North Carolina-Outer Banks

Worried about enough space

So, I'm getting a little worried about how we are going to set up our reception at our event home. The event home is HUGE, don't get me wrong, It was featured in the self-guided tour part of the Wedding Expo this year, "Summer Winds" in Nags Head.

I am setting up a site survey with Ocean Atlantic, but in the meantime I want some opinions....did any of you have your receptipon (say, for about 50 people) at an event home with dancing around the pool? Did people actually get in the pool, too? That's the other thing I'm thinking.. space may not be a problem if people are actually in the pool/hot tub.

Has anyone ever used this home for their wedding?

There is a huge front lawn with enough space for sure for dancing and a tent, but that was not our original vision of what we wanted for a reception on the ocean. We want the ocean and beach to be visible and right there to view. Ahh, just stressed out and it's getting closer to the wedding and I guess I'm just feeling the pressure.

The house's pictures can be viewed on Village Realty's website if you just google "Summer Winds" and Village Realty.

Thanks so much for any advice/ideas you can give me!!!

Re: Worried about enough space

  • Umm... a little hard to tell from just the pictures, have you seen the house in person? Have you actually booked this house? Are 50 people confirmed, or just the number of people you are inviting? Do you have a rain plan in place? A suggestion might be to have the cocktail hour around the pool and move to the tent in front for dinner and dancing. That would also help with the rain plan.
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  • I too am worried about space and how it will all look set-up, since I have not seen my home in person. One thing that I did was to contact the rental home company, in my case it was Brindley Beach, and I asked them to send me measurements of the uppder deck and pool deck of the home. They sent a maintaince tech out, they measured it, and they emailed me a PDF of hand drawn pics with measurements. This allowed me to see what tables and chairs will fit in the space. 

    The next thing I did, was speak to my caterer. Many caterers have experience with setting up in event homes. My caterer offered to go to my rental house himself, and suggested options on where to have our food set-up since we are having a buffett.

    We shall see how it all looks on 5/26!
  • Our orginial plan was to get married on beach and have reception (80 guests) at the event home! I should've listened to what others posted before making that decision because depending on the size of your reception having it at the house can become VERY expensive! 

    I was also worried about the space and where to set up tables! My Fiancé and I looked at the home during Expo weekend and thought we could do it but when we went down a couple of weeks ago and got a rough estimate from Ocean Atlantic for just the essentials we both realized it was going to be a lot of money and work! 

    We decided to still get married on the beach outside of the home in Duck but we are having our reception at The Currituck Club! :-) It has taken a lot of pressure off of me as I am doing the majority of the planning because my FI is deployed with the military till right before our wedding! 

    OBX2011, I remember reading your posts about the event home reception versus the venue, it was so surprising to me that the venue actually works out to be more affordable! Good luck to you all! 
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina-outer-banks_worried-about-enough-space?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:598Discussion:edd1f873-f0a6-4e0a-b2a1-5cd5c1cbdb83Post:23159bd6-5c7f-44fc-86c0-6f19620fcd54">Re: Worried about enough space</a>:
    [QUOTE]Umm... a little hard to tell from just the pictures, have you seen the house in person? Have you actually booked this house? Are 50 people confirmed, or just the number of people you are inviting? Do you have a rain plan in place? A suggestion might be to have the cocktail hour around the pool and move to the tent in front for dinner and dancing. That would also help with the rain plan.
    Posted by ksj10032782[/QUOTE]

    I saw the house in person the weekend of the wedding expo. Like I said, there's tons of room in the house so I'm thinking some things could be inside (dinner, where there are the 3 long tables that fit 30 people, we would just need seating for 20 more!) We have about 50 definites (this includes wedding party, too).

