An Aperol Spritz Wedding That Poured Italian Summer onto the Outer Banks

A Closer Look

Crystal and Anthony's wedding was an Italian summer that happened to land on the Outer Banks. The palette came straight out of an Aperol Spritz in juicy citrus orange, golden yellow, soft peach and amber. Southern Hospitality Weddings & Events splashed it across the florals, the bridal party, the tables and the signature cocktails at The Black Stallion in Corolla.

The ceremony went bright from the start. Before a tall green hedge, Renee Landry Flowers & Rentals piled roses in orange, yellow, peach and pink atop white pedestals and let green amaranthus tumble from each. Crystal wore a strapless gown with a full overskirt and a long veil with "I love you my sunshine" written across it in white script. On a day this golden, nothing else would have fit.

Then her bridesmaids turned up looking like a sorbet case. Mismatched gowns in butter yellow, peach, orange and floral prints mixed sleek satin with tiered ruffles, and each woman carried a single rose wrapped in long peach ribbon. Crystal's bouquet gathered every one of those shades into one big armful. Anthony held his own in a sand-colored three-piece suit with an orange boutonniere.

Cocktail hour fizzed around a spritz tower by the pool. Dinner was one serpentine table that snaked across the backyard and followed the curve of the lawn beneath strings of glowing Edison bulbs. Patterned yellow linens met pink napkins, cabana-striped menus and orange table numbers with wavy edges. Low compotes of orange and yellow roses kept the color going from one end of the table to the other.

Later the party took over a checkerboard dance floor on the grass. On the way home, guests grabbed souvenir matchbooks that printed Corolla and the Outer Banks under the couple's new name, The DiMarcos.