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North Carolina

Reception Venues

Hi girls!
I am overwhelmed by how many options there are for reception sites.  We are thinking about getting married either at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Durham or the Raleigh Rose Garden (in June of 2011).  We have a pretty limited budget and those sites are within our budget for ceremonies.  Did anyone have their ceremony either of these places?  Where are good sites for receptions close by (for about 150 people)?
Thanks for the suggestions!

Re: Reception Venues

  • pirategal03pirategal03 member
    Knottie Warrior 5000 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Could you give us more of an idea for your budget?  That may help us think of some places.

    Off the top of my head and without knowing your style or budget (and I don't know the prices for any of these places so just keep that in mind)

    Durham area: - there are some country clubs, The Cotten Room, the Doris Duke center at the gardens, the Greystone Inn, hotels, etc.

    Raleigh area: lots of places downtown, the museums, restaurants (cafe luna, second empire), or even a hotel like the Sheraton
  • edited December 2011
    Sarah P Duke...isn't there a huge signup deal and waiting list for that location??? I thought I've heard stories about how you sign up one year before you want to get married. Who knows. I could be making this all up. I have yet to drink my coffee and that is never a good thing in the morning.
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  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina_reception-venues-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:115Discussion:79abb471-7e75-4f80-b0e1-21064f352648Post:b07e78cd-bf14-405d-9f19-9cfed84af507">Re: Reception Venues</a>:
    [QUOTE]Sarah P Duke...isn't there a huge signup deal and waiting list for that location??? I thought I've heard stories about how you sign up one year before you want to get married. Who knows. I could be making this all up. I have yet to drink my coffee and that is never a good thing in the morning.
    Posted by sgreen13[/QUOTE]

    We looked at having our wedding and reception at Duke Gardens and we were maybe 10 months away from our date and it was still available.

    The only thing about Duke Gardens is they have a preferred vendor list that you have to choose off of (caterer, etc) and I didn't really like having someone dictate that to me, I wanted to be able to choose who I wanted.
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  • pirategal03pirategal03 member
    Knottie Warrior 5000 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina_reception-venues-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:115Discussion:79abb471-7e75-4f80-b0e1-21064f352648Post:b07e78cd-bf14-405d-9f19-9cfed84af507">Re: Reception Venues</a>:
    [QUOTE]Sarah P Duke...isn't there a huge signup deal and waiting list for that location??? I thought I've heard stories about how you sign up one year before you want to get married. Who knows. I could be making this all up. I have yet to drink my coffee and that is never a good thing in the morning.
    Posted by sgreen13[/QUOTE]

    I'm pretty sure you're thinking Duke chapel. 

    A friend literally camped out in front of the office 1 year before her wedding date so she could be the first one in the door that morning to book the time she wanted.
  • TinyTRex321TinyTRex321 member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    So when I looked at Duke Gardens 11 months ahead of the time we couldn't have our reception there because they have a lottery system a year in advance but could have the ceremony there. The place we liked best for the ceremony was the ampitheater and you can't book that unless you are having your reception at the Doris Duke room.

    A reception venue  that we liked in Raleigh was 1705 Prime. The food minimum is more for May and June though than it would be for March, April, or July. We are getting married at Treyburn Country Club in Durham and they have a great outdoor spot for the ceremeony and inside for the reception. The price is really a great deal and if you find a member of the club to sponsor you then the room rental space is waived.
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  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina_reception-venues-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:115Discussion:79abb471-7e75-4f80-b0e1-21064f352648Post:a67ea9be-e097-4ecf-91e1-1f302ba0e1b1">Re: Reception Venues</a>:
    [QUOTE]<strong>So when I looked at Duke Gardens 11 months ahead of the time we couldn't have our reception there because they have a lottery system a year in advance but could have the ceremony there</strong>. The place we liked best for the ceremony was the ampitheater and you can't book that unless you are having your reception at the Doris Duke room. A reception venue  that we liked in Raleigh was 1705 Prime. The food minimum is more for May and June though than it would be for March, April, or July. We are getting married at Treyburn Country Club in Durham and they have a great outdoor spot for the ceremeony and inside for the reception. The price is really a great deal and if you find a member of the club to sponsor you then the room rental space is waived.
    Posted by jennimc321[/QUOTE]

    Hmm, this must be new because they didn't tell me this when I called.
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  • edited December 2011
    I'm getting married June 4, 2011 at the Raleigh Rose Garden and our reception will be at Cobblestone Hall in downtown Raleigh.  I would definitely call Gina at the RRG this Saturday b/c the last time that I spoke to her she was booking up extremely fast. 

    There are a lot of options in downtown Raleigh for a reception and you can coordinate a Raleigh Trolley for transportation.

    - Marbles Kids Museum
    - Museum of History
    - Shepherd's Hall
    - Haywood Hall
    - Cobblestone Hall
    - Sheraton
    - Marriott City Center
    - Artspace

    If you want any specific rental amounts for any of those just send me a PM - I've contacted all of them! :)

    Good Luck!
  • edited December 2011
    also try rand-bryan house in garner... it's only 10 minutes from downtown raleigh, and martha's very flexible. good luck!
  • edited December 2011
    This may sound odd...but I think the guys who own Pop's in Durham (great food) just recently moved one of their restaurants to a larger space. The old restaurant space is available for wedding receptions. I think they even said you can get it for free...but of course you will have to use them for the catering.


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  • edited December 2011
    I was told that there is only one reception reserved per day for the Doris Duke center, and no more than one wedding per timeslot anywhere in the center or gardens. They start booking exactly one year ahead of time. If you want a Saturday wedding there, you'd better get there hours before the office opens to ensure you get the time you want. The office opens at 8am.

    We got there a little before 6am & were the 2nd in line. The first girl had been there since 3am to ensure that she got the center reserved for her reception. Anything other than a Saturday wedding & you shouldn't have too much of a problem booking. Of course, Sundays & Fridays are the next 2 most popular days, & those get booked more quickly than weekdays.
  • edited December 2011
    Oh, & check out Maggiano's at Southpoint for a potential reception site. They have a private banquet room that puts most hotel rental areas to shame.
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