On October 25, 2025, Carter & Anna tied the knot at Cape Fear Country Club in Wilmington, North Carolina. Complete with floral aesthetics, hints of purple, and feathered bow ties, this wedding truly captured magical moments.
We recently had the opportunity to speak with the newlyweds about their wedding. Below is an inside scoop into how their wedding became such a special moment.
How did you & your partner meet?
“We were both born and raised in the same town, but never knew each other. We had a million mutual friends and met through them!”
What was your Wedding Inspiration?
“I really wanted to throw a modern twist on a country club wedding. Our wedding took place at Cape Fear Country Club, which is the oldest private club in North Carolina, so I knew it would be a challenge to make such an old traditional club have a modern vibe to it. I decided that dramatic and bold colors would help me achieve this look. We had black draping in our cocktail hour tent, with contemporary lounge furniture and funky floral arrangements. I decided on pops of purple and green because I feel like I never see purple in weddings and wanted to be different! This vision was essentially impossible to find inspiration pictures of online, so I really just had to trust my gut and my planner that it would turn out well!! We added a bright feminine martini bar draped in purple and it was such a hit!”
What was one piece of advice you took from wedding planning?
“If something goes wrong - you will be the only person to notice! Guests are just excited to be there and celebrate you and they do not know what you planned. Another big piece of advice actually came from my amazing wedding planner, Alex Noble (A Noble Events), when she told me to hire a photographer that I had a relationship with because you will be with your photographer more than anyone else. This was amazing advice and so true. Your photographer is with you from start to finish, and I’m so happy I had the pleasure of working with my talented friend, Katherine George (George Creatives) who made us excited and comfortable all day long.
What made you feel most confident on your special day?
“MY GIRLS!!! 🤍I feel unbelievably blessed to have the best friends in the world. I had eight bridesmaids who each represent a phase of my life - from preschool to life after college. Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to meet incredible women, and having them by my side all day meant everything to me. They were the ultimate hype girls, constantly cheering me on and making sure I felt stunning every single moment. There’s something so special about having the same girls stand by your side after you’ve stood by them on theirs. These women have walked with me through every stage of my life, and I’m endlessly grateful for each of them. I also had complete trust in my hair and makeup team. I’m so lucky to be friends with the team at Alice Lawson Salon - they absolutely crushed my glam and made me feel like the best version of myself.”
How did you choose your Brackish piece(s)? Was it a personal connection, for the aesthetics, for a unique touch, etc?
“My dad has had a Brackish bow tie for many years now, and I have always loved it. He even sported the Gatsby Bow Tie & Guinea 2.0 Pocket Square for our big day. When I envisioned our black tie wedding, I wanted all the groomsmen in classic black tuxedos, but I wanted my husband to stand out from them since I obviously stood out from my bridesmaids in my wedding dress. I thought a Brackish bow tie would be the perfect way for him to stand out, so we picked one out together; for we chose the River Wind Bow Tie. A small side story that is a big part of the bow tie: my husband and I went to a wedding four weeks before ours, where my maid of honor was also attending as well as her parents. Her dad was wearing the bow tie that my husband and I picked out for him to wear for our wedding day, and we talked to him about it. He kept insisting that Carter borrow his. Fast forward four weeks to our wedding week, and my husband brought home his tuxedo and bow tie from the local store we ordered everything through. It turns out they ordered him the wrong bow tie! Given that it was now Wednesday of our wedding week, I reached out to my maid of honor and her mom drove us the bow tie from 5 hours away and saved the day! Her parents were both attending the wedding but due to a work event, her dad wasn’t sure if he was going to make it (and if he did it would have been right at ceremony time). Long story short, he saved the day and we are so happy he had the Brackish bow tie we wanted!”
What story did you hope your wedding day would tell?
“The blending of two amazing families. From the very beginning, we hoped our wedding day would tell the story of our families coming together as one. We both feel incredibly blessed that our families live right around the corner from our home, which allows us to spend so much meaningful time together. Even more special, both of our dads were born and raised in the same small town and somehow never crossed paths, despite having mutual friends. That parallel feels so similar to our own story: we were both born and raised here, shared many mutual friends, yet never knew each other until the right moment. Since coming together, it’s been so fun blending our lives - sharing friend groups, merging circles, and watching our parents grow close. We’ve spent holidays together, shared countless dinners, and our parents have even traveled together. As someone who grew up with a small family, having our families mesh like this has meant the world to me. We’re so excited for all the memories still to come and for a lifetime of family moments shared together.”
