 |
| Despite the complexities of planning a "destination wedding" and the inevitable problems that ensued, it was by far the best decision we could have made. It was the most rewarding experience and it was the best way we could have started our new lives as a married couple. |