25 Years of Wedding Wow Factor: The Outer Banks Wedding Weekend and Expo is Coming Up!

Next weekend, Outer Banks Wedding Association is celebrating a major milestone – the 25^th year of its wedding expo events.

The 2024 Wedding Weekend & Expo will feature a 25^th Anniversary Kick-Off & Welcome Party at Jennette’s Pier on Friday, March 1 and the Wedding Expo at Kitty Hawk Pier House and Duck Woods Country Club on Saturday, March 2.

Outer Banks Wedding Association provides information, resources and access for nearly 200 local, vetted wedding and event professionals on the Outer Banks. Their member vendors are passionate about their careers in the wedding industry, and the association helps pull all the vendors together into a cohesive unit so that brides and grooms can find the information and vendors they need.

“We are like The Knot or Wedding Wire, but local and we know all of our members personally,” says Beth Conery, director of marketing and PR for OBWA. “We help connect couples planning any size wedding or event with vendors who are established in the area, reliable and work together.”

Through their website, their print magazine, Outer Banks Weddings, and the annual expo, the association is the face of the wedding business on the Outer Banks. Vendors in the association include accommodations, activities, apparel, spirits, beauty and spa, cakes, caterers, venues, planners, DJs and bands, equipment rentals, florals and décor, lighting, officiants, photographers and videographers, transportation and more.

The 2024 edition of Outer Banks Weddings will be unveiled at the Outer Banks Wedding Weekend and Expo. It always features photographs, stories and vendor lists from real weddings (locals and visitors) for the ultimate in inspiration. Outer Banks Weddings can be viewed or purchased online or picked up at locations around town. Click here to see where you can find it.  

Conery says there are around 1,300 weddings on the Outer Banks every year. As someone immersed in the Outer Banks wedding business, Conery has a wealth of knowledge about the wedding business on the Outer Banks. I asked her for top tips for couples in planning mode and here is what she said:

1. Booking local professionals is so beneficial. When you are planning from a distance, using someone who is familiar with the area as well as other local vendors will save a lot of stress in planning.
2. Attending the expo is an amazing way to save time planning while also providing the opportunity to meet vendors face to face, save money and potentially tour venues.
3. Hire a wedding planner. They will help make the entire process easier by ensuring couples are booking their vendors in the appropriate order and in a timeframe that will work! 
4. At least one year to 18 months is a great time to lock in your planner, followed by your venue, photographer and caterer. These are major players who cannot typically handle more than one wedding in a day. 

The Outer Banks Wedding Weekend and Expo allows you to meet the vendors from the magazine and website face to face. It also offers a chance to get special expo-only promotions, sample cuisine, talk trends and enter to win a Dream Wedding giveaway.

What You Need to Know

25^th Anniversary Kick Off & Welcome Party

Friday, March 1, 7 to 9 p.m.

Outer Banks Wedding Association and wedding vendors will be on hand at the kick-off party. There will be music, drinks, light hors d’oeuvres and door prizes. In light of the anniversary there, silver attire is encouraged. Ticket holders for this party get into Saturday’s expo events as well. VIP tickets will receive a VIP bag and two complimentary drink tickets.

Wedding Expo

Saturday, March 2, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Wedding vendors of every type will be on hand at two locations: Kitty Hawk Pier on the oceanfront at milepost 1 in Kitty Hawk and Duck Woods Country Club nearby in Southern Shores. There will be deals and discounts, samples and chances to meet the people behind the brands. To see the list of vendors, click here.

Tickets

General admission is $25, which includes the welcome party and the expo plus a tote bag for all your expo goodies and a copy of Outer Banks Weddings magazine. VIP tickets are $45 and include the Friday party (plus two drink tickets), expo admission, a VIP swag bag/tote with the magazine, and OBX Bride tank top, entry into the Dream Wedding giveaway and a drink ticket for the expo. Click here to buy tickets. 

Dream Wedding Giveaway

VIP ticket holders are entered to win a Dream Wedding Giveaway in the spring of 2025. The wedding includes the venue, photographers (engagement session and wedding), an officiant, equipment rentals, florals and décor, hair and makeup, apparel and jewelry and a night of accommodations.

All photos in the blog are by Kristi Midgette Photography

Now that spring is springing, there's a whole lot more happening on the Outer Banks in the coming month. To see a full list of events around town, see our Nightlife and Daytime events listings.