Recently, I was interviewed by the Outer Banks Wedding Association for a feature on their website. Below is the Q&A section of the article.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN INVOLVED IN WEDDINGS ON THE OUTER BANKS? HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
I have been officiating ceremonies for around 11 years here on a “full seasons” schedule. My wife and some friends involved in the wedding association encouraged me to join a burgeoning industry, and I thought maybe I would officiate a few here and there. It became a labor of love from the beginning and I have never looked back on my decision!
WHAT MAKES THE OUTER BANKS SPECIAL TO YOU?
The Outer Banks is special in so many ways. I was born and raised in Currituck, and every single moment I didn’t have to be in school or somewhere else, I was on the beach. From Carova to Hatteras Island was my back yard. I am almost certain I spent more time on the beach than I did the mainland growing up. The Outer Banks projects an unending beauty, from sound to sea, combined with an energy that you will find nowhere else. The history is without equal, from the first English settlement in America, to the Wright Brothers, Fessendon’s wireless radio transmissions, among others, we are a land of firsts, or a land of beginnings as they say, so it’s only fitting that couples come here to begin their lives together as husband and wife.
DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR A COUPLE BOOKING YOUR SERVICES?
Advice for couples booking my services? Be prepared to have fun! Just because it is one of the most important days in your life does not mean it has to be painful.
WHAT MAKES YOUR BUSINESS DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS ON THE OUTER BANKS?
I try to bring joy and energy to a ceremony. I try to effuse everyone there with my energy. I want them to “know” they have just witnessed a monumental moment in a friend or a loved ones lives. I have crafted my ceremonies, that they are melodic and flow nicely and have included some seaside specific verses. I think we have all been to at least one ceremony where we all had to endure your basic mumbling monotone minister. That’s not me.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE BENEFITS OR SMALLER MICRO-WEDDINGS AND ELOPEMENTS?
Over the years, while I have officiated tons and tons of large weddings, I have officiated just as many elopements or “mini” weddings as well. Those weddings appeal to the couples that don’t want to endure all the planning and brainstorming and fanfare and costs of the larger weddings. The Outer Bank is the perfect place for a couple to come by theirselves or bring a few family or friends, rent a place and walk right out the back door down to the beach to get married. The biggest benefit of a wedding on the beach, be it large or small, is the lifetime of memories that come with it!
