Wedding Expo & Invitations

Re: Wedding Expo & Invitations

• Phillyboy06

  

  August 2012

  My bride and myself ordered ours through magnet street as well as our STDs too. We ordered about 25 I believe. Not sure of cost, but look online for coupon codes. I know I found us one that initially saved us 10% but then they send u 25% in the future. I belev they hold the expo at a combo of a middle school and high school down there.

  

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• OBX2011 member

  

  August 2012

  In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina-outer-banks_wedding-expo-invitations?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:598Discussion:d3bbef51-7e90-4811-ab48-7b3ac3f965c4Post:6adf2561-e9da-41be-abcb-b4729212c109">Wedding Expo & Invitations</a>:
  [QUOTE]Hey ladies! Does anyone know where exactly the OBX Wedding Expo is held? My Mom, sister and I want to go. We see they posted the date, but aren't entirely sure where exactly the expo is held. If anyone has an answer to this, we would greatly appreciate it as we want to book a hotel now and line up tastings and want to view our event home in person as well. Does anyone have any suggestions for where to order beach-themed wedding invitations from that won't break the bank? What is a good price? I liked some invitations on magnetstreet.com but for 40 or 50 of them it was over $350! Is this a normal price for this amount of invitations or are there better deals out there? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks! Maura
  Posted by missm810[/QUOTE]
  
  Saturday is a self guided tour at different venues and beach rentals all the way from Duck to S. Nags Head.  When you check in, you will get a welcome packet with all of your info as well as a map of the self guided tour with various locations marked off, some may be actual venues, some are event homes and some may be at the vendors actual location.  You can choose which ones you want to visit and which ones you don't.  At each location, it will tell you which vendors will also be there.  Kind of like an all in one type of thing.  Saturday evening is the cocktail reception, which is usually held at Pirates Cove Marina, in their outdoor pavilion (it's tented and heated though), and this is a great time to sample the caterers and meet with other vendors. I would dress as comfortably as possible for both events since it's a long day and it's quite cold in January. David Tutera was a guest speaker this year, so tickets to the cocktail reception were pretty pricey and it was more extravagant, but I heard that he only stayed for like 30 mins and it wasn't worth the extra costs in the long run though.
  
  Sunday is the big expo which is held at Kitty Hawk elementary and middle schools.  Basically any and all vendors will be there and yet another chance to do a meet & greet.  At some point, there will be a fashion show and at the very end, will be the grand prize drawing.  If you book your vendors on the spot, you typically get a discount that day. Some vendors extend the discount until mid-Feb b/c they understand that there are quit a lot of vendors to sort through and the bride needs some time to absorb everything from a whirlwind weekend.  There will be stylists there, so if you are able to do a mini hair trial that day, I recommend it. Trial runs can get pricey and we all want to have a sneak peek at what we would look like on our wedding day, so this is a chance to get it done for free and walk around with pretty hair all day. Just a helpful tip ;)
  
  You will be exhausted by the end of it all and you will certainly be well fed too!  It's a great time and I definitely recommend going if you can!  I recommend staying at The Cameron House Inn which is the cutest B&B in Manteo :)  Since it was mid-Jan., no one else was staying there so we had the whole house to ourselves, which was really nice.  They have a big fireplace and sofas around it, so we basically took over the entire area with all of our wedding stuff and sorted through everything.  If you don't stay there, I do recommend booking with a local hotel to support the local obx economy rather than a chain hotel....they are doing quite fine on their own ;) 
  
  I couldn't find any invitations that I really looked or could justify the price for, so my mom and I designed our own and they were amazing! She is such a perfectionist and they looked very professional....and much much cheaper in the long run.  Some of the other Knotties found some on sale at other sites or used Etsy. 

   

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• missm810 member

  

  August 2012

  Thanks so much for the info! So, where do you check in at for the first day of the expo? Trying to figure out where would be the best area to stay to be in the middle of things, or does it not matter because we will be all over the place anyway? we do want to take a walk through of the house we are renting for the wedding, which is in Nags Head. I'd also like to set up a tasting with Great Cakes and High Cotton BBQ, so I'm thinking we should stay somewhere in Nags Head or close by.
  
  Also, I'm finding that a lot of the local hotels like the Sea Ranch Resort, Nags Head Inn, etc. say on their websites that there are no rooms available the weekend of the wedding expo! I don't know if they just don't have the calendars available this far ahead or if they are already completely booked! I will try to keep looking though.
  
  
  

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• OBX2011 member

  

  September 2012

  The check-ins are at various locations throughout the island and I am sure you will get more info as the date gets closer.  They may have alreasy posted it on their site.  Either way, you are safe to make your reservations at anytime.  We went down Friday morning and checked in at The Sea Ranch Motel and then stayed at a B&B in Manteo.  Also, so we could have the day to relax before all the big stuff came on Sat morning.  Make sure you call the rental company ahead of time and let them know you want to take a look at the house b/c that particular home may not be included on the tour.  Most companies have no problem letting you take a peek. 
  
  Most vendors won't be available for an actual sit down tasting that weekend b/c they will be getting ready for the expo, so make sure you find their booths on Sunday.  It's just too busy a time for them to do a personalized tasting, but trust me, you'll get a good idea whether or not you like them b/c most of them will offer samples of several menu items to give you an idea of what they are all about. 
  
  Also, I recommend The Nags Head Inn or Shutters on The Banks....I like to support local hotels   If you wanted to splurge, I very very highly recommend The Cameron House Inn over in Manteo.  It's still centrally located to everything and about a 5-7 min drive to Nags Head.  I doubt that their rooms are booked that far in advance, but I would definitely call them and speak to them in person to make sure.  We were lucky at Cameron House b/c absolutely no one else had booked there that weekend, so we had the entire house to ourselves

   

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• Mrsdittmar

  

  September 2012

  This years expo will actually run 2 days. The expo at the school will be opened Saturday and Sunday. Saturday night there are events planned up and down the beach.

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• karistiz member

  

  September 2012

  In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina-outer-banks_wedding-expo-invitations?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:598Discussion:d3bbef51-7e90-4811-ab48-7b3ac3f965c4Post:87e1c772-ee2d-4491-bc19-e0fdfc805ceb">Re:Wedding Expo amp; Invitations</a>:
  [QUOTE]This years expo will actually run 2 days. The expo at the school will be opened Saturday and Sunday. Saturday night there are events planned up and down the beach.
  Posted by Mrsdittmar[/QUOTE]
  
  
  
  Just curious- I saw the dates are the 18-21 of Jan. What's going on the other two days?

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• Mrsdittmar

  

  September 2012

  The actual expo at the school will be open a few hours on Saturday and all day Sunday. On Saturday there will also be a list of places to see and visit. Saturday night various vendors will have events going on all around. I have a friend who is a member and she said they felt this was a good way for brides to see more at a relaxed pace. I am pretty sure there is no cocktail party like last year, although vendors may doing their own versions of them.

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