Planning an OBX wedding

jenandtim828

Hi everyone:)
I am new to the knot and my fiance and I just got engaged. We have always known we want an OBX wedding. We are planning from New Jersey so it's been alittle difficult to research vendors. My fiance's family owns a home in Corolla, and we have been looking at the Sanderling, that is our number one choice.
If anyone has any suggestions for planning our wedding I am open to everything.
Thanks everyone, I'm looking forward to hopefully talking with you!

Jen

rglasgow

Congrats!! I am from Jersey as well and have been planning for over a year now(we had a very long engagement), and the wedding will be next Sept 18, 2012.  Jendem gave a lot of great info the two websites she said to check out are awesome for info! 
You already have a house so at least that part is covered, that can be very stressful! 

Also not to beat a dead horse, but everyone on here is really great at responding to posts and helping out alot with big decisions as well as the little details...

Soooo.. when is your date? and what are your colors, or have you not even thought about that yet?!? 

OHH and where in jersey are you?

jenandtim828

Hi Jen and rglasgow, thank you so much for your posts. We are in South Jersey in Voorhees, and my Fiances entire family is from Pittsburgh. We dont have a date yet, we just heard back from the Sanderling that they do have some available Saturdays for us to choose from. We are both teachers so a summer wedding makes it easier for us, we are hoping for July or August 2012. Jendem-I am going to check out all of your vendors!
If you dont mind me asking, is there a specific reason you didng go with Sanderling? I rememeber seeing Budleigh on a website and adding it to our list.
Thanks again girls! I will let you know/ask for more help when I know more about our day!!

jendem8

I'm a teacher too!  :-)  High school social studies.  It's funny that your fiance's fam is from Pgh... we have a lot of PA brides/grooms on this board.

So we were engaged at Christmas, and I started planning right away. I loved the Sanderling. However, I think that I orignally thought that our wedding would cost a lot less money than it really will, so I thought that the Sanderling's prices were too high (especially for food - I think the "food/drink minimums" freaked me out a bit).  Like I said, I'm not set on a caterer at the moment and I'm not sure how many of the people I've invited will actually attend, but I think that I will still end up with a slightly better deal on the food/alcohol end.

I am very happy with my choice.  My mom, MOH, and I went down to scope out some vendors last January.  From the second we walked into the Budleigh, we all fell in love.  I do really like that I can get my own caterer and bring my own alcohol.  The Budleigh also helped frame the feel of my wedding (mixing the fun/casual feel of a beach ceremony with the elegant feel of the reception); it guided me in picking my dress, my bridesmaids' dresses, and the decor. 

To each their own though.  I know that I would have been beyond thrilled with a wedding at the Sanderling too!

Phillyboy06

@JenandTim Welcome to the board!  My FI and myself just literally got back from the OBX about 2 hours ago.  Guess what.  We are in the process of booking The Sanderling for our September 2012 wedding. :-)  We toured the Sanderling on Tuesday and my FI already was in love with it, but after looking at it and seeing where we would have our ceremony on the beach, I just pictured everything and fell in love with it too(I was on the fence).  The next day we looked at where I wanted to have our wedding, The Whalehead Club. While impressive, I liked the Sanderling much better. The Sanderling offered us much more and we only have 40-45 on the guest list so we are going with their Elopement package.  It's a great package.  We looked at the Life saving station on their grounds where the reception would be at, and it's just perfect for us.  Let me know if you need any other questions about the Sanderling answered.  Would be more than happy to answer. 

Everyone on here is FANTASTIC to bounce things off of.  I am the only groom on the board, and happy to answer any ?'s guy related too. 

Carygirl14

If you can manage to come down to the OBX for a weekend I would recommend going to the EXPO.  It's in Jan (6-8) 2012, but the main part is on Sun the 8th.  All the caterers, florists, and other vendors will be there for you to meet and see if they match your personality/style.

jenandtim828

Hi everyone!
Thanks for your posts! We have finally gotten a list of vendors togethar and plan on going down in Oct to meet with them. Here is what we have so far for reception vendors:
Sanderling Inn
108 Budleigh
Adrianas
Inn at Pamlico Sound
Currituck Club
Elizabethan Gardens

We wanted the Whalehead club originally but were turned off by the idea of having to rent bathrooms for our guests. our number one choice now is the Sanderling. We are looking at around a 100 person guest list, but after seeing the estimate Im not so sure its going to happen.

