This gorgeous destination wedding with the best beach vibes at the Sanderling Resort in Duck, NC was photographed by Hannah Bjorndal on Monday, August 5, 2019. Hannah is an Outer Banks and Sanderling Resort wedding photographer. She is based in Washington, D.C. and available for weddings all along the East Coast, as well as nationally and internationally.

    

Becca and Tyler hold a special place in my heart. To start, we all grew up in the same small town: Beaver, PA. Beaver is a special place in and of itself. It’s a town where you can’t walk down the main street without seeing someone you know. Having lived in a bit city for a while now, there is something unique and lovely about home. It’s comforting to be with people who grew up on the same streets, went to the same high school, and know the same faces as you do. Even though I’m several years older than these two, we still have a ton of the same family friends! Case in point: Tyler’s mom is a singer and her band performed at our wedding! It felt like this magical full-circle moment to be at her son’s wedding, photographing the family!

During the summer after I graduated college, I worked at my home church in their youth program. Tyler and Becca has just started dating at the time and were in high school. It was during that summer that I got to know Becca, Tyler (and their siblings!) and have adored that sweet group of now-adults ever since! Becca is EXTRA special to me because she is also a photographer! We bonded in the years following my summer at First Presbyterian as she started to grow her own photography business (she’s amazing btw . . . you need to go check her out here!!!). I was beyond honored when she asked me to be a part of their wedding day. What a treat that the wedding was also in the Outer Banks at the Sanderling Resort!

So let me tell you about this crazy wedding day. There was a chance of storms as the ceremony was approaching, and we thankfully managed to squeeze in a first look and family photos early in the day. We started the ceremony a bit early as dark clouds started to form, and the rain seemed to hold off! Halfway through the ceremony, Debbie (amazing wedding coordinator!) pulled me aside and pointed out at the ocean. There was a WATER SPOUT (google it if you haven’t seen one before) swirling around right behind the ceremony! No one had any idea, but you can be sure I got a bunch of photos of it to show the couple later on! I loved seeing everyone’s reactions when I showed them a pic in the back of my camera! It thankfully did not end up raining until after the ceremony ended and it was such a fun story to tell later on!

Something that I can’t recommend highly enough that Becca and Tyler did: a day-after portrait session! It was actually TWO days after, at sunrise. Becca and Tyler chose to save the majority of their portraits for sunrise on the beach two days later, and as you can see from the gorgeous photos, it was an AMAZING decision! They felt so much less pressure during their day to get portraits (especially since it was raining!) and the morning session was SO relaxed and flexible. I am in love with the results!

There was so much to love about this day. My very favorites included their super sweet, private (and emotional) first look (I might have cried), Martha’s (officiant and all of our youth pastor) message to the couple during the ceremony, all the laughter during toasts, and, of course, their day-after sunrise session! I am beyond thrilled to share these with you!

Photographer: Hannah Bjorndal

Venue: The Sanderling Resort (Coordinator Debbie Norris)

DJ & Ceremony Musician: Jeremy Russell Music

Florist: Flower Girls OBX

Hair & Makeup: Becca Dinsmore Grimm (the Bride)

Wedding Invitations: Zola

Wedding Dress Boutique: Bridal Beginnings

Men’s Formalwear: Menguin

Wedding Dress Designer: Cristiano Lucci

Bridesmaid Dresses: Show Me Your Mumu