Shell Island Resort Reviews

Shell Island Resort was an absolute dream venue for our wedding in August 2025! From the very beginning, Meredith, the Director of Sales, was incredible to work with. She was helpful, communicative, accommodating, and truly made the entire year of planning feel smooth, organized, and even enjoyable. No detail was overlooked, and she made sure everything came together perfectly for our big day.

We had our ceremony right on the beach, which was breathtaking, and our reception hosted 150 guests comfortably and beautifully. The team decorated both the outdoor ceremony space and the indoor reception beautifully. They offered so many décor options to choose from, which made it easy to bring our vision to life while still feeling personalized and unique to us. Everything was set up flawlessly, and the spaces looked absolutely stunning.

The recommended vendors were also amazing—each one professional, reliable, and fantastic to work with. It was clear that Shell Island has strong partnerships with vendors who genuinely care about making weddings special.

The bartenders deserve a special shoutout as well! They were incredibly friendly, fun, and kept the energy high all night. They made sure we, our family, and our friends were served quickly, and somehow they always remembered everyone’s drink orders—which honestly blew my mind, especially with 150 guests! They played a huge role in keeping the celebration flowing smoothly and making sure everyone had a great time.

One thing we especially appreciated was the solid backup plan for inclement weather. Even though our day was beautiful, it gave us such peace of mind knowing the team had everything covered. Meredith and the entire Shell Island team maintained the most welcoming, positive, and relaxed attitudes throughout the entire process. Their calm confidence made all the difference and allowed us to truly enjoy both the planning and the wedding day itself.

If you’re considering Shell Island Resort for your wedding, I cannot recommend it enough. They made our wedding day absolutely perfect, and we are so grateful for the unforgettable experience they created for us and our guests.

My husband and I literally cannot say enough wonderful things about Shell Island Resort. Meredith is so accommodating and The Ocean View ballroom was the perfect space to host our sunrise beach wedding. The value, the location and our experience with the staff were truly top notch and we were so happy with our experience here. 10/10 recommend Shell Island Resort!

Meredith and her team went above and beyond to create a festive wedding weekend for my son and daughter-in-law. We booked a block of 30 rooms and our guests enjoyed time on the beach prior to the ceremony and celebration. Incredible setting for a romantic wedding.

This resort stepped up the plate after another Wrightsville Beach location dropped our large group retreat after 10 years. It’s a wonderful space on the end of the island and we LOVE having our annual event here! staff is attentive and friendly and local caterers are easily able to come in and know the resort well.

My husband and I chose Shell Island Resort to host our out of town guests for our wedding weekend. The location is absolutely stunning with views in every direction and really giving all of our guests a true feel of Wrightsville Beach. The property is no frills but has everything you need including a pool, gym, restaurant and bar (though the restaurant and bar close around 4 every day but there are plenty of great options in town!). Plus every single room is a suite with an oceanfront view. We hosted a welcome party and post-wedding brunch in the banquet room. It's a stunning room with views of the ocean and a patio that opens up off the back. The price is very reasonable and their service is good. Meredith is really the star though, she is so easy to work with, responsive, attentive and genuinely the best. Highly recommend!!

The Atlantic Ocean is your backdrop! Meredith Swicegood could not of been more professional or helpful! Truly a magical place to come for a night, or a week!

If you're planning a wedding, look no further.
The entire staff is dedicated to making your special day truly a Special One!!!!

This place was outstanding it was every I would of hoped for and more for our special day.

I began to work with Meredith, right after the Hurricane in 2018, the p;lace was under renovation and it was hard to see the vision of what was to come; however Meredith was so helpful and excited about what they could offer I decided to book with them and believe in the vision. She was absolutely right. The venue turned out perfect and when I was assigned to work with Valerie, things got better. She was so professional and kind and made everything easy.
The food was great, we did a buffet and they added plated salads and fresh bread on the tables. They decorated with the colored linens I provided and they set up the tables the way I asked.
The only thing I was surprised by was that during the reception they asked that the doors remained open, lights on and even when I asked to turned them down to have more of a party atmosphere for DJ and dancing to get amped up they did not. so not at lot of privacy as guest kept looking in and doors remained propped open.

