Weddings
Located in the heart of historic Beaufort-by-the-Sea, a charming and picturesque coastal North Carolina seaport, the Beaufort Historic Site offers a spacious outdoor venue in which to hold your wedding, reception, or other memorable celebration! The Beaufort Historic Site transports guests back in time, offering not only the perfect setting for your celebration, but also tours and activities for guests of all ages. The two-acre site provides a beautiful backdrop for your celebration, whether under the shade of the magnolia trees or classic white tents, or inside the the Carteret County Courthouse c. 1796, which was restored in award-winning detail.
A popular extra for those holding their wedding or other big event on the North Carolina coast is the Beaufort Historic Site’s vintage red English double-decker bus. Gather your wedding party and other guests for a special tour of the town atop our bus which can carry up to 72 people! Our sweet little bus is rather old now, so she can only stay in the Beaufort area! Check out our list of preferred vendors.
Venue Reviews
“We live in Raleigh and spend most of our free time in AB, Morehead & Beaufort. My folks met in AB & my father’s ashes were scattered around the area, so I knew this would be the place where I’d marry my husband! We planned a beautiful wedding on the beach & reception at a local homesite. And then….Florence. Our wedding date was the Saturday after Florence, the day before we didn’t even know if Beaufort would have power. I lead with that to give an idea of how quick & nimble Beaufort Historic Site was. They went above & beyond to give my reception a home. I could tear up when I think about how the city, community & vendors came through for me.
Shortly after the hurricane we went down, with supplies for the community & to see if we had any damage to our little camper. On the way down we were notified our rental home and reception spot was damaged, we could no longer host the event there. While touring the area I happened to notice the Beaufort Historic Site almost for the first time. I’m not sure why I never thought of it before, we’ve walked by it 100+ times, I already had the double-decker bus reserved a year prior, how did I not think of this beautiful spot before?? I called that day, the Monday before my wedding! Reached out to some local friends, got in touch with the Coordinator & she directed us to the people we needed (remember businesses were not back open & answering machine messages would’ve been our only hope without her.)
The Executive Director was like an angel sent directly to us, our little light of hope. She said I don’t know-how (remember power wasn’t on & they had some damage their selves) but we will make it happen. She said you will get married & you will celebrate this Saturday! Call your rental company to see about a generator & a porta-john, let’s have that as a backup plan. I was going crazy, re-planning & coordinating to see what vendors could still come thru. I also had to find 4 large rental homes, as ours were damaged. Getting closer to midweek I was beside myself, giving up hope & went to tell the director maybe this wasn’t going to happen. She said hold on, she called a realtor friend, friends that had rentals, I mean this is crazy – she wasn’t my wedding planner, she had no obligation to my wedding day, I hadn’t even planned the event there originally & here she was making my dreams come true. Friday the lights came on, she called confirmed I had secured rooms & said tell the rental company not to worry about the generator & we’ll even make our bathrooms useable best to our ability due to the damage so we can save you the trouble/cost of renting the porta-john. We had rooms, we had the place, we loaded up Friday in a Uhaul & headed down. After many redirections due to now flooding, a Uhaul on a ferry & a girl not willing to give up we drove straight to the site and the director, I couldn’t wait to meet her.
The venue was perfect! The director helped me with the placement of the tent, the perfect placement by the way. We went with a large tent, parallel with the street & see-thru panels in the center, it was beautiful. We had 10 tables, a bridal table, the band on a stage & a dance floor all under the tent. They let the food truck drive right in to be a part of the wedding. We had plenty of room to set up a bar & 4 bar tables outside of the tent to give a great flow.
The rental company was allowed to drop off on Friday & we were able to finish any set up we could Friday evening. We were able to use the kitchen of one of the homes to wash a few dishes & put items in there for storage. The director even stopped by to see if we needed help with anything before closing the doors to the kitchen access on Friday evening.
Oh, and the bus, the bus is a must! A lot of our guest still talk about the bus, and how this was their favorite part. Our first driver couldn’t make it due to damage & relocation of their own, understandably. The team worked hard to find another driver & then full circle, the coordinator joined us on the bus to help if the driver had any issues.
What an amazing team, what an amazing community & what an amazing event thanks to them all. I would highly recommend this place! Not only was it beautiful, and perfect for our venue, the staff truly made my happily ever after happen!! The stories we tell, the laughs we (now) have, you’re a part of all of them – we love you Beaufort Historic Site.
Forever grateful,
The Murphy’s”
“We loved the Beaufort Historic Site for our venue. The area was well maintained and large enough for us to have both our ceremony and reception. The area they let the bridal party stay at while the guests began to arrive was also a beautiful spot for some great pictures! Everyone was easy to get in touch and work with before and during our wedding! I’d highly recommend the area for a party or wedding!” – Olivia Thompson