    We want a fun, casual feel so I don't want thing to be TOO regimented. We kind of want the feel of a fun party (if that makes sense). But I want to make sure there's enough room for first dances and whatnot.
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina-outer-banks_worried-about-enough-space?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:598Discussion:edd1f873-f0a6-4e0a-b2a1-5cd5c1cbdb83Post:2fc7a992-757c-4b86-9e9d-0bc24ed64fd3">Re: Worried about enough space</a>:
    [QUOTE]I too am worried about space and how it will all look set-up, since I have not seen my home in person. One thing that I did was to contact the rental home company, in my case it was Brindley Beach, and I asked them to send me measurements of the uppder deck and pool deck of the home. They sent a maintaince tech out, they measured it, and they emailed me a PDF of hand drawn pics with measurements. This allowed me to see what tables and chairs will fit in the space.  The next thing I did, was speak to my caterer. Many caterers have experience with setting up in event homes. My caterer offered to go to my rental house himself, and suggested options on where to have our food set-up since we are having a buffett. We shall see how it all looks on 5/26!
    Posted by Springdaisy5[/QUOTE]

    Thanks for the ideas! Maybe I will speak to my caterer as well. Who knows, maybe they've been there. My wedding is 5/20! Who is your caterer btw? We are using High Cotton.

    Thanks for your response!
  • Here's some pics I took of the house:
    #1: 3 long tables with seating for 10 at each table


    #2: Pool/deck area


    #3: Dining room tables again, diff view


    #4: Kitchen area: Thought maybe caterers could set food up here and serve from here?


    #5: Pool level area.. thought we could maybe move bench and have bartender set-up here so drinks are right next to pool


    #6: Living room (right next to dining room and kitchen area)


    Anyone else have a house that was similar in set up ? If so, what did you do for your reception? If the deck was similar, was it enough room for dancing?
  • Have you considered having the dance floor on the pool? I'm sure it's pretty expensive, but I have seen companies that will come in and set up a dance floor over top of a pool. Then you would definitely have enough room for dancing.
  • ACJD714ACJD714 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited February 2013
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina-outer-banks_worried-about-enough-space?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:598Discussion:edd1f873-f0a6-4e0a-b2a1-5cd5c1cbdb83Post:4ffcbe90-2b8a-4e24-b5a0-db24a90bdaf6">Re: Worried about enough space</a>:
    [QUOTE]Have you considered having the dance floor on the pool? I'm sure it's pretty expensive, but I have seen companies that will come in and set up a dance floor over top of a pool. Then you would definitely have enough room for dancing.
    Posted by ashley2516[/QUOTE]
     <div>We priced that at Ocean Atlantic and it is $8 a square foot but they will go out and measure the pool and give you an estimate! It's a great idea but really pricey, the pool at our house was going to cost around $4000! </div><div>
    </div><div>They also said they could do half a pool but you have to sign releases! </div><div>
    </div><div>I loved the idea of having the pool covered with floating lights in the water undermeath us but our budget didn't allow for it! </div><div>
    </div><div>
    </div>
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina-outer-banks_worried-about-enough-space?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:598Discussion:edd1f873-f0a6-4e0a-b2a1-5cd5c1cbdb83Post:1f2369b0-dd4e-43d0-a342-580f029a8b1d">Re: Worried about enough space</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Worried about enough space : I saw the house in person the weekend of the wedding expo. Like I said, there's tons of room in the house so I'm thinking some things could be inside (dinner, where there are the 3 long tables that fit 30 people, we would just need seating for 20 more!) We have about 50 definites (this includes wedding party, too). We want a fun, casual feel so I don't want thing to be TOO regimented. We kind of want the feel of a fun party (if that makes sense). But I want to make sure there's enough room for first dances and whatnot.
    Posted by missm810[/QUOTE]

    We had the kind of wedding that you are going for it sounds like.  It was in an event home as well, around 45 people.  We wanted a nice wedding, but casual and fun at the same time. It was more than enough space.  We ended up having the rehearsal (wecome party) outside by the pool the night before the wedding.  Then for the wedding we had the ceremony on the beach and reception upstairs in the great room of the home.  We did this because we wanted it to "feel" different from the welcome party.  After all the regular wedding stuff like dances, cake, bouquet toss most of us who were still partying went down to the pools/hot tub and continued the party. You're plan sounds great, and it's your wedding.  As a back up rain plan, could you do it in the house?  Everything will work out just fine.
    Laura & Dusty - September 7th, 2010!
    Hatteras, North Carolina
    Image and video hosting by TinyPic
    UPDATED 11/05/10 Lots of Wedding PICS!
    UPDATED 07/28/10 My Planning Bio Anniversary
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina-outer-banks_worried-about-enough-space?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:598Discussion:edd1f873-f0a6-4e0a-b2a1-5cd5c1cbdb83Post:35204862-e060-4749-a84c-b6143b444d61">Re: Worried about enough space</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Worried about enough space : Thanks for the ideas! Maybe I will speak to my caterer as well. Who knows, maybe they've been there. My wedding is 5/20! Who is your caterer btw? We are using High Cotton. Thanks for your response!
    Posted by missm810[/QUOTE]

