So you’ve decided to get married in the Outer Banks of North Carolina! You’ve probably also narrowed down the time of the year as well. Great! And if you’re really on top of things, you may have even come up with the week you would like to say “I do”. Now all that’s left, is to figure out which day of that week you would like to turn into your much celebrated anniversary.
Many couples find an interesting thing occurs when they talk with their planners, officiants, and yes even their wedding photographers. See, here at the Outer Banks, no one is surprised when a couple decides to get married on a week day. To tell the truth, we often encourage it in couples who have not yet made their final plans. I grant you, 90% of the weddings throughout the rest of the country only happen on Saturdays. However, this is the beach, and we’re open 24/7.
Now if you’re just reading this post for fun, you are more than likely saying “Ok Jason, there has to be more to this random day of the week weddings than just the beach never closes… What’s up?” Well sure there is. See, when a family rents a house in Nags Head (for example), they are usually looking at Saturday to Saturday or Sunday to Sunday for their stay. This means, families will arrive at their home away from home on Saturday afternoon and leave the next Saturday morning. When you look at it like that, it makes much more since why couples would choose to have their wedding in the middle of the week.
But which day? Now that’s the big question and the title of this post. Which day of the week should I get married? The short answer is… Whichever day you like. No one will judge. However, not all days are equal. Let me explain by asking a couple of questions.
First, is your family staying the week with you?
Are they in the same house as you?
Are you getting married at the house?
Is the reception going to be there?
Is this week going to also double as your honeymoon?
Here’s why I ask. If your family is staying with you, every so often we will have a family come down and stay for only a day or so. They will rent the house for the entire week and then once the ceremony is over, they will head back home and let the newly married couple have the empty house all to themselves for the rest of the week. If that’s the case, it’s nice to have the wedding closer to the beginning of the week.
Then again, what if you are getting married at, or having the reception in, the house? Well then, I grant you, it’s going to be cleaner at the beginning of the week. However, for all those do-it-yourselfers, it is nice to have a couple of days to rope your bridesmaids and groomsmen into helping finish and put up decorations for the big event. If that’s the case, later on in the week might suit you best.
If you are not having the wedding at the house, then you are probably getting married at a venue like Jennette's Pier or the Whalehead Club. If that's the case, then you have to go with whichever dates they have available.
Lastly, is this going to be your honeymoon? Honeymoons entail long days sitting in the sun, playing in the pool or ocean, and having an all-around great time. Honeymoons at the beach are amazing. But, having said that, from a wedding photographers standpoint, if you start the lounging on the beach in the days prior to the wedding, you will need to watch out for... well... sigh... Yes, Greg and I have seen many a bridesmaid, groomsman, bride, and groom, show up to the ceremony looking like a succulent buttered lobster (and no we will not be sharing photos here). If you want to spend a lot of time on the beach, we would definitely suggest having the wedding as one of the first things on the “to do list”. It’s nice to get it out of the way and then spend the rest of the time living up your honeymoon at the beach.
So enjoy your week, enjoy your wedding day, and enjoy your planning. And as you're planning, keep some of these things in mind. Here on the beach we don’t really have a special day set aside for weddings. Whichever day anyone decides to say “I do” IS a special day to us. We’re just glad we could be there to share it with them.
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