Pea Island

laurenb003 · July 2013

Hi guys!

So my fiance and I are getting married August 29th! and have "decided" on Pea Island-but I wanted to see if anyone else here has gotten married there and has any advice/suggestions regarding this location? It is a small wedding (14 total people including us) so we were going to park at the visitor center...do you recommend doing the ceremony outside your beach house? And it seems odd that you don't need a permit?

Any advice is appreciated :-)

hibiscus118 · July 2013

Congrats! I didn't get married on Pea Island. Pea Island is a part of the CHNS though and you do need a permit to get married on the beach on the national seashore. Here is a link: http://www.nps.gov/caha/planyourvisit/wedding-permits.htm

laurenb003 · July 2013

yeah I thought so too...but my check got sent back ( I sent to the same address you recommended) and they told me to call wildlife and alligator refuge and when I did they said they're not part of that and I don't need a permit since it's public beach?

hibiscus118 · July 2013

Hmmmm interesting. Well then.. you tried! Did you state on the permit you were getting married on the beach? I thought all the beaches on the CHNS, even in front of he homes on Hatteras Island were owned by the National Park Service. That's so strange!

laurenb003 · July 2013

I know I thought so too! The last thing I want is to get asked for my permit on the wedding day! Ha, maybe I will get one for Hatteras just in case? Or do you not recommend doing that, I am not sure how strict things are. But it may be nice to get married on the beach right in front of the house we rented?

hibiscus118 · July 2013

We were never asked to see the permit, but I was told that they are a lot less likely to go checking in front of the houses (where I got married) as opposed to the lighthouse, public areas, etc. Where is your house at?

I feel like when I filled my permit location out they wanted to know exactly where I was. I'm not sure what they do now.

I don't want to sway you but it was so nice to have everything right in front of the house. We could get things set up and I could wait inside until it was time to walk down the boardwalk. No driving involved which was awesome.

ksj10032782 · July 2013

I can't help at all, but came across this website, don't know if you reached out to them? Are there houses for rent on Pea Island? I may be thinking of the wrong location. http://www.fws.gov/peaisland/qa.html

I would try to find out if you can have weddings on the beach there.

laurenb003 · July 2013

No I am SO glad you offer ideas, these are all things I didn't think about! We are staying in Salvo, its a small wedding with about 14 people including my fiance and I. But it WOULD be nice to not drive anywhere!!

And there are no houses for rent on Pea Island-there aren't any :-) which is why I liked that but I am thinking it might be nice to walk out the front door! Plus, I could rent chairs for everyone, whereas on Pea Island you can't have chairs.

laurenb003 · July 2013

thanks for sending that website too. it seems wedding inquiry there is rare!!

hibiscus118 · July 2013

It really depends on if you want people around. In front of the houses where we stayed we did not have a problem. Our ceremony was at 5:30 so a lot of people were off the beach by then. There were a few people around, but I didn't care. We had our space set. And technically.. you aren't allowed to have chairs or altars on the national seashore beaches. It didn't stop us and we talked to many of our vendors (all of whom were located on Hatteras Island) and they all said they had never seen a problem in front of the houses. We only had 4 benches and some 4 tiki torches up though. Nothing crazy

ksj10032782 · July 2013

Would you be able to have your ceremony at the welcome center after hours maybe? I personally got married at the Sanderling, ceremony was 6:30 pm and there were people walking around, some watching, I think that's going to happen at a public place, I think the Salvo area is quieter than the northern beaches though?

laurenb003 · July 2013

yeah i don't mind at all! and yeah I would think it would be quieter. ooh the sanderling is so pretty :-)

Pea Island

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