    Our caterer is The Outer Banks Chef.
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina-outer-banks_worried-about-enough-space?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:598Discussion:edd1f873-f0a6-4e0a-b2a1-5cd5c1cbdb83Post:74f445db-b5ff-47a1-8b47-01cdc3654969">Re: Worried about enough space</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Worried about enough space : We had the kind of wedding that you are going for it sounds like.  It was in an event home as well, around 45 people.  We wanted a nice wedding, but casual and fun at the same time. It was more than enough space.  We ended up having the rehearsal (wecome party) outside by the pool the night before the wedding.  Then for the wedding we had the ceremony on the beach and reception upstairs in the great room of the home.  We did this because we wanted it to "feel" different from the welcome party.  After all the regular wedding stuff like dances, cake, bouquet toss most of us who were still partying went down to the pools/hot tub and continued the party. You're plan sounds great, and it's your wedding.  As a back up rain plan, could you do it in the house?  Everything will work out just fine.
    Posted by hibiscus118[/QUOTE]

    Yes, they sound very similar. Maybe that is an option for us too then. If we move some of the furniture in the living room that could serve as the area for first dances and cake cutting and then we could probably move everything out to the pool area after that.

    I will see what Ocean Atlantic says. They are going out next week to do a site survey.

    Thanks!
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_north-carolina-outer-banks_worried-about-enough-space?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:598Discussion:edd1f873-f0a6-4e0a-b2a1-5cd5c1cbdb83Post:680f4d85-c4ec-4a43-aa5b-80b394063970">Worried about enough space</a>:
    [QUOTE]So, I'm getting a little worried about how we are going to set up our reception at our event home. The event home is HUGE, don't get me wrong, It was featured in the self-guided tour part of the Wedding Expo this year, "Summer Winds" in Nags Head. I am setting up a site survey with Ocean Atlantic, but in the meantime I want some opinions....did any of you have your receptipon (say, for about 50 people) at an event home with dancing around the pool? Did people actually get in the pool, too? That's the other thing I'm thinking.. space may not be a problem if people are actually in the pool/hot tub. Has anyone ever used this home for their wedding? There is a huge front lawn with enough space for sure for dancing and a tent, but that was not our original vision of what we wanted for a reception on the ocean. We want the ocean and beach to be visible and right there to view. Ahh, just stressed out and it's getting closer to the wedding and I guess I'm just feeling the pressure. The house's pictures can be viewed on Village Realty's website if you just google "Summer Winds" and Village Realty. Thanks so much for any advice/ideas you can give me!!!
    Posted by missm810[/QUOTE]

    You are running into the same issue we did. We rented a $4,000 beach home called Rainforest in Emerald Isle for our wedding this September. Well, rainforest is gorgeous, huge and Oceanfront. But it has very little deck space around the pool.  After a lot of mulling around it, my mom decided to rent a separate house that had a lot more outside room. 
    However,  you can do bistro tables and just a few rounds.  That would be what I recommend. You dont look like you have enough room for full rounds for 50 people.  If you do 4 rounds, and then the rest bistros, and do a buffet-style and people just seat themselves wherever they want, you will do better.  No assigned seating.  Maybe a bridal table, but with a group that small I wouldnt even do that.   My wedding is the exact same, and I dont want to alienate anyone.  It's a small group so we are just doing random seating, take a seat anywhere, we are all family, but it will be very well decorated.

    When is your wedding?? We should swap ideas or share our journeys!! I am in Sept 13 in Emerald Isle.  Email me if you're interested!
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  • I'm not sure if this is what you are suggesting, but please make sure you provide enough seats for every guest. I would also strongly suggest assigning at least tables for everyone to sit at. The worst thing is someone with a full plate wandering around tables trying to find the people they want to sit with, or a free seat. I understand wanting a casual feel to your wedding, and I think that can be accomplished through other means.

    As an FYI to the newer brides, I am an events manager for a non-profit organization and have been in the event planning industry for over 8 years.
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