Hmmm...restaurant??

[Deleted User] · July 2011

So, it appears that most of you seem to think like I do that if you are on a strict budget, an event home isn't necessarily the best way to go. What do you know about more restaurant type locations? Port O Call, Tale of the Whale, etc.

So, um, yeah... I've come to realize in under 30 min that you have all been more helpful than my family has been for the past 30 days. hahaha.

Thank you all so much again

obxlaurak · July 2011

This board is great. I am also in the "holy cr*p there are so many options!" phase. We haven't booked our venue, but are in the process of narrowing things down.

Tale of the Whale is one of my favorite restaurants here on the OBX. (I'm local). The food is great, it's right on the sound, has a great gazebo where you could have your ceremony. According to their website they have an event room. http://www.taleofthewhalenagshead.com/Special_Services.htm (I belive there are photos of weddings on their website).

I've never been to Port O'call. Sorry!

http://www.pamlicojacks.com/ This is the website for Pamilco Jack's. It's also on the sound and I believe they do private parties. I've eaten there a few times, I'd give it a 7 out of 10. The food is pretty good, but I've never had the "OMG this is the best food EVER" feeling.

I've never been to The Pearl, but I bet ms_teach would be happy to share her experience!

I absolutely adore Owen's, its where I hope we have our RD. I know they have a private room, but I'm not sure if they frequently host private events. The food is delish! www.owensrestaurant.com

Are you able to come down in January for the annual wedding expo? That may be a great resource for you, although it is kind of close to your June date.

Check out these websites:

www.obxbrides and http://www.outerbanksweddingassoc.org/. They may help you out!

Good luck! I love this forum. These women are so helpful!!

lindsaystief · July 2011

I also started out with a strict budget. The question is what are you going to do with the event rental home? We are checking in Saturday, Wedding Sunday, kicking everyone out Monday and then staying at the rental house until the following Saturday. This is our honeymoon. So if you figure in the cost of the event home + honeymoon it was pretty affordable for us.

[Deleted User] · July 2011

We're planning on staying for 2 weeks. Week one - getting everything together (license, etc.), getting married that Friday or Saturday. Week two- just the two of us in our own rental home

obxlaurak · July 2011

You are thinking, June, right? If you move it up to May you could probably save a pretty significant amount of money on the house rental! And the weather is still nice!

dwfangirl · July 2011

We had our rehearsal dinner at Aqua S in Duck and it was spectacular. The food, the location on the sound, the staff, Lynette (owner)... all of it! We got married at the end of April, and had our RD on a Wednesday, so we were able to rent out the whole restaurant for probably much less than you would in June... BUT, nonetheless, I highly recommend the venue.

My brother-in-law and his wife had their rehearsal dinner at the Outer Banks Brewing Station (Kill Devil Hills), and it was before I had met my husband, but my husband absolutely raved about it. Could be another option to look into.

Good luck!

ms_teach · July 2011

Outer Banks Brewing station is delicious.

I didn't notice an event room though, so not sure what that looks like.

I agree about the cost of the home making a traditional honeymoon look cheap. We stayed in a house for two weeks and were married on the weekend in the middle as well. Our house was on the sound, 4 bedrooms, and cost us $3200 for both weeks. But, it wasn't an event home so we didn't have to pay for a bigger house and event fees.

rebecca2929 · July 2011

We didn't book a restaurant but we got a great deal on the Aquarium. Most weddings are booked there are after hours and it starts at about $2300.00. That was WAY out of our budget so we booked it on a Saturday during business hours. We rented Neptune's Theater for 5 hours at $100.00 an hour so it was only $500.00 but we had a to pay a deposit of $500.00 too but it's refundable and we'll get it back after the wedding. By doing it this way we were able to save about $2000.00. Sure there will be other folks there but the theater will be blocked off to only our group which isn't a big deal to us.

keb2482 · July 2011

We are staying two weeks as well. We found 108 Budleigh to be the best option for us because we can provide our own alcohol. That can BREAK the bank. Especially since my parents insist on full bar (and I like the idea too). Originally we wanted to have it at a rental home but I really wanted a tent and between that and renting all chairs, dance floor, tables, it became so expensive.

I definitely agree that May is WAY cheaper. Although you are already getting into rough waters finding availability in May. We are going down May 19th and staying through June 2nd. Our wedding is Saturday May 26th at 108 Budleigh. I would highly recommend getting married on a Friday or Sunday if you can. Everyting is much cheaper that way. Since we are on Memorial Day weekend, we would have done this, if that Sunday wasn't already booked.

OBX2011 · July 2011

Welcome to the board! Everyone on here is beyond helpful and is a wealth of knowledge

Like Lindsay asked....what exactly had you planned on doing at the event home? Would this be for the wedding reception or did you want the reception at the restaurant? How many people are we talking about?

Event homes are extra pricey....but then again, it all depends on how many you will be having. If it's a small group, then maybe an event home IS the way to go for you.

obxlaura gave some good recommendations on some of the restaurants....I too love Owens! Port O' Call is one of our fave places to eat and the ambiance is just gorgeous

Basnight's Lone Cedar Cafe also sits on the soundside but they do charge a room fee of $400.

Give us some more details so we can make sure to answer your question correctly and point you in the right direction.

asoho0704 · July 2011

I'm going to pass on some info to you that I recently got from a friend who lived and was married in the OBX.. word for word:

"One of my buddies had High Cotton cater his reception. Good BBQ. I'm not sure if they do the seafood thing. I will say that the best catering on the beach is Kelly's, hands down, no competition. You will not find better catering thn Kelly's. I am not saying that every where else sucks, but I am just telling you the who the best is, haha. They did my rehearsal dinner, and honestly, it was better than the wedding dinner, lol. It was a little under 2k for about 30-40 people. They will cook whatever you want too. Also, I had forgot to pick a desert and didn't realize until they showed up and they still showed up with creme brulee, white-chocolate mouse, and something else that was really yummy, and they did at no extra cost. I'm not sure why they didn't charge for that, but it just shows the type of service they have."

Here is a link to their page: http://www.kellysrestaurant.com/

hope that helps...

obxlaurak · July 2011

I second the Kelly's recommendation. I recently went to an event that they catered and it was so good. Especially the crab dip!

[Deleted User] · July 2011

Wow.. you gals are a WEALTH of knowledge! So here's what we're working with right now....

* Late June/early July wedding (b/c I teach, it has to be later just in case there's a bunch of snow make up days that take us to mid June.) Not gonna lie, it's a little frustrating knowing how much more expensive it is at that time. BOO!

* Prefer a Friday or Sat (although open to any day when it comes down to it)

* After looking into things, I think we're deciding between the aquariam and 108. (Any thoughts?)

* We scratched the event home off the list. Once we priced it all out between rentals and catering, I was considering prostitution as a way to pay hahaha

* Right now we're around 80 guests

Hmmm.. I guess that's it for now. Thanks, gals

OBX2011 · July 2011

LOL...yes prositution pays, literally

I am a 108 Budleigh bride and I couldn't be happier with the choice! I just knew when I walked in that it was "the" place for us.

Consider a Friday wedding only b/c most check in times are Sat or Sun and you don't want a wedding and then turn around and leave the next day. We rented a sun-sun rental with a friday wedding so we could have sat to relax and recover.

Hmmm...restaurant??

Re: Hmmm...restaurant??

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