Stayton, OR, USA < change city >

Response from the couple:
We had our reception at Sunset Bay State Park just a few miles south of Coos Bay. We didn't pay for an outside caterer. We wrote a check for $350 and gave it to a family member who lives in Coos Bay and she and her daughter bought all the supplies and catered it for us. The reception was mostly outside but the $25.00 rental fee included the large pavilion on site there. Normally Sunset Bay with the pavilion costs about $125 for up to 75 guests but because we booked Shore Acres as well, the park manager only charged us the $25 for the reservation fee. The pavilion has concrete floors and isn't fancy but does have electrical outlets and a sink, has windows all the way around, and double doors that we propped open for the day.

OIMB is not open for private rental, to my knowledge. We were able to rent it because my husband's a grad student at the University of Oregon, which owns the property. It's booked out for much of the summer for research groups and science seminars, but you could certainly contact Shirly Pedro at the U to check availability. It costs about $45/night to rent, has 2 bedrooms, 1 with a double or queen bed, and the other with 2 twin beds. It isn't fancy with older brown carpets and functional furniture and bedding, but it's quaint and the ocean view is superb. We stayed there just with our bridal party the first night and a whole ton of friends the second, so we had about 15 friends sleeping on various surfaces. It does also have a small protected beach with a fire pit, which is nice because you can be out there all night, if you want. OIMB has a private pier that you can fish or crab from so we cooked up a whole mess of crabs during our bonfire. You're allowed to have beach fires at Sunset Bay also but because it's a state park, it closes at dusk, which is no later than 10 pm. One of the drawbacks to the OIMB cabin is that the driveway to it runs through private US Coast Guard property/housing, and they strongly request that you limit vehicle traffic. Most of our guests stayed at the motel in Charleston, which was only a block from OIMB, so they walked down to our beach. If you're looking for a big, fancy formal wedding, I'm not sure this would be right for you and your guests. But if you're looking for practically free (we did our entire wedding for under $2000), a relaxed beach atmosphere with plenty of outdoor stuff for kids and adults alike, and a beautiful romantic beach for fun and photos, I would recommend it. We just had so much fun! If you have more questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. And may your wedding day be everything you've dreamt of.

Response from the couple:
Hi Heather,

Congrats on your engagement! Shore Acres and Sunset Bay were perfect for our wedding and I'd recommend it to ANYone!! We got married on July 13th, so only a couple weekends after your wedding date and the weather was superb. We had a crystalline deep blue sky without a cloud in it, not a drop of rain, and it was so affordable. We paid $330.00 for the entire day for both Sunset Bay and Shore Acres. The price included both the large covered pavillion at Shore Acres, both lawns on either side of the pavillion with plenty of room for 75-100 guests (we had a few chairs but wanted an intimate gathering so had most of our friends/family sit around the perimeter of the gazebo and we stood at the front steps so guests looked out toward the ocean), and it also included use of the 2 story cottage with 2 rooms upstairs, one for the bridal party to get dressed and one for the groom and his party. It's so cute inside. My sister did the photography and the photos were gorgeous!

Because we booked Shore Acres, the park officer in charge only charged us $25 for the gazebo at Sunset Bay, and if you shmoozed a bit, I'm sure he'd extend the same courtesy to you and your groom. He told us we could even have a fire on the beach as long as it was below the tide line and not in the grass and was willing to let us stay until closer to 9 or 10 pm, rather than when the park usually closes at dusk. None of that crap about charging 100.00/hr for every hour you're there late. We actually didn't end up having a fire there because we had a huge beach bonfire until the wee hours just down the beach where we were staying at OIMB. He could give you all the details though if you're interested.

I can understand your misgivings about the possibility of rain and I don't know how many guests you're expecting, but if you rent the pavillion at Shore Acres, all of your guests could potentially be covered, or if it was really small, you could even have it in the guest cottage. There's an even cheaper option, too, for Shore Acres. If you just want one of the lawns without the covered pavillion and guest cottage, it's something like only $100 to have the wedding there. I don't think I have their map and brochures anymore or I'd send them to you but if you call them, they'd send them to you. One of the gals was a bit prickly from Shore Acres, at least on the phone, but everyone was so nice during the entire weekend we were there.

So, I guess that didn't really answer your question about how much just Sunset Beach costs. I don't really know since the guy gave us a great deal since we booked Shore Acres. It would also depend on how many guests you're expecting, since if it's over 50, he's more likely to charge you the full amount, as well as whether you wanted the gazebo. If you're interested, I could dig up the guy's name for you with his phone #. He's really nice and willing to work with the couple depending on what you guys want. So don't think it's too expensive yet!!

Take care!

Carrie