Created a stress free and perfect evening!!

Shell Island Resort was nothing short of amazing for our wedding day this June. From every detail they made everything stress free, worked with us and made sure eveything was perfect. From Valerie assisting, planning and day of coordinating every detail perfectly to Amber the bartender making sure all of our guests had a great time, to say we were impressed was an understatement. They went WAY above and beyond to make everything perfect for us and we couldn’t be happier we chose them for our day!

Our wedding day was absolutely beautiful on the beach! We had an arbor right next to the ocean that was decorated with white flowy curtains, wisteria flowers, and amnesia roses. This was a picturesque and ideal spot for us to say our vows! We were so very happy and excited to see that our wedding went so well! Everything flowed pretty smoothly and everyone enjoyed the food and the reception. The ballroom was beautifully decorated and had a perfect view of the ocean and beach. Their new renovations to the ballroom after the hurricane were incredible! We can't wait to visit them again in the future and reminisce.

Shell Island Resort was beyond amazing!!
From the event planning over the past 10 months to last minute changes with our wedding reception & guest headcount was seamless. We worked with Alex & Valerie and they both were professional and always willing to make sure we were 100% satisfied.
While we did use incrediblebeachweddings.com & worked with Tracy for the ceremony package; Shell Island covered everything with the reception, additional space for the bridal party to get ready, our blocked rooms and just overall amazing customer service.
The rooms were clean and well kept.
The convenience of having more than enough parking for our family and guests was awesome! We had over 130 people (total) at our wedding & reception.
The safeness of the resort allowed our children to stick together with the older children and come and go to the pool as they pleased.
The food was scrumptious too!! The fried chicken, sides & vegetables were well seasoned and very tasteful.
We would definitely choose Shell Island if we had to do it all over again!

We got married at Shell Island on June 1. From the very start, working with Meredith, George, Alex, and Valerie has been a true pleasure. Their whole team was always on top of any questions, concerns, and requests we had. And let me tell you, we had a zillion questions! The service was top notch - everything was executed flawlessly! The food, drinks, amazing view, and staff made this the most memorable night of our lives. We can't thank them enough! If you want a professional group to handle your wedding, look no further than Shell Island.

Valerie was awesome to work with

The Shell Island team was amazing. It was such a beautiful venue and each member for the team was great. Alex and Kalie were absolutely wonderful and got back to me promptly and answered all of my many questions! They were friendly, professional, and made the whole wedding planning process a breeze. Alex truly went above and beyond to give me advice, vendor recommendations, and anything else I needed! They made our day truly stress free! Thank you guys!

Having our wedding at Shell Island was the best decision we could have possibly made. For all of you destination brides out there is the place you want to be!! We are from upstate NY, but my brother is stationed at Fort Bragg, and we were lucky enough to find this treasure. I don't have the words to describe how amazing Alex and all of the staff at Shell Island are. Alex took care of everything for us, and did everything to ensure that our day was perfect and smooth. It was amazing being able to show up and just enjoy our weekend knowing that everything was taken care of. She always responded quickly to my thousands of emails and constant questions without complaint. The other staff at the resort were fantastic as well. Our rooms were always kept clean, and the bar and wait staff were welcoming and helpful. I even had a bartender run through the bushes to bring me a fresh beer (without me even asking) when he saw I was running low! Alex was also great at making sure we stayed within our budget. She was always helping us find ways to save a buck here or there without sacrificing quality or what we wanted for our big day (we were able to have our dream wedding for under $15K). The food at Shell was also amazing. Our guests couldn't say enough about how great both the cocktail hour and main meal were. All of this great service overlooked the ocean...we couldn't have asked for more. Highly recommend Shell Island Resort for all celebrations!!!

