A Traditional Wedding at The Shoals Club in Bald Head Island, North Carolina

Alyssa Quinn (25, a lawyer) and Daniel (Dan) Quinn (25, works in finance) lived across the hall from each other during their freshman year at George Washington University. The couple was friends first before they went on their first date in 2006. Six years later, Dan proposed on the second day of Alyssa and his Charleston, South Carolina, vacation. “She looked stunning. Despite her protests caused by hunger, I made us take the longer, scenic route by the water at sunset,” says Dan. He went down on one knee as they approached Waterfront Park’s pineapple fountain. Alyssa and Dan had a traditional wedding accented with coral, gold and neutral tones on Bald Head Island, North Carolina, just one year and five months later. Both the town their families were directly included in the couple’s wedding. Alyssa was studying for bar exam during their engagements so different family members assisted in the planning process. They were wed overlooking the Island’s marshlands from The Village Chapel. Alyssa and Dan decorated the ceremony space with simple wicker baskets of yellow hydrangea hanging along the aisle. A panoramic view of the shore was then provided at the couple’s The Shoul Club reception and cocktail hour. Bringing a memory from their engagement into the celebration, Alyssa and Dan’s signature drink was a mint Julep: the first drink they had after their engagement, she says. The couple served a buffet dinner complete with pulled pork, fried chicken, shrimp and grits and fresh oysters. “You are My Sunshine” by Johnny Cash played during the reception for a combined mother-son and father-daughter dance. “My mother used to sing that song to my sisters and me when we were younger, so at the end of the song, she came out to the floor,” says Alyssa. “My dad, my mom and I danced together to the song.”