Event homes

runrsamber · September 2011

Hello! I am just looking for any recommendations on an event home for a wedding/reception. I am hoping to have around 60 people? It is hard to perceive the space from pictures. So I am just looking for anyone who has been to a wedding/had a wedding at a great event home with lots of space. Any suggestions much appreciated! Thanks so much!

OBX2011 · September 2011

Hi and welcome to the board!! Everyone on here is beyond helpful and you will find a lot of vendor reviews.

What area of OBX are you looking for? Duck, Corolla, Nags Head, etc?? That will help us be able to help you narrow down the options.

A few to get you started are:

Big Mama's with Seaside Vacations at MP 12
The Woodmere with Joe Lamb Jr at MP 8
Cinco Palmas with OBX Blue Realty at MP 16.5
Absolute Ambiance with Carolina Designs (I think) in Duck
Grande Ritz Palm with ??? (easy to Google though) in Duck

Let us know your location and we can help narrow down the options for you

Congratulations and Happy Planning!

Phillyboy06 · September 2011

Welcome run! We are a very helpful bunch, and all support each other sooooooo much. You could say it's almost like a "fraternity". :-) I am the only groom on TK's OBX page so if you have any "guy" questions or need help, feel free to just ask!

Getting back to your event house quandry. What kind of budget do you have for an Event house/lodging? My FI and myself were heading in that event house direction, until we really couldn't find anything we liked to fit into our budget. We also needed one that would allow dogs, and we were looking in the Duck/Corolla area. As OBX said, Absolute Ambiance is GORGEOUS, and we strongly considered that house, but when all was said and done, with our Sept '12 timeframe, the special event fee on top of the house rental which can run $1500-$2500, the house alone was pushing about $8k-$9k. Our budget has grown from $12K to about $15K, so we had to steer away from event homes. Now, that's not to say there are very very nice event homes out there, because there are DEFINITELY lots, and the ladies can attest to that because some have used them. We just didn't see any that we really could fit within our budget. Oh, and we are having a guest list of about 40-45.

Ultimately we decided to have our wedding and reception at The Sanderling Inn in Duck. Sept 7th, 2012. Can't wait! :-)

Keep the questions coming. We are all here to help!

seashells12 · September 2011

Grande Ritz Palm is listed with Carolina Designs. This is where we will be having my daughter's wedding. Beautiful, outstanding, amazing house!

llilley · September 2011

We're using Gertrude's Breakaway in Corolla. GB has a nice big yard for a tented reception! I found it rather difficult and frustrating to use realty websites to figure out which homes could accomodate our 125 person guest list (very few of them do) and called many of the companies and found the marjoirty of them to be very helpful in the process..

runrsamber · September 2011

WOW! Thank you so much for the input, this is much more helpful than searching online! I am not really looking in a certain area, anywhere in OBX really. I am also willing to not do it at an event home but for some reason was thinking that would be more budget friendly? Is the sanderling expensive? I have seen a lot of cute piers! I just thought by having the venue and lodging in the same place would be more reasonable. Ideally, I would like to get married soundfrount. Whether it be a house, golf course, etc. Any input is much much appreciated! Thank you all soooo much!!

runrsamber · September 2011

Also, If it is a home I want it to have some yard space for maybe a tent? or atleast to set up reception tables? Thanks

hibiscus118 · September 2011

Hi and welcome to the board! I got married last year in Hatteras at an event home on the ocean. There is a great house on the soundfront in Frisco that has room for a tent called "The Love Boat." There are a couple brides that are getting married there soon around here so they can be of more help, just wanted to throw that out there

runrsamber · September 2011

The Sanderling is beautiful! I see it is $5000 for a reception site for 65 people. My total wedding budget is probably 15-20k. I feel like that is a lot just for a reception site, then there is food and lodging. Ah, this is stressful! Elopement sounds great!

ksj10032782 · September 2011

Hi Run- I'm the other half of Philly. We are going with the Sanderling elopement package option. We're inviting 40, which is the max they will allow for an elopement package. I think to not do the elopement package option with the Sanderling would be very expensive. We were also told by several guests that if we did an event house route, they wouldn't want to stay there..

runrsamber · September 2011

Thank you so much for your input! I saw the elopement package! What is the difference besides pricing? Are your guests staying at the sanderling? I could definitely narrow my list down if I had to. Thanks again!

runrsamber · September 2011

So, I looked at the Sanderling elopement package! Looks fantastic! I could definitely do 40 people. My only concern is, It says 15 people, up to 25 more for $175/person. That adds up to be another almost $5k, which would total around 10k. Which I guess is not bad considering all that is included. Do you still get to pick food? and what about alcohol such as beer or mixed drinks? Thank you so so much for your help. I really appreciate it. I am just starting out planning, I have been dreading it! Thanks so much!

Phillyboy06 · September 2011

Run-You are correct with your pricing. We have 40 people on the guest list. It's around 10K, then the tax and gratuities. HOWEVER, this includes your food choices(yes you get to choose the food, 5 apps, 1 first course, 1 second course, entree), also includes your cake(two vendors to choose from I believe), and officiant(we are going with Rev. Jay, AWESOME!). For alcohol, they budget you in what you might expect to spend on each guest, however Wine, both red and white is included from Dinner until reception ends. We have $25 allotted per guest for beer, and we are doing a signature drink. Hard to explain. I guess it's sorta like saying, "We are paying for your beer, wine, and the signature drink, you are on your own if you want another type of drink".