Beautiful place to get married...rooms could use some better beds but the venue just perfect. Staffed helped keep it flowing even with a few hiccups

Where do I even begin! Our day was the BEST day I could have ever imagined. Hats off to Alex Lorenz (our coordinator) and Lakin (our bartender), they were both amazing. The venue was stunning from the beach ceremony to the ballroom reception. I was never stressed for a minute on my wedding day because Alex took care of everything imaginable. It was the perfect day - in every way. Thank you ladies! I will never forget my perfect wedding.

Shell Island Resort was the perfect location for our beach ceremony! We loved that our guests could all stay in one location, and the north end of wrightsville beach provided an absolutely gorgeous location for out of town guests to get to experience. The staff (especially Alex) made the planning process very easy, and on site staff was accommodating and friendly. We couldn't be happier with our experience at Shell Island and would highly recommend!!

My daughter and son-in-law were wed on the beach and had their reception in the Ocean Ballroom. Alex Lorenz was absolutely wonderful. She answered numerous questions with patience abound. She even comforted us when we thought we would get rained out said "no fears, all will be beautiful" and it was. Turned out perfect day for beach wedding! The food was wonderful, staff attentive and event flowed flawlessly. She even helped with a couple special requests. The entire staff had smiles and were eager to please. Thank you!!!

Shell Island Resort went above and beyond for my wedding last weekend. I cannot believe how perfect our big day turned out. We worked closely with Alex and Kalie during the eleven months of planning. They were extremely helpful, answered all questions, and made sure every detail was taken care of the day before and the day of our wedding. Also, the kitchen staff was amazing. George and James spent all day at the venue getting things ready, and they made sure I had everything I needed while we set up and tore down the reception area. They checked on us regularly and eased my mind all day. My whole experience was so stress-free and perfect. I couldn't be more happy with how our wedding weekend turned out! If you are thinking about having your wedding at Shell Island Resort, you will not be sorry!!

Thank you to the entire Shell Island Team, and a huge God Bless You to Alex for making our day so memorable. I can honestly say it was a stress free day. Everything was perfect from wedding set-up thru reception breakdown. All our family and friends had only good things to say, and we truly enjoyed the day! Food was terrific, decorations were beautiful, staff was professional and friendly, we couldn't have asked for anything more! I highly recommend Shell Island for you wedding! It was a great experience all the way around.

My daughter was married at Shell Island Resort April 21, 2017. It was fabulous! Everything was taken care of for me and I did not need to worry about a thing! I worked with Kym Purvis and she was the best! Any time I had a question, she was there to help. Shell Island took care of the wedding on the beach and the reception. The food was delicious - especially the fried chicken!! We could not have asked for a better venue or caterer!

My wedding was April 1, 2017, and I must say that Shell Island Resort and it's staff were amazing!! Alex Lorenz was God sent!! Her and the entire staff were super accommodating. Alex answered all of my questions and made sure that every detail was handled. We only had about three months to plan an entire wedding, and Alex did it with ease. On the day of, she and George took care of EVERYTHING. All my husband and I had to do was show up. Chef Green was amazing as well! All of our guests loved the food! I highly recommend Shell Island Resort as a wedding venue to all couples looking for a wonderful staff that is truly invested in making the bride and groom happy on their big day!

I had a wedding here at the resort in December and couldn't have been happier! Alex Lorenz was such a joy to work with; she was always quick to respond and satisfy my requests. The resort sits right at the end of Wrightsville, and every room has a view of the water. My guests were all in love with the resort, and the wedding ran perfectly thanks to Alex's help. I would definitely recommend this as a gorgeous vacation or wedding venue!

From the first stages of planning until the day of the wedding- Alex Lorenz was so helpful and accommodating to all of our wishes for the wedding. She made sure that our day was exactly as we imagined, and really went above and beyond to make us feel special. Alex answered all of our questions/emails promptly (sometimes within a few hours!). All of the out of town guests raved about how beautiful the venue was, being right on the beach was the perfect location to host our event. Thank you to the whole crew at Shell Island Resort for making our day perfect.

