Event homes/Absolute Elegance/Carolina Designs Realty

lindsy310

Hey ladies! Does anyone out there have experience with renting homes from Carolina Designs Realty, and more specifically has anyone seen the house Absolute Elegance? My fiance and I love the house but here are my concerns 1.It is not listed as an "event home" but says you can hold events there, what does the title "event home" mean? is it just that they are used more for events? 2. It lists a maximum of 50 people (but they all list a max of 50) we are planning on 75 or so, is it the realty company or the owners that determine the capacity and are they flexible? 3. It is located in Carolla which appears to be a much more populated area, will it be too busy here in september? We want the ceremony on the beach and I dont want a ton of people around..

Really any information anyone has about the house, reatly company, or town would be appreciated.

Here's the house: http://www.carolinadesigns.com/vacation-rentals/absolute-elegance.aspx what do you ladies think?

Thanks!
L

OBX2011

Hi Lindsy!

That is a beautiful home....very nice choice!  Have you ever visited the obx before?

Event homes means those homes have been designated for large events such as weddings, reunions, company parties, etc.  You definitely want to make sure you are renting a home that is listed as an event home if you plan on having the reception there.  If you are only having your ceremony on the beach and the reception elsewhere, you dont really need to worry about renting an event home since your guests are only going to be there for a limited time and they wont really be in the house but on the beach instead.  If you ARE having your reception at the home, then you definitely want to rent a home that is in fact listed as an event home b/c you dont want to take a chance of the Mgmt company finding out that you are having this large event and end up holding your deposit or cancelling the event altogether.

Im not sure who determines whether or not its an event home, but I would probably bet it would be the owners since its their home to begin with.  Ohhh and the reason they list it as an event home is b/c the septic systems in the Outer Banks aren't large like bigger cities, thus meaning the homes that are listed as event homes can acutally handle the larger crowds if you know what I mean

Most owners don't really have anything to with the max people allowed, that is strictly determined by the Mgmt company.  They are very strict about the max number so you may have to find a home that allows 75+ and not take any chances.  Any easy way to do this is to call the Mgmt companies and just ask them b/c there aren't a whole lot of homes that allow 75+....but they are out there

Carolla isnt as populated as you would think....its actually Kitty Hawk and further south that gets all of the traffic.  Dont get me wrong, Corolla is busy with people but if you really want privacy, then you should consider Carova b/c its 4x4 only and is very private.  The drawback is that you have to make sure your guests can handle the 4x4 or either hire a company that provides transportation to that area. 

Dont worry about people being around...that just goes with the territory and it wont really be as many people around in the early evening hours as you would think.  Around 4-5:00 is when a lot of people are packing up for the day and making dinner plans so you will be just fine.

I am heading down this weekend so let me know if yon want pics of anything as I will be all the way from Carova down to Manteo.

OBX2011

Im not sure how many bedrooms you are looking for or what your check-in date would be, but this home through C. Designs allows 75 guests max:

http://www.carolinadesigns.com/vacation-rentals/royal-caribbean-ii.aspx

I called Twiddy Realty (I am very bored at work today & loving helping with wedding stuff anyways) and she said that most homes that are 9+ bedrooms will allow a max of 100 guests, so this would be a great company to consider!  My SIL works their as well so let me know if you have any "inside" questions

http://www.twiddy.com/homes/corolla/whalehead/sunrise-surprise.aspx

http://www.twiddy.com/homes/corolla/whalehead/groovy-dunes.aspx

http://www.twiddy.com/homes/corolla/ocean-sands-d/carolina-bliss.aspx

All of these homes are OF except Carolina Bliss which is Oceanside.

I hope some of these will work for you but I didnt have a lot to go off of since i dont know your week or price range

ksj10032782

Hi- For the past 6 years, we've vacationed in the Outer Banks the week of Labor Day and the beach is mostly deserted, I would think especially around 5ish, there won't be a lot of people out. We were looking at the Pelican's Landing, and I had the same concern there, because it seems like the other houses are very close together, and I don't want people standing out on their deck watching our wedding! But I also think with a beach wedding, that will probably happen anyway!

lindsy310

Charlene: Thanks so much for the info! I have visited twice both times i was responsible for choosing and booking a house for me and ~20 friends so I have some experience with the companies but this whole wedding planning thing is whole different story! I do want to have the reception at the home, we are planning on sept 2012 (no specific date yet) and I'd like the house to be $6,000 or less since my family that will be staying there will be helping to cover the cost. Ocean front is a necessity according to my fiance so I am only including ocean front homes in my searches for now. My mother loves twiddy and just got their brochure in the mail! I like rendezvous from Twiddy but my fiance thinks the walk to the beach is too long we have 3 elderly family memebers who have difficulty walking- would it be possible for you to find out from your SIL what the distance is to the beach (ie how many yards)?? I cant wait to check out the houses you sent me! Thanks again!!