It's a great package, and also includes flowers(Sugar Snap), and an oceanfront honeymoon suite the night before AND the night of the wedding.

OBX2011 · September 2011

That is what we are here for....to be helpful!

Many of us have discovered that doing an event home is actually more expensive than renting a venue such as The Sanderling, Pier House at Hilton, 108 Budleigh, etc. Event homes are fabulous and this is the route I wanted to go with too....the big white tent, dancefloor, etc....until I added everything up! Between the cost of the house, the event fee they add on (which is NON-refundable) the tent, dancefloor, tables, etc. I realized it was way over my budget.

So I started the search for venues and went to the wedding expo this past January....which I very highly recommend attending. During the expo is when I discovered 108 Budleigh and when I walked in, I got all teary-eyed and knew it was THE place for us. It all worked out in the end....and for good reason I'm sure.

I'm in no way deterring your from an event home, I just wanted to share my story and what I discovered once I added up all of the costs.

One of THE best sites for you to find venues, caterers, photographers, etc. is the Outer Banks Wedding Assoc. They have a complete list and this will be soooo helpful to you since you are just starting out.

www.obxwa.com

You can also order a FREE copy of the 2011 Outer Banks Bride Magazine to get inspiration and read other wedding stories.

Philly & Kel will definitely be most helpful when it comes to The Sanderling!

Have you joined our FB page yet? A lot of us chat on there b/c it's easier to keep up with one another that way rather than clicking through every single thread on TK.

Happy Planning!

mandafite821 · September 2011

Welcome to the board! I am also using the Love Boat, we are getting married this May. The Love Boat is one of the only homes that does not charge an event home fee. We are lucky though, b/c most of our family wants to stay with us, and are helping us pay for the house. So we just really have to come up with the money for the wedding. We are inviting 73 people to our wedding, and so far, even with the event home included in the price for one week, we will be under $15,000 for the wedding.

Rick and Char are right though, it can be more expensive to do the event home if you don't pay close attention. We are not having fancy food, we are doing BBQ, we are providing our own alcohol, and I am not hiring a wedding planner. I am planning on setting it all up with family. I am also doing all my own centerpieces, and we are not having floral arrangements as decorations. There are definitely ways to cut costs for venues and event homes.

Gook luck with your decision! If there is any way you can actually visit the OBX in the next few months, and check out the places your interested in, that is your best bet. As soon as we saw the Love Boat, I was exactly like Char. I knew that was where I wanted to marry Owen. And Owen said he didn't want to get married anywhere else.

ksj10032782 · September 2011

Hi Run- sorry I never responded to your Sanderling questions! When are you looking to have your wedding? Philly and I knew we wanted a beach ceremony, which we're able to get with the elopement package, and they also have a rain plan, which is actually a pretty sweet space as well! At this point, I don't know how many of our guests will stay at the Sanderling, they do offer a discount rate, although I think it's like 10%, they do have rooms though with 2 queens, so if you had 2 couples in a room, the price wouldn't be too bad. We're really excited about the Sanderling, in case you couldn't tell! But I know it's not for everyone, especially with those having a larger wedding.

Team_Lightbody · October 2011

@mandafite 821 - How does Hatteras look right now? FI and I wanted to see the Love Boat so badly, but when we called Hatteras Realty they basically told us that the entire island is destroyed and to consider having our event elsewhere. It was really disheartening, but I am definitely still interested in the Love Boat!

keb2482 · October 2011

Wow, is Hatteras really that bad??? Team_lightbody, you have quite some time before your wedding right? I can't believe someone at Hatteras Realty would be so negative about the island's "health" (for lack of a better word) next year. I would call and try to speak to a manager there.

Team_Lightbody · October 2011

Hi keb - we do have some time... A year and a week from today! Either that or one year exactly (we are a little indecisive, can you tell?).

Re: Hatteras and the Love Boat: It seems like things are really bad right now, at least that was the impression we got from the people that we talked to at Hatteras Realty, our motel, and Nannette at the Proper Setting (we're doing Day-Of with her and she's awesome). The women working the desk at the Days Inn & Mariner Suites told us that there was some kind of political battle going on between the residents of Hatteras, who do not want anyone other than residents allowed on the ferries, and the business associations/chambers of commerce who feel like tourists are needed to help show that the damage wasn't that bad.

I just checked the North Carolina Department of Transportation - NC 12 is completely closed from South Nags Head and further south because the road is still washed out from Irene. When we called Hatteras Realty before we went down a couple of weeks ago they said that we needed to call approx 3 weeks in order to get a space on the ferry... Sadness! FI says that, even though he loves the way the Love Boat and other Hatteras properties look, we don't want to take the risk that Hatteras will get washed out again this time next year.

keb2482 · October 2011

Yeah, thats a good call about worrying about Hatteras for next year. However, there's always the fear of hurricanes in Sept./Oct. We are doing May for this reason. However the water will be SUPER cold then. There's advantages and disadvantages to both.

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