Ryan and Megan

I cannot begin to think of enough good things to say about Alex Lorenz and the service she provided for my wedding at Shell Island Resort. We met last October when my now husband and I went to visit the property, and we immediately clicked! She had an answer to every one of my questions, she accommodated all our requests, and she kept us in the loop as needed, which was great considering we live out of town. Everything ran so smoothly and the vision all came together perfectly - I owe that to Alex, she was amazing! I wouldn’t have changed anything about our special day at Shell Island, and am so happy to have met Alex! We love you girl!

We had our ceremony and reception at Shell Island Resort and everything turned out perfect. Alex and Kalie were our coordinators for the wedding. They were both very helpful, friendly and answered the millions of questions that we had. The food was amazing, family and friends were talking about it all night. George and James, who are part of the banquet staff, were also amazing! They helped guide the reception, and even made up a plate of food to go with us at the end of the night. I would not change one bit of the day and I am so glad we chose Shell Island Resort.

Thank you for making my wedding by the sea so amazing! Alex and the rest of the team did a wonderful job taking care of us on our special day.

I picked this vendor because of the responsiveness to my inquiry, the services that were offered, and the openness to work within my budget. And responsive, service, and openness what exactly what I got! The wedding team, including the super fabulous project manager Leigh, was organized and didn't miss a beat. They are willing to let you know what works and what doesn't and it helped tremendously. I was the most relaxed bride my guests and vendors had ever seen. Thanks so Shell Island and their entire staff. From bringing water to my door, helping with my guests special requests, and making sure that every detail was attended to. It should be mentioned location, location, location. I also want to note that usually parking is a problem, but not here!

If you ever need a wedding venue, I definitely recommend Shell Island Resort. My husband and I had both our ceremony and reception in the Ocean Ballroom. The view was absolutely breathtaking. George and James were phenomenal and made everything from set-up to execution perfect. The staff was extremely friendly and provided outstanding service. The rooms were beautiful and clean. My husband, myself, and our guests couldn't have asked for a better experience.

For all the brides out there, deal with Leigh! She was a part of our wedding planning process from start to finish and made everything stress free. She's organized, persistent, and genuinely cares about her clients. Leigh is definitely the woman every bride needs to ensure the wedding of their dreams.

My husband and I had our first date at the north end of Wrightsville beach, and it was already a special place for both of us.
The view is amazing, and it's the only portion of wrightsville beach that has a long sandy walk between the buildings and the water line. Its such a peaceful place.

We started out working with Sasha but all we did was pick a date with her. She had to move for family reasons and we were introduced to Alex Lorenz.

I am a very laid back person so when it came to planning a wedding I was always last minute with all of my decisions.
Alex was absolutely amazing! She would give me one decision a week to make and it was so manageable. I was definitely feeling overwhelmed before I had Alex's help. Anything from # of guests, day for tasting the dinner choices, do i want a sweetheart table, where should the cake be positioned, what center pieces, what alcohol selections do i want, or even help with gown malfunctions, Alex was right there with me the entire way. She literally was ten steps ahead of me all the time so I didn't have to worry about a thing! I knew i was in good hands and i had an amazing time because it was a stress free experience.

Honestly, the beach is going to beautiful anywhere you choose to have an ocean view ceremony, it was the staff that makes it truly special.

Thank you Shell Island for making our day perfect! xoxo

The whole team at Shell Island Resort provided excellent service. I would definitely recommend the Oceanview Ballroom for a reception. It has a beautiful view of the beach. Alex, Sales Team Consultant, was very diligent through the entire process. I planned my wedding from another state. We corresponded primarily through email. She was always quick responding to emails, answering questions, etc. You can't go wrong choosing Shell Resort. From the front desk to the Sales Team to the caterers, the service was above and beyond what I expected. They made my wedding day very special!

I loved using Shell Island Resort for my wedding. Leigh was fabulous in helping plan out my wedding, and take over when Sasha left. The day was flawless! The rehearsal dinner was held here too, and it went off without a hitch. I cannot be more pleased with this venue!

