Maggie and Mackey’s wedding is full of thoughtful details and meaningful moments. Inspired by the groom’s family history in his hometown of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, they decided to hold their wedding in town at The Carolina Yacht Club. Whitebox Photo captured the beaming couple and their classic navy and blush decor that was perfect for a southern wedding.

The Couple: Maggie and Mackey

The Wedding: 10.12.2013 – The Carolina Yacht Club, Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina

The Goals: We wanted everyone to really enjoy the entire experience from beginning to end with exceptional food, music and atmosphere. We also wanted the wedding to feel like “us” in a very detailed way.

The Design: We wanted a wedding that really represented us. Traditional, but unique. Formal, but relaxed. Elegant, but fun (and delicious). We also wanted to incorporate little unique touches that had special meaning to us as a couple and to our families.

Mackey’s mom’s family is from the Wrightsville Beach area. We got married at their family’s church downtown. A few years prior to our wedding Mackey’s mother had bells made in honor and dedication of his late grandparents. Right after the minister announced us married the bells rang in celebration. It was very touching to us both. 

The Carolina Yacht Club, where the reception was held, also holds a special place in our hearts. One of Mackey’s ancestors helped to found the yacht club in the mid 1800’s, and the family has been making memories there ever since. We have a tradition of sitting in the rocking chairs, and drinking some sort of whisky concoction while looking out over the ocean. 

I wanted the flowers to have major impact but I didn’t want them to look over-the-top. They needed to fit with the natural rustic setting at the yacht club so I decided to have small arrangements placed out over the long tables mixed in with candles and lanterns. The florists used beautiful silver antique trophies and julep glasses as holders. I glued a small white rope to the votives to give them more of a nautical feel. The cream and blush colors looked beautiful next to the gray wood at the yacht club. My father, stepmother and stepsister made the beautiful floral wreaths at the church and on the yacht club doors.

The linens and dishware were one of my favorite things to pick out. The dining room table linens were a burlap that had gold thread woven throughout. We had blush spotlighting on the tables that made the gold glimmer in the light. The flatware was gold and the plates had gold and navy accents. The mixes of gold, silver and blush with the rustic gray wood and the calming ocean views gave the area an elegant but relaxed atmosphere. The dance hall and other nooks at the yacht club had cocktail tables with either navy sequin linens or pearl inlay sheer linens, large candle votives wrapped in white rope, hanging edison string lights and gold glitter mason jars with hydrangeas. The overall effect ended up being very romantic.

Now for the best part! We are passionate about food! We live in Downtown Raleigh, NC which has quite the foodie scene and we developed our menu based on some of our local favorite dishes. There was Fried Chicken and Waffles, Tomato Pie and Beef Wellington. Sides of biscuits and cornbread, glazed brussel sprouts, fried okra and fingerling potatoes were served family style to encourage conversation and make the elegant table feel less formal. For dessert we had a table with lemon, whiskey and salted caramel cupcakes, mini blueberry and apple crumble pies, chocolate covered strawberries and mini “dirt/sand” cakes in little buckets with shovels, coconut milk cake with chocolate filling and vanilla buttercream frosting and fresh cinnamon sugar tossed doughnut holes.

The Look: My wedding look was one of the hardest things to pin down. Once again I wanted something traditional and elegant but that was also relaxed enough that I wasn’t restricted in anyway. I tried on about 15 dresses before I found the one I bought. The top was lace (traditional), the bottom was duchess satin (elegant) and it hit in just the right places. 

When it finally came in, I had a blush sash with pearls and rhinestones netted onto it sewn onto the dress and the back of the sash sewn into a pretty bow that buttoned into place. The unique touch made the dress perfect. I couldn’t have been happier with the end result. I wore ivory satin flats with a big satin bow on the toe. They were super adorable and comfortable ensuring that I could make it down the aisle in one piece and dance to my hearts delight. My hair was a last minute decision, but I was very happy with the result. I had it curled to one side with small pearl and rhinestone pins. At the beginning of the day it held tight and fit with the more formal atmosphere at the church, but by the time we were at the yacht club it had loosened up and became more playful and relaxed.

The Moments: Right after they announced us as married I remember feeling this huge sigh of relief. We made it and I could finally relax and enjoy the party! The band was pretty spectacular too, we danced the night away! Oh, and of course the photo booth. I can’t believe I almost forgot the photo booth, we had so much fun with friends and family goofing around.

The Advice: If you’re not picking a venue for sentimental reasons then try to stick with one that includes as much as possible. All of our vendors were piecemeal and it took a lot of work and organization to find, pick and negotiate with each one.

Our biggest planning success was that we got everything that we wanted without compromise. We had a long engagement which allowed us to book our vendors 1-2 years out from the wedding date.

The Wedding Team:

Photographer: Whitebox Photo
Event Planner: Charyl H. Williams of Social Butterfly Events
Ceremony Venue: First Presbyterian Church
Reception Venue: The Carolina Yacht Club
Videographer/Film Maker: Life Stage Films – see Maggie and Mackey’s wedding film here
Officiant: Dr. Ernie Thompson of First Presbyterian Church
Invitation Designer: Delphine Press
Catering: Pine Valley Market
Florist: Fiore Fine Flowers
Cake & Desserts: Samantha Smith of Sugar Island
Wedding Dress: Lea-Ann Belter via Traditions by Anna Bridal Boutique
Bridal Accessories: BHLDN (sash), Something Bleu Shoes (shoes), Anthropologie (earrings)
Bridesmaids’ Apparel & Accessories: Noir by Lazaro
Groom’s Apparel & Accessories: Bunberry Custom Clothiers (custom suit), Johnston & Murphy (shoes), Brooks Brothers (tie)
Groomsmen’s Apparel & Accessories: Brooks Brothers
Hair: Heather Cayton
Makeup: Makeup by Amy Kennison
DJ & Live Music: The Adrian Duke Project
Transportation: Wilmington Trolley
Lighting: High Performance Lighting
Photo & Video Booth: The Soapbox
Rentals: CE Rentals

Thank you Maggie and Mackey for sharing your wonderful wedding day with us!

Looking for more southern style nautical weddings? Katie and Jeremy’s Charleston wedding from photographer Caroline Ghetes is just perfect!