I hope we are able to fall in love with something when we go down in Oct.
Thank you everyone for your inputs, I will take them all very seriously when considering our wedding venue.
@Candy-I think we are going to be in OBX the week between Christmas and NYE. We are both teachers and Im not sure we can come back the next weekend but it sounds great, maybe my MOH can head down with me-thanks!

OBX2011

Hi Jen and welcome!  I was just married this past Friday...ceremony on the beach and reception was at 108 Budleigh.  If you are on the FB Knotties group, I posted a few pics from the wedding and there are a couple of Budleigh as well.  Pics are slowly starting to trickle in from guests, so as I get them, I will be adding to help provide insight & inspiration from our wedding day.

Just like JenDem....I too fell in love with Budleigh when I walked in.  It is absolutely gorgeous and I just knew that THIS was the venue I could see our friends & families dance the night away too. 

Whichever venue you choose...you have definitely made a wonderful choice by getting married in the OBX!!  I have been there all my life and still have family in the area, so if you have any random questions along the way, myself as well as the others will be more than happy to help you out!

This truly is the best board on TK

Carygirl14

Jen and Tim,

Budleigh is gorgeous.  I looked at it myself two weeks ago.  Just keep in mind-if you're traveling from Corolla in the middle of the summer on a Saturday traffic will be HORRIBLE.  I used to work in Duck and it took people up to two hours sometimes for travel.  You may want to stick closer to the Duck/Kitty Hawk area.  (The Hilton Pier House would be an option)

You should also check out The Pointe.  It's over the bridge, but it's not too far from Duck.  They have three rooms that flow into one another.  It's a golf course, so you look out over the lawns.  They do require that you use them as a caterer, but I've heard the food is good.  They were the most reasonably priced place I looked at, but it depends on what sort of look you're going for.  I ended up booking Jennette's Pier in Nags Head.

keb2482

Hi Jen and TIm,

This is way late on this post, but if you are looking for Duck, check out the Saltaire House too.  We considered them and you can rent the place for only four days to house overflow guests, since you already have a house.  I thought the pricing was pretty fair considering what you get.  I think tables, chairs, etc is all included.  We opted for 108 Budleigh because my parents can't stand the trek up to Duck and Corolla on Rt. 12.  Good luck in your planning!

Wolfie646

Hi all, new to the board myself - first, jendem8, I'm getting married the day after you and using Rev Jay and Renee too  

Second, JenandTim, I decided to go with The Sanderling - I, like Phillyboy, fell in love the moment I pulled into the parkin lot and stepped on the beach>  Its great that that you can get married on the beach, and then just walk across the street with everyone for the reception on the beautiful the sound.  Yes, it can get a bit pricey, but my mom and I worked it out and in the end for us it would come out to be equal to or less than having the wedding I wanted at a private home.  I also have to agree with keb on the Saltaire - my fiance's parents are renting the house and we are hosting the rehearsal dinner there around the pool.  The rental comes with all the chairs, tables and china, so its a good place to check out.  Plus Ron who owns it is super nice and eager to help in anyway he can.

Good luck on planning.  One word of advice I learned, pick up the phone and call all vendors rather than send emails.  I found everyone responded much quicker to voicemails over emails!

rkirby236_18357345

You have got to call 11th Hour Events and talk to Rachel! She is wonderful and will give you honest advice. She is a great wedding coordinator! They have 2 reception locations on Roanoke Island and they do "all inclusive" weddings.  They can also work with your budget and travel to you and do the wedding at your location of choice.  We were so happy to use them for our wedding.Her number is 252-473-500011thhourevents.com

Buckigirl67

Hello Ladies

I am trying to find the group for OBX Knotties on FB and I have tried all sorts of different searches and am unable to locate it. Is it still an active group?

A Zen Planning Bride to be,
Denise

Buckigirl67

Hello Ladies

I am trying to find the group for OBX Knotties on FB and I have tried all sorts of different searches and am unable to locate it. Is it still an active group?

A Zen Planning Bride to be,
Denise