Real Wedding: Exley & Warren

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Sarah Exley & Derek Warren

August 21, 2021

Interview By Emily Moliken, Submitted by Lori Douglas Photography

Ceremony/Reception: Kitty Hawk Pier
Caterer: Hilton Garden Inn / Pier House Weddings & Events
Beauty/Spa: (hair) Glimmer
Coordinator: I Do OBX Weddings & Events
Cake: Sweet Coast Cakes | Florals/Décor: I Do OBX Weddings & Events
Officiant: Tony Joseph | Photographer: Lori Douglas Photography


Rekindling Old Flames
The marriage of Sarah and Derek Warren was one long in the works, the kind of on-and-off love story that makes girls hold onto withering prom corsages and boys reconsider perpetual bachelordom. However, a classic rekindling such as this —a second marriage for her, a first and only tying of the knot for him— with a twenty-first-century spin, an Instagram reunion, has brought together two families and two longtime friends. Sarah and Derek, once coworkers, dated some eighteen years ago. While it was a commitment that ultimately sent them their separate ways, it brought them back together. This time with five kids in tow, Sarah and Derek find themselves ready to spend their lives alongside one another, made official this past August.

A One-Stop-Shop
Sarah cannot recommend one guiding principle enough for an Outer Banks destination wedding: consolidation. So when searching for just the right person to bring all the details of their wedding together, Sarah was diligent in her online research. “I stalked everyone’s social media, looked at all of their photos and reviews; really made sure I liked their work before I even contacted them,” she shares, relaying how her detail-oriented nature comes with a confident expectation of professionalism from a wedding coordinator. As a result, Sarah and Derek felt entirely at home and cared for Mary, and Tony Joseph of I Do OBX Weddings and Events. I do care for the couple’s decor and floral elements, and Tony acted as the couple’s officiant. “Tony is so personable. It felt like we were old friends,” Sarah warmly recalls, pointing out how Tony used their story to create a personal, touching, and funny ceremony despite knowing the couple for such a short time. “It was tailored to us,” not a copy and paste affair.

Yours, Mine & Ours
The couple’s five children —three of Sarah’s and two of Derek’s— peppered the ceremony, filling a multitude of roles. “Our daughters were junior bridesmaids, our sons the ring bearers,” Sarah explains. At this wedding, as with most, the family was the central focus of this marriage, with a sense of the here and now characteristic of a blended family. Rather than a wedding in the sand, Sarah and Derek decided to marry on the Kitty Hawk Pier to accommodate guests of all abilities, a crucial tip for those looking for a beach wedding but with older guests who may struggle with off-roading to their seats. Another bonus of holding their wedding at the pier, “everything was so easy,” she breathes. The Hilton Garden Inn and, by extension, Pier House Weddings & Events provided the couple with “seamless service” that included catering, drinks, and bartenders to concoct and serve them, even beautifully wrapped to-go food sent to the couple’s wedding suite for a late-night snack.

A Little Outer Banks Magic
It’s hard not to gush about an Outer Banks wedding. With little to no help from coordinators, florists, and confectionaries, a soiree on this sandbar is sure to be beautiful and memorable due to the locale alone. This simple fact was not lost on Sarah, who cannot help but point out the small natural moments of their big day that made it so incredibly special. “It was raining ten minutes before the ceremony,” she remembers. Still, Mary reminded her of the fickle beach weather so famously pinned to the Banks. Sure enough, as she began to walk down the pier, the rain stopped, and the sun emerged as the couple recited their vows. “My family said they were looking at dolphins jumping behind us,” she laughs, acknowledging that as cheesy as it may sound, one can’t deny the extraordinary feeling of nature coming together for a moment to plant a kiss atop your head on such a day. An Outer Banks wedding comes to life in these details, unprocured, unplanned, and impossible of curating.

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