Setting the Date

brookemar

When considering a beach house wedding, do you all usually set your dates for during the week or weekend? At first we wanted a Saturday wedding, but since most rentals are either Sunday-Sunday or Saturday-Saturday, I'm realizing that won't work. Did you all have this same problem? Are people still willing to travel for a wedding mid-week? Thanks, Brooke

hibiscus118

Hi Brooke, We rented a Sunday-Sunday house and are having our wedding on Tuesday. The week we chose is also Labor Day so hopefully a lot of guests will have off on Monday to they only have to take 2 days off. We thought about doing the ceremony on Friday but a lot of people would still need to take off 2 days and by having it on Tuesday we can have a few days to relax and have fun with friends and family that will be staying the whole week! When we first started planning we were trying to take suggestions from people about when to do it. Now I just think they were a little annoyed we were doing a 'destination wedding' since they had to travel. So now that I set the date for a Tuesday, we're not sure who will be coming and who won't. But thats fine, the people who want to be there will be there. Laura

Bigwuhead

Our rental is Monday to Monday to accomodate for weekend weddings, however we are having ours on Thursday for a few reasons.This way people can make a long weekend of it.  And noone would ahve to get up the morning after and check out of their hotel/rental house.We also chose May, because it's NOT hurricane season and it's considered "off season" so the rentals are less expensive.  We are getting married the last full week/weekend BEFORE memoridal day.  The only people who have an issue are the ones with school age children obviously, which kids arn't invited to the wedding, so we undstand if some people can't make it, which in our families is only a handful of people.

kag627

We ran into the same problem.  I had wanted a Sat wedding but rentals make it tough.  We are encouraging family and friends to spend the week with us if they can, but wanted to make it possible for a long weekend as well.  We are planning a Sat rental with the rehearsal the night we check-in and the the wedding on Sun.  That way we can relax for the remainder of the week.  Myself and some of the bridal party are going to go down probably Thursday to set any final details that need taking care of before hand.  Keri

dawnchit

Hi Brooke,I had the same thought process for my wedding in Frisco back in April. Since the check out day was on Sunday we decided to have our wedding on Friday. I don't think it had any effect on anyone's decision to come or not to come. It worked out even better actually and we didn't have to rush to get out of the house.

goo_2563

LADIES!! I wanted to do a Saturday wedding, but our venue wasn't available, so we ended up choosing a Sunday, May 2nd. Rather than doing a Sat-Sat or Sun-Sun rental, or TWO weeks, (too much money) we went with Sun Realty, who has Freestyle Homes. Basically, you choose the dates. We got two houses, one from Thursday to Tuesday and the other from Wednesday to Wednesday. It ended up working out perfectly.Another option is to contact the home OWNERS and ask if they are willing to do a mid-week rental. The realty companies aren't quick to tell you this but it's a def possibility. ) 

kag627

Hi goo 2563, I was running into same problem and have asked a number of the realty companies about even renting a partial week leading up to our rental which is in Sept 2010...  How did you get home owner information to ask about altering to a mid-week rental??? Thanks, Keri

goo_2563

When I called Resort Realty, basically, they told me to choose a house or a couple houses, then call them and see if they can get in touch with the home owners. Nags Head realty said they sometimes have Friday to Friday rentals, but other then that, I don't think they do mid-week. If you log on to Sun Realty's website, go to Freestyle Homes and check out the ones they have, you can rent them for whenever and however many days you want. Good luck!! )

rachelc84

Our rentals were Sunday to Sunday and we had the wedding on Friday. It worked great. Yes most people had to take a full day off of work to attend the wedding, but then they got a three-day weekend at the beach. Plus we didn't have to rush out of the houses the day after the wedding. It took us two full days to clean the house up after the wedding, so we definitely needed the extra time.

LRPardy

We wanted a small wedding and picked a Wednesday because of the Sat-Sat rental issue.  My friends and family are willing to have a week's holiday in the Outer Banks especially since I am a Canadian marrying an American and won't be able to leave the US until my permanent residency is set so this will be the last time they see me for a while.  His side are mostly based in DC so if they can't take the time, we'll have a post-wedding party up there to allow them to celebrate with us.

Looking forward to the opportunity for everyone to get to know the area before and after the wedding.  The pre-ceremony days will be filled with prep so I am glad they will have four days after to enjoy the area.

b3cca21

Several real estate agencies have 4 day minimums and partial week stays in the off-season, so you can basically work it that way.  You could also try to find a place via www.vrbo.com which are private owners renting out their houses, and they will more than likely be flexible as well!

Good luck!!