Raleigh Wedding Planner Magnolia Collective Plans a Surprise Ceremony in Coastal North Carolina
Meagan Culkin of Raleigh-based wedding planners Magnolia Collective pulled off a day full of emotional surprises for this Chapel Hill couple. Sam and Dave tied the knot at their dream venue, the Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Center in Beaufort, North Carolina, on Dec. 16, 2020. The surprise wedding ceremony that the couple didn’t expect to be able to have at that venue was a huge surprise after many bumps in the road while trying to plan during the pandemic. The Raleigh-based wedding planner, pulled off a surprise that the couple will never forget after the headaches of multiple postponements and planning hurdles they faced.
The couple first met a few weeks after Sam moved to Chapel Hill from Maui. They crossed paths at City Kitchen and bonded over photos of sunsets and fish, and have been together ever since. Sam, a former Division 1 athlete who swam for East Carolina University, is a passionate advocate for blood clot awareness after deep vein thrombosis nearly ended her life and her athletic career. Now, she wears a supportive stocking every day – a special blue one served as her “something blue!” (Read more about Sam in our sister publication, Chapel Hill Magazine!) Dave, who grew up living in countries all over the world, has called Chapel Hill home since the age of 14.
While on a family trip out west, after several years of dating, Dave proposed to Sam in Yellowstone National Park. They had just watched the geyser erupt from their hotel room overlooking the National Historic Landmark, and Dave asked if he could be Sam’s “Old Faithful” forever. “It was very special because we were with my family and I was lucky to have my mom and dad with me,” Sam says.
Magnolia Collective: Raleigh Wedding Planner
“If our wedding had been normal, I would have told you it was the easiest and least stressful experience of my life,” Sam says. “But then, [the pandemic] hit.” Planning a wedding during the first few months of COVID-19 was not an easy task, and disrupted all of the couple’s best-laid plans. They faced multiple cancellations and were forced to reschedule their event four times, while cutting down their guest list. Everything from their original wedding date to honeymoon plans had to be changed more than once. “I had pretty much given up,” Sam says. “Meagan Culkin, however, had NOT given up and she made it her mission to make my day special.”
Meagan of Magnolia Collective was determined to give the couple their dream day at a special venue. When she met the couple on their wedding day in Beaufort, North Carolina, what she didn’t tell Sam was that she had a big surprise up her sleeve.
Meagan secretly coordinated with the NC Watercraft Center, their original venue choice. The NC Watercraft Center isn’t a dedicated wedding venue – rather, they host only a few weddings every year. With the center closed due to the pandemic, Sam and Dave were disappointed that their choice of venue wasn’t an option. Still, they were prepared to tie the knot anyway. Meagan, however, managed to pull off plans for an intimate ceremony at the location of their dreams.
“There are no words to describe my appreciation for Meagan. She stood by me through four cancellations and surprised me completely with a beautiful ceremony in the Watercraft Center, knowing the importance it had to Dave and I. She kept me calm, even when I was a mess … [Meagan] was able to surprise me with our dream venue by convincing them to open up for just an hour and allow us a small private ceremony,” Sam says. “And when I say surprised, I had no clue. It was such a special moment and I am forever grateful for her.”
Surprise Wedding Ceremony by Magnolia Collective
Thanks to Meagan and team at Magnolia Collective, the couple was able to have the wedding they had dreamed of despite the hardships of the pandemic. Cool tones of blue and white gave the wedding the beachy feel that Sam wanted, as she’s an avid diver and loves the ocean. Magnolia Collective created a fun, coastal theme for Sam with candles and orchids that she expresses was “simply beautiful.”
Sam and Dave’s reception took place at Beaufort Grocery Co. with their intimate wedding party. “This is our favorite restaurant in Beaufort and was our original caterer,” Sam explains. “They were kind enough to open their restaurant for us to have a small reception of five.”
Hollie Lytle of Lytle Foto captured the couple’s special day. “Hollie is one of my oldest friends and she would have been a bridesmaid if she wasn’t a wedding photographer by trade,” Sam says. The flowers from Bill Hamilton Designs and wedding cake also came as a surprise to the couple. “My incredible wedding planner did not only surprise me with the wedding but she also made my delicious cake,” Sam says.
Sharing Vows by the Shore
Although the couple’s wedding was much smaller than they originally planned, the memories made on their special day will last a lifetime. They were thrilled to be able to say their vows at the venue they’d originally chosen despite the pandemic road-bumps. “Saying my vows in my dream venue in a very intimate ceremony was incredible,” Sam says, “but finding out that I was going to be married there after all the disappointment leading up to it was something I will never forget. I have never felt that much gratitude, love and happiness at once.”
Sam’s advice to couples is to “hire a wedding planner, they are worth every penny. … Meagan was my absolute savior.”
Sam works as the campaign manager for World Thrombosis Day. Dave is a project manager for a maintenance solutions company called TriClean. They currently split their time between the eastern NC town where they wed (Beaufort, North Carolina) and Chapel Hill, the town where they first met.
