Cape Fear Wedding: Special venues for military personnel and UNC-Wilmington alumni

Cape Fear Wedding is your complete wedding planner.

Checklists, timetables and other planning aids

Get your free Cape Fear Wedding planning handbook

Questions and opinions: a discussion forum for brides

How to reach Cape Fear Wedding

Professional association for vendors and wedding professionals

Helpful articles about planning your wedding

Facts, figures and how-to information you'll need

The Cape Fear Wedding Show; how to get the most out of wedding shows

A searchable directory of wedding professionals and merchants

Free classified ads for brides and grooms

Picture pages: featured weddings, fashions and fresh ideas

Your Wedding Day Weather: personalized reports and forecasts

Reception
Locations

Brides

Special locations for special groups
Two sites for military families and UNC-Wilmington alumni
Return to articles index | Kure Beach and Fort Fisher | Historic sites | "Destination" weddings | Picking a reception site | Transportation | Valet parking | Beach weddings

Two popular wedding and reception sites are not open to the general public but are available for couples with military connections and alumni of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington.


	View of the Cape Fear River from Beach House deck

   Fort Fisher Military Recreation Area is a former Air Force radar station that's now a vacation spot for active-duty military personnel and retirees. Sandwiched between the Atlantic and the Cape Fear River, the site has a river-view facility for ceremonies and receptions and also offers guest accommodations.
   Use of the facility is strictly limited to people with current Department of Defense ID cards and their immediate families. Receptions are held in the Beach House Bar & Grill, which has beautiful views and outdoor decks on a bluff over the broad Cape Fear River estuary. Because it is in constant use as a restaurant and bar during the peak beach season, the Beach House is open for receptions only in the off season: before Memorial Day and after Labor Day.
   Fortunately, spring and fall are by far the most popular times for weddings in our area.
   Reservations are accepted no earlier than 11 months ahead of the date. Information: Group Coordinator, 118 Riverfront Road, Kure Beach, NC 28449; (910) 458-6299.


	The Wise Alumni House

   The Wise Alumni House is a century-old mansion in Wilmington's historic Carolina Place neighborhood, along a charming tree-lined stretch of Market Street.
   Headquarters for UNC-Wilmington's Office of Alumni Relations, the house is available to University alumni or the children of alumni for weddings and receptions. After a renovation project, the house reopened in late fall of 2007. The house and gardens can accommodate a maximum of 100 guests for a buffet-style reception. Parties must use UNCW's in-house caterer, Aramark.
   Built in 1908-09, the Wise Alumni House is on Market Street at the corner of 18th Street, next to Kenan House, the UNCW chancellor�s residence. It was donated to the university in 1968 and has housed the alumni office since a renovation in 1994.
   For information, contact the UNCW Facilities Use Manager, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington NC 28403-5906; (910) 910-962-3011.

   Warwick Center Ballroom is in the university's student center and can accommodate large receptions with up to 320 guests for a seated dinner. Catering is by Aramark.
   The ballroom may be rented by currently enrolled students or alumni. For information, contact UNCW's Reservation & Events Coordinator, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington NC 28403-5906; (910) 962-3833.

Return to articles index