Reception at beach house

nikki.elman

Hello there! We are getting married in Aug 2013 and are looking in to renting a 7-10 room house to hold our reception at. My question is for everyone in the same position, how are you all setting up your reception? We are having about 30-40 people. Also is anyone else having family pay for a portion of the house? Thanks!

llilley

Hi! My parents rented Gertrude's Breakaway for our wedding week and we had the reception in the yard there under a tent with cocktail tables on the 2nd and 3rd story decks. It worked out wonderfully. My parents paid for the house and then offered the rooms to family members at cost (and, of course, not including the event fee). We easily filled up all the rooms and we had a lot of fun staying with our families mixed together. (Actually, we had so many people that my parents also rented Belle of the South which was just 3 houses away and we filled that house for the whole week, too.) Staying in the house for the week was about as expensive for a hotel room just for the weekend of our wedding (Memorial Day weekend) so it was a good deal for everyone!

ashley2516

Hi!  We have rented Wild Horse for our wedding and reception.  It's a bit larger than what you're planning on getting, but we are setting up a cocktail hour on the decks around the pool and the reception in a large room in the house.  We are also having whoever is staying at the house for the week, split the cost of the house.  We just took the total rental cost (minus the event fee) and divided that by the number of bedrooms in the house.  I think it ends up being about half the cost of what it would be to stay at a hotel, and it's much, much nicer than a hotel.  I'm really excited to have all of our friends and family staying with us for the week!

OBX2011

Welcome and congrats!

You will more than likely have to end up renting an "event home" in order to have that many people in the house.  Most of the brides have either had the party on their deck or around the pool area, or even both, so make sure you find a home that has a large enough area to accommodate everyone.  Have you been able to find a home yet?  If not, there is a list of rental companies through the OBX Wedding Assoc site at  www.obxwed.com and this will also provide you with a complete list of other vendors such as photographers (the good ones go fast so don't wait, same with officiants), DJ's, caterers, etc.  And of course, we are always here to help.

AbbyFern405

Hi we are planning a wedding in Outer Banks June 2013. We want a beach wedding with a small reception at a beach house we plan on renting. I don't want to spend a ton of money since we plan on a big reception when we get home. I don't want a sit down dinner but just thinking appetizers, wine, cake and dancing with maybe a Bon fire. Any suggestions on table rentals or catering that won't blow our budget?? Thanks!!

OBX2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina-outer-banks_reception-at-beach-house?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:598Discussion:67961816-333f-4b08-bbe2-304aa161c98fPost:60a711cd-3229-4c5b-96ea-e56fdb3d6624">Re: Reception at beach house</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi we are planning a wedding in Outer Banks June 2013. We want a beach wedding with a small reception at a beach house we plan on renting. I don't want to spend a ton of money since we plan on a big reception when we get home. I don't want a sit down dinner but just thinking appetizers, wine, cake and dancing with maybe a Bon fire. Any suggestions on table rentals or catering that won't blow our budget?? Thanks!!
Posted by AbbyFern405[/QUOTE]

Congrats!  How many people are you planning on having?  That will determine whether or not you can just have a very small reception at your beach house or if you do in fact need to rent an event home.  The rule of thumb is that you are allowed as many guests as the home sleeps, so if it can actually sleep 20, then you cannot have more than 20 guests.  A great place to look for caterers, vendors, etc. is the outer banks wedding assoc. as they are devoted to weddings in the obx and all that goes along with it.  The site is <a href="http://www.obxwa,com" rel="nofollow">www.obxwa,com</a>. 

I used Coastal Provisions and it was delicious, but we did a sit down dinner, so it was pricey in the long run.  Rental companies are either Ocean Atlantic or Metro Rentals. 

Here's the bummer.....no open fires on the beaches, unless you get a permit AND are at a designated area.....typically not in front of beach homes though, so that could be tricky with the reception and all.  In all my 24 years of going there, I have never ever seen a bonfire on the beach. The sand dunes are protected and no one is supposed to even walk on them (hence the signs that no one seems to bother to read) b/c the sparks could set a fire to the sea grass and then there is a major fire close to a residential area. Not a good combo at all.

