North Carolina-Outer Banks

Travel times - guest inconvenience

Hello! My fiance really wants to get married in front of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. We have done our research and know we can only have 25 people in attendance (including photog, us and officiant) unless we move it to the beach. My issue is regarding travel. 

We realize the road to Buxton can close due to weather but my question is actually regarding travel from the lighthouse to Nags Head. We would like to have the reception at a restaurant in Nags Head but I'm concerned that our guests will have a lot of driving to do the day of the ceremony. Most of the guests will be coming in from VA which is about a 3 hour drive to get to Buxton for the ceremony. Then they'd have to drive about an hour back to Nags Head for the reception to where their hotels will be. I'm having a problem with this and wanted to see if that's normal for the area. My fiance grew up in Nags Head and said it was a normal drive. I'm just wanting to make sure our guests aren't inconvenienced by possibly driving 3 hours to get to the site, then an hour backwards to the reception. Most of our guests (if not all) will be staying the night, our guest list is tiny, and we currently don't have the budget to rent a bus to shuttle our guests back and forth. 

Any thoughts and advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Re: Travel times - guest inconvenience

  • Most of us had our ceremony and reception either at the same place or within a 15-20 minute drive. It takes a solid hour like you said and that is a lot to put on your guests,. Who knows what traffic could be like. I would recommend doing everything in Hatteras or everything in Nags Head. You can find vendors in Hatteras or some that are willing to travel, at an added fee of course OR get married near the Bodie Island lighthouse, which is closer to Nags Head. As a guest, I would not want to drive all he way to Hatteras, then back to Nags Head for the reception. I would be exhausted, not to mention starving by then. Plus, you wil be taking pics after the ceremony, which means you will arrive about an hour after your guests do to the reception site,which is even more time they've had to wait. That is a long stretch between ceremony and reception time. If you and FI are firm on Cape Hatteras, then I would keep everything centrally located there. Hope this helps ;)

     

  • Agree with OBX (as I tend to do). Our ceremony and reception were at the same place, but I attended a wedding a couple of years ago where the hotel that the room block was at, the ceremony and reception were all over 30 miles from each other.. They did have a shuttle, but that was for after the reception back to the hotel, not sure what good that would do, how would you get back to the reception site the next morning?! But anyway.. with how traffic is in the OBX that time frame could increase.. what if you did a Trash the Dress, or other photos at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse? Not sure your thoughts on a first look, but maybe you could do that there, then drive some place in Nags Head for the ceremony/reception? Or do everything on Hatteras Island..
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • You both have proved what I already thought. It's a long hike regardless of when they come down. I'm not opposed to a first look or TTD. Or even simply having the pictures taken there. We were going to do our pics before the ceremony anyway. He grew up in the area and is super familiar with how long it takes to get to and from, but I'm not sure he thought about the guests who were possibly coming down for the ceremony and reception that same day - and 3 hrs from where we live is a long haul. 

    I was on the boards under a different name in 2008/2009 so I totally understand the issues but wanted to make sure my reasons for doing it elsewhere were valid. I greatly appreciate your input and verifying my thoughts about the whole deal. Thank you!
  • We visited both Bodie & Hatteras last weekend and decided to go with Bodie Island to keep everything in Nags Head. Thanks again for your input!
  • It's great that you had the chance to visit both sites and that everything worked out for you. The plus is that you'll have a wider range of vendors to choose from in the Nags Head area.

     

  • Where did you end up booking? Keep us updated! I miss wedding planning.

    OBX2011 - it looks like someone hacked into your account and gave you an awful avatar picture!
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • We're gonna go with the Bodie Island Lighthouse. It's going to be a small affair so no other vendors are really needed. Looking now for a restaurant to celebrate at after :)
  • Where did you end up booking? Keep us updated! I miss wedding planning.

    OBX2011 - it looks like someone hacked into your account and gave you an awful avatar picture!

    Hahahaaa!!! I was kinda concerned for a second and then realized what you meant.....Hehehehehehehe ;)

     

  • rox2112 said:
    We're gonna go with the Bodie Island Lighthouse. It's going to be a small affair so no other vendors are really needed. Looking now for a restaurant to celebrate at after :)

    Several of us would highly recommend Pamlico Jack's at MP 16 in Nags Head. You get the entire upstairs, that has a private bar and patio access, in this massive room with windows all around. It sits on the Soundside, so you get amazing sunsets......and some great photo ops as well! They are very easy to work with and their food is delicious!

     

  • OBX2011 said:
    rox2112 said:
    We're gonna go with the Bodie Island Lighthouse. It's going to be a small affair so no other vendors are really needed. Looking now for a restaurant to celebrate at after :)

    Several of us would highly recommend Pamlico Jack's at MP 16 in Nags Head. You get the entire upstairs, that has a private bar and patio access, in this massive room with windows all around. It sits on the Soundside, so you get amazing sunsets......and some great photo ops as well! They are very easy to work with and their food is delicious!
    Thanks for the suggestion! I think we might have something smaller than that though, with just a few of us going to dinner after. If we do decide for the full blown reception I will definitely keep them in mind! 

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