Wedding Recap: The Black Stallion, Corolla
The Black Stallion in Corolla, North Carolina is a secluded oasis tucked away at the end of a private cul-de-sac in the gated Currituck Club golf community. The home features 20,000 square feet, 24-bedrooms (all but one with en-suite bathrooms), a grand bridal suite, pool, two kitchens, two hot tubs and even a built-in event space. Redefining luxury and comfort in Corolla, The Black Stallion makes the perfect wedding venue.
Now that our first wedding anniversary is right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to recount all of the wedding details. I get goosebumps reliving the big day and do not regret for one second selecting The Black Stallion as our wedding venue. The privacy, convenience, amenities and beyond far exceeded all my expectations.
Why The Black Stallion?
I knew even before Matthew and I got engaged that I wanted a small wedding. We got engaged in August 2020, right at the height of the pandemic, so the importance of a small wedding was exemplified by safety concerns for our guests. I read this post from Krista from Covering Bases about her small, backyard wedding at a home in Nantucket and knew immediately I wanted to do something similar.
My dream was to find a large house somewhere were we could all come and stay together and enjoy one another’s company. I knew the wedding day itself would be a whirlwind, so all staying in close proximity meant I would have a chance to talk with each of our guests. With this is mind, I started looking on VRBO and AirBNB to try and find a venue that could work for a fall 2022 wedding.
After a few weeks of searching, I found The Black Stallion a week after Matt and I got engaged. (Yes, I started planning before we were officially engaged. If you know me personally, this doesn’t come as a surprise.) I immediately knew it was the perfect venue, sent the links to my parents, and booked the venue, all within 24-hours. To say Matt was hesitant is an understatement, after all, we hadn’t toured a single venue at that point and had only been engaged for a week. However, Matt and I got engaged in Corolla, the house was exactly what I was searching for, and we were able to book the place for a COVID discount. It truly seemed like the perfect location for a state-side destination wedding.
Because we booked the home for November, we had a 7-night minimum. Matt and I along with both our parents checked in on Sunday to begin preparing for the wedding.
The Welcome Dinner
We invited all our wedding attendees to a welcome dinner on Thursday night at the house. Because the event space was the same we would be utilizing the next days for the wedding, we opted for two long rows of banquet tables with a buffet of brisket, barbecue, sides and all from Currituck BBQ in between. Matthew’s mom set up the space beautifully with checkered table cloths, centerpieces, signs and flowers. The Hawaiian shirts were an inside joke my mom surprised me with to try and relieve some of the pre-wedding anxiety.
The home has two bars on the bottom level, one in the event space and the other in the main common area. We put water, lemonade, tea, soda and beer on the bar in the event space and had a bartender at the other, larger bar serving wine and mixed drinks.
To kick off the welcome dinner, I had my parents and Matt’s parents trade off read The Art of Marriage. I originally wanted our parents to read the poem at the wedding ceremony, but with all the moving pieces of the ceremony, I wasn’t sure how to include. Instead, we had our parents read it to kick off the festivities of the wedding weekend.
The Art of Marriage
Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.
A good marriage must be created.
In the art of marriage the little things are the big things…
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say “I love you” at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time taking the other for granted;
The courtship should not end with the honeymoon,
it should continue through all the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude
of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation
and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience,
understanding and a sense of humor.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal,
dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.
It is discovering what marriage can be, at its best.
I had my hair and makeup trial scheduled for the afternoon of the welcome dinner so I didn’t have to worry about getting ready. The hair stylist did my wedding updo and then took it down and did a classic ponytail for that night. Unfortunately, my makeup artist had a unexpected emergency and was unable to do my makeup for the trial or the big day. My best friend stepped in to do my makeup for the welcome dinner, and then an amazing makeup artist stepped in last-minute to do my wedding makeup.
The Room Set-Up
Our guests stayed at either the house or at the Hampton Inn & Suites less than three miles away. For anyone staying in the house, we assigned rooms with priority given to elderly family members. Regardless of where guests were staying, we provided welcome bags with a bottle of Cava, champagne flutes, personalized tumblers, snacks and more.
The venue also has a separate grand bridal suite that allows privacy for the bridal party to get ready away from the main house. We had hair and makeup come to us for the day of the wedding and there was plenty of space in the suite with a private bathroom and even a balcony.
The WEDDING CEREMONY
The ceremony was set up on the main level in front of the grand fireplace and followed by cocktail hours and the reception on the bottom level. For the ceremony, we used chairs from the nearby dining area and kept the decor simple with lanterns from Ikea, candles and a eucalyptus garland, rose petals and a ceremony piece from Bouqs. Prior to the ceremony, Matt and the groomsmen congregated in the media room just beyond the main entrance and the bridesmaids and I were on the third floor just beyond the spiral staircase. When it was go-time each of the bridesmaids walked down the spiral staircase and to the fireplace.
The Wedding rECEPTION
Cocktail hour followed the ceremony on the bottom level of the house, just outside of the reception space. The common area space is already equipped with high-top tables and multiple seating options, so it was the perfect area for guests to enjoy then open bar and passed hors d'oeuvres of bacon wrapped scallops and bruschetta.
In addition to the open bar, we also made personalized shot glasses and filled them with margarita for guests to enjoy as they made their way to their table for the reception.
The reception itself was in the same space as the welcome dinner from the previous night, but we switched out the banquet tables for five round tables and added in a sweetheart table. The event room is amazing because it has a separate entry door to the catering kitchen
While I don’t have a picture of the food, I did want to say that we used Steamers for our wedding caterer and absolutely loved our experience. They set up in the back corner of the room, just outside the kitchen and brought Matt and I drinks and plates with a little bit of everything. We had a difficult crowd to feed with a mixture of gluten-free, dairy-free and additional food allergies. The owner and chef, Chris Braswell, was a pleasure to work with and helped us to make sure everyone was taken care of.
We knew we had to pay tribute to the Outer Banks and had an assortment of Duck Donuts along with gluten free cupcakes and the most delicious wedding cake. We chose a simple, two-tier chocolate cake with a strawberry jam and champagne butter cream for the wedding cake and utilized fresh flowers and eucalyptus from our ceremony piece to make it even more special. My sister-in-law owns Into the Mixing Bowl and absolutely crushed the cake! She also made Matt a spice cake with Bailey’s butter cream for his groom’s cake we enjoyed at the welcome dinner.
Corolla Wedding Vendors
Venue: The Black Stallion
Officiant: Pastor Jim, Corolla Chapel
Hair: Lovie’s
Makeup: Southern Blush Beauty
Spray Tan: Hairoics
DJ: Coastal DJ
Caterer (Rehearsal Dinner): Currituck BBQ
Caterer (Wedding): Steamers
Rentals: Ocean Atlantic Rentals
Other Vendors:
Dress: Lillian West, Ashley Grace Bridal
Veil: David’s Bridal
Heels: Sarah Flint
Flowers: Bouqs
Cake: Into the Mixing Bowl
Photographer: Muse Photography
Pro-tip: If you use Bouqs, set the delivery date for at least 3 days in advance. They forgot to ship half of the flowers, so it was a last minute scramble to get everything in time.