Kelly: I am so relieved to hear you say that!! We have no idea what the population is like down there in sept (our wedding month). I have only been in may and my fiance has only been in June and he said he used to have to get up super early to get a spot on the beach! I dont find if there are a few straglers or even people at surrounding houses watching as long as they arent interfering- i was afraid there would be a million people around making noise and ruining my ceremony.

L

hibiscus118

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina-outer-banks_event-homesabsolute-elegancecarolina-designs-realty?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:598Discussion:dde2b380-2536-4f12-bf4d-cc17a3172c47Post:5b4520ee-7d7d-4884-a48b-cf553569e285">Event homes/Absolute Elegance/Carolina Designs Realty</a>:
[QUOTE]We want the ceremony on the beach and I dont want a ton of people around.. Posted by lindsy310[/QUOTE]

Septemeber is a great time of year!  Definitely not as many people, but there will be some.  And honestly, people walked right between us and water and I didn't even notice I was so focused on US.  People told me afterwards and it kind of ticked me off that they were that rude, but whatever.  People were definitely watching from their beach houses though.  I thought it was kind of cool though. 

dwfangirl

We actually looked at Absolute Elegance for our wedding... it is a gorgeous home.  However - the prices for this year were $1k+ more expensive than last year for the same week, so we chose Rendezvous instead.  It is also gorgeous and allows for I think 100 people.  I have been there and the boardwalk is a tad long, but I don't remember well enough to give you a number of yards, sorry!  I will have pictures and will be able to write more in about 3 weeks when I am back from my honeymoon!  

laurenwebby

I'm checking out Absolute Ambiance for a wedding next week, so I'll be sure to post info after that. It is an event house but there is a 50 person limit, so it has to be a small event. Also, I believe it has an elevator which is good for elderly, etc.

Just keeping my fingers crossed we can reserve! 

jendtennis

We are looking at absolute ambiance as an event home, which is a little less expensive than absolute elegance.  Did you decide to go with absolute elegance and how did it turn out? 

cleshap

Interested in also having my wedding at Absolute Ambiance and wanted to see how everything turned out when you went to see the place? Thanks

jendtennis

We looked at it on our visit 2 weekends ago - it's very nice - but we went with another event home in Corolla that is HALF the cost and just off the beach access instead of oceanfront.  The thing with absolute ambiance is that it is a really big house, but with very seperate areas for people to be in.  We felt like our smaller group (about 35) would be lost in there.  Plus, it is pet friendly, but not really setup well for pets.  There's separation from the house to the pool where our energetic pup could easily escape right out onto the vast of the beach and be gone if just one guest leaves a door open.  That was the deal breaker for us.  If it had been fenced in with the pool area maybe.  The view and proximity to the ocean - and hearing the ocean sounds from every room - were a real selling point.  The size of the kitchen and having 2 of every appliance was awesome too.  But, in the end we just felt a more open house design that was ideal for pets was more important to us for the cost (we're going in July at the height of the season).

cleshap

The house description says the mid floor is for receptions I am looking at having ppl did you really feel like there was a place where you could hold dinner and have a reception in the house or the space is not open enough for that? Thank you for getting back to me!! Just trying to find something that is not on a 4x4 but where I can get married on beach and have reception in house or outside of the house

sole3299

FYI...Carolina Designs ruined my upcoming May wedding to the point we had to cancel it. The house we rented was supposedly going under a "complete renovation" when we came to look at the property it was horrid!!! Absolute Ambiance is booked solid throughout the summer, very small pool area and extremely close to the homes next to it...no parking either...the photos look amazing, but the furniture is worn and dirty like all of their other homes...imagine wet bathing suits sitting on furniture all summer long I would strongly recommend getting a tour of homes you are interested in before booking with them. Also, event home means you will be paying an additional 1500 on top of your rental fee to have a reception there...and fyi parking on the streets is prohibited in most neighborhoods. I would go with a Twiddy home.

sole3299

Oh, and the house is not that big to hold 50 people inside. Not sure what other people think is big, but it's not... and a super choppy floorplan. The mid floor is maybe 1500 sq ft...if that, plus you have to work around couches, and other furniture. Be aware and ask tons of questions to whichever realty company you go with...I have heard more horror stories than just mine...and I'm pretty much a local