Island Weddings

May 5, 2009

The Love Boat in Frisco is a destination
house for a destination wedding

By DIANE LEA

Hatteras Island, the narrow ribbon of sand that forms the Southern Outer Banks of North Carolina, looks from the air like a chain of small villages flanked by windswept dunes, bird sanctuary marshes and endless vistas of sea and sound. These sparsely populated towns — Waves, Salvo, Rodanthe, Avon, Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras — are quite different from the well-known northern Outer Banks communities of Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Duck and Corolla. Hatteras Island’s urbanized northern neighbors offer a growing number of year-round residents and eager vacationers a variety of motels, restaurants, amusement parks, sophisticated shopping centers and historic landmarks. Hatteras Island, however, moves at a slower pace and provides a simpler kind of living and vacationing experience.

Entered at Whalebone Junction in Nags Head, Highway 12 leaves behind the clutter of the northern Outer Banks and ventures south into the federally protected Cape Hatteras National Seashore, an intricate landscape of inlet and marsh.

The traveler’s pulse rate is slowing already, and things are becoming quite human scale. There are no outlet malls or big-box shopping centers. Instead, roadside commercial establishments range from retail shops and offices in low-rise and low-scale new brick strip centers to simple beach shacks advertising bait, fishing gear, and ice cream. Second homes rise on pilings behind the dunes and few restaurants carry chain names. Most buildings are wood-sided or shingled with few architectural embellishments, except towers reminiscent of the classic Outer Banks life-saving stations.

So what do nature-loving, recreation-seeking but sybaritic lovers of the good life do once the bright lights of Nags Head have faded from the rear view mirror? Besides the traditional pleasures of boating, birding, fishing, windsurfing, kiteboarding or surfing, now they can also book themselves into a destination resort where all these are possible, along with every luxurious amenity. No sandy beach houses with gritty deck chairs and sand-spur lawns need apply.

The choice of venues for vacationing, family reunions, weddings, partying, and relaxing have improved exponentially in recent years. A good example is The Love Boat and Love Shack, built by Joe Thompson and located in the village of Frisco.

Thompson, a long-time Hatteras Island resident, builder and developer, recounts the genesis of the Love Boat.

“Over a number of years I had built several rental vacation homes in Sunset Village in Frisco, a tucked-away neighborhood overlooking Pamlico Sound. Our friend Stewart Couch of Hatteras Realty put them in his rental program and we built up a lot of return customers. Eventually, our family built our home, Journey to Atlantis, in Sunset Village.”

Adjacent to Journey to Atlantis was a long parcel with sound frontage and a deep water canal. Thompson obtained permits to build on it, and finally the time was right. The parcel, in its incomparable setting, was the perfect location for a multi-purpose residence and special occasion venue with amenities including a pool pavilion, party shack, boat dock and water sports facility. Thompson envisioned the residence serving families who returned to the island year after year, often renting several homes together with friends and family.

“It was only logical that the guests, many of whom had become our friends, wanted to celebrate the major events of their lives where they and their families had spent so much happy time,” says Thompson.

The Love Boat and its accompanying dining and party house, the Love Shack, were under construction in late 2006, and the compound hosted its first wedding party in May 2007.

“It was a sunset wedding held on the front lawn,” says Thompson. “We served cocktails in the Love Shack. Afterward, the caterers re-set the lawn for a seated dinner, with white linen on the tables and tiny lights strung in the trees. The effect as the sunset changed slowly to a star-filled night sky was spectacular.”

The design of the Love Boat exemplifies Thompson’s thoughtful attention to the architecture of the island. It features a prow-shaped front and a rear façade set with multiple open decks to take advantage of views of the pool pavilion and Pamlico Sound. The 6,000-square-foot, three-level floor plan provides entertainment space for family recreation, an island kitchen suitable for cooking and serving groups, and enough bedrooms and baths to accommodate wedding parties. The reception area/lobby on the ground floor is adjacent to the pool pavilion with its game room, hot tub and screened outdoor patio with a Karaoke sound system. Comfortable chairs and tables allow guests to collect their luggage and sit comfortably while rooms are assigned and gear is moved up in elevators.

The Love Boat offers seven bedrooms, each decorated to depict a different destination around the world. All are master suites with private baths and striking nature views. The open floor plan of the main living area — or great room — on the home’s third level invites everyone to relax in sectional sofas with a big screen TV and Surround Sound, or enjoy the cozy fireplace, or view the sound from a covered deck incorporated into the room as indoor-outdoor living space. A loft overlooking the great room is a great space for the minister and the bridal couple to stand during a wedding ceremony, for a host to make a toast or for a welcoming banner hung by a proud family for a new graduate.

As a seasoned Hatteras Island builder, Thompson used weather-resistant, yet visually appealing materials, such as subtly tinted concrete siding, hand-split cedar shakes and stainless steel cables that form durable contemporary balustrades for decks and stairs. A hammered copper panel on a glass-walled staircase landing glints in the sun and will age to a textured blue-green.

Though the Love Boat can accommodate a dance band by the pool or a barbecue on the front expanse of lawn, the house and grounds are clearly designed and arranged for weddings. The master suite, a true honeymoon suite with a balcony, cathedral ceiling, and spacious dressing area, is on the third level. The master bath is equipped with a walk-in shower and a soaking tub, and a salon chair stands waiting to serve the bride and bridesmaids.

Hair and make-up stylists work on the premises and are part of the staff of Spa Koru, an upscale Avon spa, salon, exercise studio and gym that Thompson opened in 2006. Spa Koru and Hatteras Realty underwrote the publication of the Hatteras Island Wedding Guide, a comprehensive pamphlet detailing all wedding-related retail and service establishments — even a list of officiants and where to purchase a marriage license.

“We can assist in arranging for all the special services a wedding party needs,” says Thompson, “from gift baskets to flowers to gourmet food and wine — or down-home cooking.”

Thompson is especially proud of the Love Shack, a shed-roofed, island house set on piers in the midst of wind-sculpted trees overlooking the sound. Set to the rear of the property, an easy walk from the Love Boat and pool pavilion, the Love Shack can be set up for a rollicking rehearsal dinner or for relaxed meals during a week of festivities.

Thompson and Hatteras Realty have teamed up to provide a wealth of activities for their guests to enjoy. They will plan a fishing trip for the sporting types or set up a spa day for those who prefer to be pampered. They will even arrange for a chef to grill the day’s catch on the dock adjoining the Love Boat. Families with younger children can take them to the Club Hatteras Pool in Avon for chaperoned play while the adults take advantage of free time to shop in the island’s growing number of quality boutiques offering custom clothing, gourmet foods (even cooking classes), handmade jewelry, fine antique accessories, and pottery and art.

As the Outer Banks evening comes on, the Love Boat gleams golden in the rays from the sun setting over the Pamlico Sound. This, it seems, is a perfect place to start a new life together or celebrate all the occasions life brings.

(This article is reprinted from Raleigh METRO Magazine, http://www.metronc.com. Other rental companies on Hatteras also have destination wedding rentals. So check their ads on this Web site for contact information.)