Is your date set?  If not, consider doing something in May b/c the rates are a lot cheaper then since it's not considered peak season when the prices soar and the weather is still warm, just not hot,,,,which is nice for you and your guests.

Again, congrats and let us know if you have any questions!

AbbyFern405

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina-outer-banks_reception-at-beach-house?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:598Discussion:67961816-333f-4b08-bbe2-304aa161c98fPost:cfd0a09a-4888-4130-9360-e83f1a86f4b5">Re: Reception at beach house</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Reception at beach house : Congrats!  How many people are you planning on having?  That will determine whether or not you can just have a very small reception at your beach house or if you do in fact need to rent an event home.  The rule of thumb is that you are allowed as many guests as the home sleeps, so if it can actually sleep 20, then you cannot have more than 20 guests.  A great place to look for caterers, vendors, etc. is the outer banks wedding assoc. as they are devoted to weddings in the obx and all that goes along with it.  The site is <a href="http://www.obxwa,com" rel="nofollow">www.obxwa,com</a> .  I used Coastal Provisions and it was delicious, but we did a sit down dinner, so it was pricey in the long run.  Rental companies are either Ocean Atlantic or Metro Rentals.  Here's the bummer.....no open fires on the beaches, unless you get a permit AND are at a designated area.....typically not in front of beach homes though, so that could be tricky with the reception and all.  In all my 24 years of going there, I have never ever seen a bonfire on the beach. The sand dunes are protected and no one is supposed to even walk on them (hence the signs that no one seems to bother to read) b/c the sparks could set a fire to the sea grass and then there is a major fire close to a residential area. Not a good combo at all. Is your date set?  If not, consider doing something in May b/c the rates are a lot cheaper then since it's not considered peak season when the prices soar and the weather is still warm, just not hot,,,,which is nice for you and your guests. Again, congrats and let us know if you have any questions!
Posted by OBX2011[/QUOTE]

<div>
</div><div>We are looking at June 6, 2013 right now. We are looking into event homes since my and my fiancee's families are very large. We are expecting anywhere between 75-100. Thats why we are looking into the event homes. I'm ok without the bon fire, but I guess I'm having a hard time determining if we need an actual sit down dinner since we are doing a big receptiion just weeks after the wedding in our hometown or if just appetizers, DJ, and cake is sufficient. I still want a "wedding" without spending a ton of money and not just a "ceremony" if that makes ANY sense! We are doing a pretty big celebration in our hometown on June 28, 2013 but I don't know if guests will be expecting something bigger since the actual wedding is in NC. Sooo confused and stressed!!</div>

jendem8

Congrats!  As far as caterers go, we used Kelly's; they did an excellent job and were pretty reasonable - especially since they include everything that you need (tablecloths, silverware, glassware, plates, etc.).  But again, we did a sit-down dinner so it certainly wasn't free.  If you talk with them or other caterers about where you want to be budget-wise, most will help you choose items accordingly. A lot of the cost typically goes to staffing though, so it's a small wedding you won't need nearly as many cooks or servers.

If you're interested in bonfires, you can usually have them on Hatteras Island... unless there's a drought.  We always vacation in Avon and have gone to several bonfires, but we had our wedding on the beach in South Nags Head with the ceremony in Manteo for convenience.  My heart is still in Avon though as it's much more tranquil on HI.  The reason we didn't go for Avon is that vendors aren't as plentiful down on HI, so that can be a drawback. 

Good luck!

mandafite821

I was about to say the same thing Jen did above.  You can have a bonfire on the beach, but only in Hatteras.  You also could look into sound front homes as well to save some money.  We had our wedding and reception at a sound front home with a private beach in front of the sound.  The night before we had a huge bonfire, and everyone had a blast.  Ours was also in Hatteras.  Good luck planning!

Frisco62213

The Love Boat in Hatteras!!!

ksmith336

We are looking for an affordable ocean front or sound front beach house, where we can have a small wedding on the beach in front of it, and the reception at the house on the pool deck/porches.  (In NC or SC) Any suggestions?