Grande Ritz Palm, Duck, NC

kasey124

I saw pictures of the Grande Ritz Palm in Duck, NC and fell in love with it!   I am not even engaged yet but I know it is coming in the next few months!  After seeing all of the stress that my friends have gone through planning weddings, I decided I want to have a huge head start and get as much of the planning out of the way as soon as possible!!  When I showed my boyfriend this place he was so excited!  After realistically thinking about it I mentioned to him it may be a little pricey.  After being together 6 years, I cannot remember the last time I saw him look so sad and disappointed!  

There will probably be around 125-150 people at the wedding and reception.  I think that the Grande Ritz Palm only accomidates 100ish.  I am not sure if it is a good deal or if it is expensive depending on what is included and what I would have to still buy (as far as the reception goes)??  We would like to rent a place for a week. We would also like  We were thinking we would have a pool party Thursday, Rehearsal Party Friday and wedding and reception Saturday.  Honestly, I have no idea what price range we are looking at.  We also would like a place where all of our guest could stay nearby.

We both really want a place like this.  We want an outdoor reception and wedding and a place like this seemed absolutly perfect.  Does anyone have any suggestions on any other event homes?  Does anyone know anything about the Grande Ritz Palm?  

Thank you so much!!

OBX2011

Hello and welcome!

I know somewhere in this forum, there was discussion on the GR Palm...it may be on page 3 or 4 by now.  This house is gorgeous and the pics you see of the wedding on the rental page is the owners daughter that got married there 2 years ago.

Are you firm on an event home?  Just curious b/c as you said, GR Palm is one of the few that can accommodate over 100 guests but it also can mean extra expenses such as table & chair rental, tables for food, lighting, a tent as a back-up rain plan, etc.  The costs for an event home can add up very quickly.  I really wanted to do this as well but when it came down to the bottom line, it was way out of our budget and a venue seemed like the best way to go.  If you do go with this home, you have made a fabulous choice!

There is another home that just came to mind, but I will have to search for it.  Once I find it, I will let you know.

Have you set a date yet?  Keep in mind that most homes turn on Sat or Sun and do you want to get married one day and turn around and check out the next?  No, you don't.  Trust me....you will appreciate having the day after to relax and unwind.  We rented a Sun-Sun home and had a Friday wedding so that we could relax on Sat and take our time packing up.  Just something to consider and a lot of our guests came down Friday morning and made a long weekend of it. 

Let me dig around in some of the old discussions to see what I can come up with for you

Also try the outer banks wedding association at: www.obxwa.com for a complete list of venues, homes and vendors in the area.  Hopefully this will help you narrow down a place.

P.S.  Are you at all open to the 4x4 area?  There is a perfect oceanfront home there, but it's 4x4 only....which means your guests will need a 4x4 or you will have to rent a bus to transport everyone.  I can help with that too if interested....some friends of ours own the bus that goes on the 4x4 areas

OBX2011

The Ascension Home in Duck is amazing and right up your alley

http://hitchedhouse.com/photo-gallery.html

In case either of these end up being out of your price range, keep in mind that there are plenty of gorgeous homes to choose from that will accommodate all of your guests....and may be a lot cheaper too!

hibiscus118

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina-outer-banks_grande-ritz-palm-duck-nc?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:598Discussion:cb06844c-9f78-4ea8-9919-1c846d144426Post:acbfb04a-a1b1-4688-85dc-0350ae10f5a7">Re: Grande Ritz Palm, Duck, NC</a>:
[QUOTE] Have you set a date yet?  Keep in mind that most homes turn on Sat or Sun and do you want to get married one day and turn around and check out the next?  No, you don't.  Trust me....you will appreciate having the day after to relax and unwind.  We rented a Sun-Sun home and had a Friday wedding so that we could relax on Sat and take our time packing up.  Just something to consider and a lot of our guests came down Friday morning and made a long weekend of it.  Posted by OBX2011[/QUOTE]

Ditto this!  If you go the event home route, or heck even if you don't, it's definitely wise to plan an extra day just to relax and unwind.  We had our wedding early in the week because we wanted the end of the week not to worry about wedding stuff.  We definitly didn't want to pack up and head out the next morning either.  It was bad enough packing up and leaving 5 days later :)

Also we combined the pool party with the rehearsal dinner.  It wasn't really a rehearsal dinner per say. We had the reheasal out on the beach with the bridal party before all of our guests came.  We called it a "welcome BBQ," and people went swimming had fun :)