What detail, big or small, took your breath away when you saw it on the wedding day?
“Our specialty bars!! We created a hidden moody bourbon bar in a tucked away loft rarely ever used at the club. The vibe at this bar was masculine and dark - we had leather chairs, a wooden bar, taxidermy, and black candles. We had rare and speciality bourbons up here that changed throughout the night. It was a very small “speakeasy” bar that served as an intimate getaway from the main party. We also created a girly and bright martini bar. I like to say the bourbon bar was for the men and the martini bar was for the women, but everyone enjoyed the martini bar. We took an unused, covered patio, and draped it in bright purple, added banquette seating around the perimeter, and had a custom painted green bar with black and white calla lilies on the front. We served dirty martinis that could be ordered the “bride’s way” with blue cheese olives, lemon drop martinis with an orchid garnish, and espresso martinis with toasted marshmallows on custom toothpicks with our monogram - this could also be ordered the “bride’s way” with a splash of baileys. These two areas were SO unique and came together so well. They created such a standout at the wedding and was a unique touch that had never been seen before at CFCC. I also have to mention that I loved the black draping in our tent with the modern white lights and the funky calla lily hanging arrangement. It was so bold and modern and was exactly the vision I had.”
How did each of you approach choosing your wedding day look? Did you lean into tradition, trend, or something more personal?
“For me, I absolutely did not want a traditional dress. I have been to so many weddings at this point, and I feel like I see the same dress over and over - simple, strapless, a-line gowns. I wanted something I didn’t see all the time, but outside of that I was pretty open. I always envisioned sleeves, but wasn’t set on them. I happened to come across this designer and dress on Instagram about two weeks after getting engaged. I looked into the designer and they were only in one store near me (out of all the surrounding states), so I reached out and paid to have it shipped to the store, drove to Charlotte, and started crying before the dress was even on me. For my husband, we wanted classic black tuxedos with a standout bow tie to separate him from his groomsmen and all the other guests at our black tie wedding. Brackish provided that perfect touch!”
If your accessories could narrate your style story as a couple, what would they say?
“Timeless, sentimental, and playfully personal. I wore classic diamond studs, a sapphire and diamond ring, and a tennis bracelet my dad gifted me for our first look - each piece layered with meaning and tradition. My husband wore a white-faced, gold-accent Rolex I gave him as a wedding gift, a refined nod to enduring style. While he had traditional cuff links planned, one of his groomsmen arrived without any, so he generously gave his away and wore a custom “fun” pair I had made with our dog’s face laser-etched on them. Paired with his Brackish bow tie, the look struck the perfect balance between classic and character-driven. Overall, our accessories may have leaned traditional, but they were filled with thoughtful, personal touches we truly loved.”
What song was a must-have on the wedding day playlist?
““You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC! One of my longest friends, who was also a bridesmaid, is very well known for her karaoke performance of this song. It’s the only song she sings and she has a whole routine that goes along with the performance. I wanted the band to play this and have her get up on stage to perform with them. I ended up on stage with her and it was such a fun, crowd pleasing moment we will remember forever!”
Cheers to the Happy Couple
We are so honored to have been a part of Carter and Anna’s monumental wedding day. Below are the other amazing people who had a hand in making their vision come to life!
Photography: @_georgecreatives | Venue: @capefearcountryclub | Coordination: @anobleeventsanddesign | Rentals: @partysuppliersandrentals @dpetc @whitebirchrentals | Draping: @marthamydearrentals | Lighting: @highperformancelightingnc | Videography: @lightcannonfilms | Florals: @designsbydillonnc | Reception Band: @power2party | Ceremony + Cocktail Music: @annestevensonstohl | Hair + Makeup: @alicelawsonsalon | Bakery: @littleloaf_ilm | Signage + Stationary: @designalamere
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