A second couple plans to marry on the Outer Banks despite flooded, impassable roads from a powerful nor-easter that will keep most of their guests away.
Read more Resilient couples marry on storm-battered Outer Banks despite impassable roads
At this wedding, everyone on Hatteras Island is invited, although no gifts are needed, a friend of the Virginia couple posted on social media.
“Just your presence is appreciated at the 5 p.m. ceremony Saturday at Frisco Woods Campground,” she said.
Road access to and from Hatteras Island remained closed Saturday, according to Dare County.
Parts of N.C. 12, the main road on the Outer Banks, remained closed between Pony Pens and the ferry dock on Hatteras Island Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service office in Newport/Morehead City.
“Up to 2 to 4 feet of inundation above ground level expected in low-lying areas near shorelines and tidal waterways,” NWS meteorologists said in a beach hazards statement. “Dangerous rip currents and large breaking waves expected in the surf zone.
“Low-lying property including homes, businesses, and some critical infrastructure will be inundated,” forecasters said.
That 9 a.m. update came despite good news from the N.C. Ferry Division, which reported that service from Ocracoke to the mainland resumed at 7 a.m. Saturday.
“While NC12 on the North End of Ocracoke remains closed and ferry service suspended, we are using our Hatteras ferries to carry NCDOT road equipment onto Ocracoke to help clear it!” NCDOT officials said on social media site X. “Once NC12 reopens, we will be able to resume regular service between Hatteras and Ocracoke.”
About 45 guests were expected Saturday at the Outer Banks wedding of Jayden Sink and Kimberly Laprad of Roanoke, Va.
Read more Ferry service resumes as NC flooding keeps some parts of OBX closed
That was before the nor’easter kept most of them on the other side of N.C. 12’s closure between the Marc Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe, the Island Free Press reported.
The Hatteras Island community responded when Alexia Wills, a friend of the couple, posted on social media about the couple’s situation, including the need for a new venue.
“They spent an insane amount of money planning this special day, just for Mother Nature to have other plans,” Wills said in her post.
Her plea prompted an outpouring of support and resulted in the campground wedding site.
“I can’t imagine why we wouldn’t help out,” campground manager Stacey Saunders told the Island Free Press. “This could be any of us.”
As an ordained minister, Saunders told the paper she will marry the couple.
During the storm Thursday, a Delaware couple was married at Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Instead of being betrothed on the beach, the couple exchanged vows under the pier due to wind gusts and intermittent rain. Cream-colored sea foam blew around “like large snowflakes,” the newspaper reported.
This story was originally published September 26, 2026 at 11:47 AM with the headline “Resilient couples marry on storm-battered Outer Banks despite impassable roads.”
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