I started my career in hospitality at the age of 15, working in a restaurant near my then home in Stony Brook, NY. I bussed tables, quickly working out of that into waiting then catering through high school. All the while paying close attention to the operations and what a very wise owner had to teach about taking care of people. He was in his 70's at the time and had been in the business since his early teens Almost instantly I knew I wanted a career in hospitality.
I went on to get a degree from The State University of New York on Hospitality Management. While at school I realized that owning a restaurant was not so much of what I really wanted to do. I liked the hotel side of things more, the planning. While in college I spent two summers working at Walt Disney World on the College Program the first summer and was invited back the following summer.
In 2000 I met my husband at college. We started dating and decided to relocated to this place called The Outer Banks. I had never been here before. It was love at first site. And we visited in January during a Nor'Easter and it was cold and the surf was huge. I knew I wanted to live here.
I began working at a resort at the Front Desk at first. About 2 years later I moved into the Sales Department and had my first contact with weddings. I was also responsible for some of the marketing and later took on more advertising duties, becoming the Marketing Coordinator. In 2006 I found my way back to Sales handling the weddings and found home! That was almost 4 years and over 100 weddings ago and I have not lost a single ounce of enthusiasm for each and every bride I meet.
My husband and I just celebrated our year anniversary recently. He thought the wedding planning "novelty" would wear off after our wedding... I think it only fed the fire!
I truly enjoy being a part of such a special occasion for people. To see it through the early wedding planning stages, and then actually seeing the event come to life, go smoothly and to see everyone so happy is what makes it worth it at the end of each day. To see Outer Banks Wedding pictures view our Gallery to find some more ideas in planning your Outer Banks wedding.
Jen and her husband Chris currently reside in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
Photo by: Brooke Mayo Photography
