First wedding held at Frying Pan Tower

FRYING PAN SHOALS (WWAY) — A Pender County mates became the archetypal mates to get joined connected Frying Pan Tower disconnected the seashore of North Carolina connected Saturday.

Audrey and Ben Black unrecorded successful Surf City but decided they wanted to get joined successful the mediate of the water much than 30 miles offshore and 85 feet supra the ocean.

“It was everything I’ve ever wanted, ever dreamed of,” Audrey Black said. “It was perfect.”

Frying Pan Tower was constructed successful the aboriginal 1960s to regenerate a U.S. Coast Guard lightship that was stationed successful Frying Pan Shoals for much than 100 years to assistance mariners navigate the shallow waters. The operation continues to assistance radical safely maneuver done the area. It is utilized for biology probe and serves arsenic a structure to a earthy ecosystem.

Richard Neal bought the operation astatine auction successful 2010 and established the 501(c)3non-profit FPTower successful 2018 to statesman restoring the structure. He’s dedicated to the ngo of restoring Frying Pan Tower to restore, protect and preserve the retired USCG airy tower.

Ben Black volunteered to assistance with the restoration of the operation successful 2020. Exactly 1 twelvemonth agone connected the time of the wedding, helium sat connected the helipad and prayed that his soulmate beryllium placed successful his life. Four days later, helium got a notification connected his telephone alerting him it was Audrey’s birthday. They had been bully friends for astir a decade, but they’d mislaid interaction and not spoken for years. He wished her blessed day and the remainder is history.

When Audrey suggested getting joined astatine Frying Pan Tower, helium was instantly sold connected the idea. At 7:20 p.m. connected Saturday, she walked retired onto the helipad for the astir peculiar day.

“My bosom skipped a fewer beats,” Ben said. “She was perfectly the astir beautifully stunning pistillate I’d laid my eyes on.”

To their knowledge, their wedding was the precise archetypal ever held connected the tower.

“It wasn’t needfully a contention to get retired determination to beryllium the archetypal by immoderate stretch, it conscionable truthful happened it worked retired that way,” Ben said. “To beryllium the archetypal to get joined retired determination is beauteous cool.”

Local Photographer Jeff Wenzel and his adjunct with Above Topsail Portrait Studio were charged with capturing the magic. Wenzel specializes successful portraits and scenery artwork of Topsail Island, but erstwhile Ben asked him to sprout their wedding, Wenzel was excited to sprout the one-of-a-kind wedding.

“To beryllium capable to seizure it, but much importantly for those images to beryllium seen by them, by their children by their relatives, by their friends it’s conscionable truthful important to maine to not lone seizure the communicative but for them to beryllium capable to show it and spot it,” Wenzel said.

Wenzel is moving connected the last product, but it is without a uncertainty going to beryllium a beauteous communicative told.

“This is precisely what we wanted, this is the cleanable mode to commencement things disconnected and for america to commencement our aboriginal together,” Ben said. “This isn’t the past clip we’ll beryllium backmost connected the operation for sure.”

For much accusation connected Frying Pan Tower, visit the website.