Kindred Weddings and Events — Attraction in Carolina Beach

It makes me sad to write this review. We were initially excited to be one of the first Kindred couples after touring the space multiple times during construction. Unfortunately, our Kindred wedding fell apart, ultimately causing us to cancel – and lose a lot of money.

Trying to plan a wedding with Kindred was the biggest regret – and most expensive mistake – of my life.

From the start, communication was a big issue with Kindred. We felt Kindred responded quickly before we paid the deposit, only to lack the same urgency after paying. It routinely took 3 to 5 days to get a response to basic questions. These lengthy response times added enormous stress to the early planning process – especially because we had only a few months to plan our wedding. Even a simple, “Hey, we received your email” would have helped during this stressful early phase.

Pricing transparency was also a problem. We initially liked Kindred’s pricing: all prices seemed listed upfront. As we got further, however, we found this wasn’t the case. Kindred added hundreds of dollars of “administrative fees,” for example, without explaining those fees (we later learned this fee covered the privilege of getting consistently late email responses from Kindred’s catering manager). There were many other poorly-explained fees that made us uneasy.

Kindred also lacks a good table setup plan for guests planning a ceremony and reception on-site. Because there’s no separate table staging area, all tables need to be setup during cocktail hour. This was difficult to navigate even with a smaller guest count (~75 people) and simple tablescapes.

Things got worse when Kindred unveiled final design features that looked completely different than the mock-up images we had initially signed up for. The white curtain covering the ceremony wall, for example, looked nothing like the white curtain we had been shown when paying the deposit. My fiancée and future mother-in-law had repeatedly asked Kindred about the curtain in mock-up images during on-site tours, saying, “Is that what it’s going to look like?” and Kindred's owners / team had, on multiple occasions, enthusiastically said, “yes.”

Organizing catering was also a struggle: we needed to choose our menu within weeks, but Kindred only offered us two tasting times in one month, and they were both in the middle of the day on weekdays. My fiancée and I both work full-time jobs and were unable to make either tasting work, making it impossible to know what to serve.

Our final breaking point was the catering invoice with an extra 23% in surprise fees. The catering menu had specifically said “All packages include: 20% service gratuity and 3% administrative fee.” Kindred later told us that “include” didn’t actually mean “include.” The catering manager seemed to laugh at us when challenged on this point, saying something like, “I thought about changing that word but didn’t.”

At this point, we felt Kindred wasn’t just lacking transparency: we felt they were being dishonest. We had to choose between cancelling our wedding or having it at a venue that looked nothing like what we had signed up – and with a team that was feeling increasingly hostile and shady towards us.

We ultimately chose to cancel our Kindred wedding just a few weeks after booking, fully aware Kindred had the power to keep our money. Kindred chose to keep every penny of our $4,700 deposit (including our $2,500 prepaid bar tab for our wedding night). We weren’t expecting a full refund, but even a partial refund would have helped us part on more amicable terms.

We expected minor issues when dealing with a new venue and were willing to deal with some uncertainty, but we felt Kindred’s issues extended beyond that.

Some of Kindred’s issues – like poor price transparency and long email response times – are fixable. Other issues – like being willing to look a bride in the eyes and tell her anything to make a sale – are traits engrained in some people.

I would implore couples to choose any other wedding venue in Wilmington or Carolina Beach...

I recently hosted a fundraising event at Kindred. I cannot say enough wonderful things about this space, management and staff. I have coordinated many weddings for friends and hosted many special occasion events but this fundraiser was a different experience and it was very important to me to get it right. From the first meeting with the manager and owner I felt so relieved that these kind and competent people were gonna help make this event very special and successful. The space itself is very beautiful, comfortable and flows very well. We only needed light touches to decorate the space for our purposes. The organizational skills, appointed attention to details and guidance from the manager, Mel, were very calming for me and allowed me to focus on the fundraising, design and entertainment for our program. The event was a complete success thanks to the...

Such a perfect place for our daughter’s wedding! From the first visit, my daughter and her fiancé knew Kindred in Carolina Beach was where they wanted to get married. The chapel has that sweet church vibe they were looking for, the courtyard and lounge areas were so inviting and cozy, and being right near the beach with the palms and beach houses close by just added to the charm. Not to mention the fun bridal suite!

Communication, transparency, and attention to detail from Mel and her team were excellent throughout the entire process. While we only hired a “day-of” coordinator, my daughter and I handled most of the planning ourselves, and the Kindred team stepped in seamlessly to ensure everything ran smoothly. It truly was a wonderful experience, and we’re so grateful to have celebrated such a special day in such a beautiful and...