WedOBX2012

Welcome!  We checked out the Grande Ritz Palm as well but it was out of our price range for 2012.  It's $15K and while it includes some "rentals" there was still a bunch more that we needed to buy to make it work.  Also, not sure what "set up" was provided.  We anticipated that parking would be an issue (especially in Duck) and we wanted a back yard receiption too but GRP doesn't actually have a back yard so reception would be poolside.  That concerned me as there was no room for a tent in case of rain and it would be a shame to have the reception indoors as nice as the house is:(  Loved the private beach (even though it was soundside) but there isn't too much room beyond the chairs for the ceremony (you might get wet!).  Also liked that this was a Friday to Friday rental which helps with check-in/check-out beach traffic.

I would suggest checking out Gertrude's Breakaway or even Pelican's Landing (our pick!) as both have large yards, are close to public parking and can accomodate 125 people

Good luck and happy planning!

keb2482

I LOVED the Acension House, but WAY out of our price range

llilley

Gertrude's Breakaway is the house that we're using. It has a large yard perfect for a tent and a max of 125!

littlemsmagic138

We're getting married at Pelican's Landing which is a pretty basic home but has yard space to accommodate 150 people. It's owned by Coastal Provisions so you do have to use them for catering. It is a lot more wallet-friendly than some other event homes and can hold more people than a lot of them as well, which is why we decided on it. (well, that and the fact that they have double-wide stairs so I can actually walk down the aisle WITH my dad instead of walking single-file. Haha.)

sangriaMaria

We considered the Grande Ritz Palm too, but it was going to be way too expensive.  I had also heard that it was not in prime condition either.  There were some things falling apart or not working there.  I do remember seeing a discount of the rental of this one too when we were looking back in February.

There is also the Grand Bahamian which is a prettier house and a little more characteristic of a beach home.  It wasn't available when we were planning though.

http://www.exclusiveobxhomes.com/properties/grand-bahamian.php

seashells12

My daughter's wedding will be at the Grande Ritz Palm this summer. We have visited the home twice this year, February and August, the house is in excellent condition! The house is listed with Carolina Designs Realty. We have met with the owners of the GRP and they take great pride in their home. Rental is Friday to Friday. The owners bring in their own cleaning crew after each rental group leaves and give the house a white glove cleaning. We witnessed the crew that they bring in during our August visit...housekeeping cleaners, gardeners, general handyman repair person and the owners(Bill and Kim Lane and their daughter Stephanie) were also present. I really feel the home gets more attention than any home we ever rented in OBX. They also provide a cleaning crew for the day after the wedding (part of the rental price).

My daughter's wedding will be on Sunday which gives us time after the wedding to relax. The white chairs on the sound beach are set up by the owners (well actually their handyman). They also set up the tables and chairs for the reception. And will take them all down and put away the next day.

If you search youtube with "Grande Ritz Palm" there are some good videos that show you the set up of the ceremony and reception. 

Yes..parking is an issue. Probably as mother of the bride this is my biggest stress. When we were in OBX in August we hired Sandy Beach Tours to do the transportation for the guests. They are familiar with GRP and assured me they have a good game plan of getting all the guest to the wedding and then pick up after the reception. We have extended family renting a home about a mile away and that is where we will park our cars the day of the wedding to make room for the vendors' vehicles. We will keep one van on the property in case of an emergency.

True there is no room for a tent. If it rains ...we move the reception inside. (My second biggest stress!!)  My daughter and future son-in-law have a very positive attitude and they absolutely fell in love with Grande Ritz Palm... so we will make it all work! 

The cost...we looked it this way...Half of the cost is for the ceremony and reception, the other half is the rental towards a week's vacation home.

Hope this helps anyone looking at the Grande Ritz Palm! If you need any more help/info with how we are planning the wedding at GRP let me know.

Peggy

jenncroft

I'm getting married at Pelican's Landing, too! The location and extra parking lots in Whalehead is really what sold us on the home, plus Coastal Provisions is amazing.  I live here and have to drive past Grande Ritz Palm everyday.  I can speak from my observations that parking must be nightmare for guests - plus, when the home isn't rented the owners live there and I thought that was a bit strange - with most event homes you can make the space into your own, but I don't think I'd want to marry in someone else's home.  That being said, it is a very beautiful venue - the sunsets alone are worth the price and I'm certain it makes for a lovely wedding.