Absolutely blown away by this venue and the people helping to put the wedding together. Sasha is incredible. Not only did she answer all of our questions, which were a lot, but she let us visit the venue multiple times, with multiple people leading up to the wedding. I do not think she ever said told us no! I worked closest with Sasha, but every single staff member went above and beyond to help make our day unbelievable. We had our ceremony here as well and it was truly something out of a fairy tale. Even though there were a few hiccups as there always will be, everything turned out just perfect. We were even able to get in early to decorate which was amazing. I cannot thank the staff of Shell Island enough for their hard work and dedication to weddings. A few tips, if you have a multi flavored cake, be sure to tell the staff. We forgot! And, designate a member of your wedding party to bring you drinks. I promise, the staff is super busy taking care of your guests, as it should be. I cannot imagine having our wedding anywhere besides Shell Island. If you are looking for a beach wedding, you cannot get a better venue or staff. Dream come true. Thank you to everyone!

Shell Island Resort was such an amazing venue to have our wedding. We had to plan our wedding on somewhat short notice due to my husband emigrating here and the venue worked with us to find a date. We started out working with Sasha and did a large portion of our planning with her. She was really nice and great to work with. She ended up moving unexpectedly so we were transferred to Alex and she was just wonderful too. She always got back to me right away no matter what question or concern I had. On the wedding day, everyone was so wonderful. It went so smoothly and the entire staff (Alex, George, James, Bryan) were all incredible and so friendly and helped to guide us through the event seamlessly. The room turned out so beautiful and we couldn't have had a better experience. It is such a beautiful spot for a wedding and one of the only banquet rooms we could find in the area directly facing the ocean. All of our guests loved it and also loved the outside space reserved just for us. Thank you Shell Island for making our day perfect!

I started with Meredith who was good and ended with Sasha who was great! The service was wonderful and the guests loved the ocean front view. Sasha was easy to work with and did a beautiful job with the decorations. I'm still amazed at how perfect the day went and Shell Island was a very big part of that perfection. Thank you to everyone who worked on my wedding!

I started out with Meredith at Shell Island. She is very personable, but took way too long to get back to me. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt since we were still a few months out from our wedding, but once we got closer, her communication did not pick up. I had to follow up with her on several occasions where he response was "oh, sorry I thought I emailed you back". Two weeks is entirely too long to get back to a person via email, especially when they are planning their wedding from Indianapolis.

This review is based on Sasha and the rest of the staff at Shell Island. I was nervous that two months out, I found out that Meredith was leaving, but it was a blessing in disguise.

Sasha and her team were amazing. She was so quick to respond to me and wanted everything perfect for our big day as much as we did. The hotel staff were extremely accommodating as well as the catering staff. They did an awesome job the day of our wedding and I felt confident that they would set everything up how I wanted it to be.

We arrived into the reception and it was beautiful. The food was great, the tables were perfect, the staff checked in with us several times that evening, Sasha made sure to find us to check in on us before she left for the evening.

The only thing I did not like were the pillars in the reception room, but if you are coming to NC to get married on the beach, then you are coming for the view and Shell Island has the best view in Wrightsville Beach - so the columns became an afterthought.

I am extremely happy that Sasha took over and did such an amazing job. Thank you to her, and her staff - it was a wonderful experience working with them - I want to do it again! :)

Meredith is absolutely amazing, as well as the rest of the team at Shell Island! Meredith was super helpful and had great recommendations for any detail of our wedding day. She always stayed in contact and communicated any potential issues or questions that may occur on the wedding day, so that we could plan accordingly. She is terrific, and that is just the foundation of how wonderful our wedding was at Shell Island. George, the manager there, was present at the reception and took care of EVERY SINGLE DETAIL at the reception and post-wedding brunch. He was TERRIFIC. We couldn't have been happier with the quality of service we got on our wedding day and brunch. You couldn't go wrong with Shell Island, the room was beautiful, and our wedding was everything we wanted. We are SO grateful to Meredith, George, and everyone else at Shell Island. Our guests were amazed at the level of service and quality and we still receive compliments on the food and level of care there.

We had our wedding reception at Shell Island and LOVED it! The food and drinks were spectacular, service top notch and everything went off without a hitch! I REALLY appreciated Meredith and her staff setting up the room just as I had asked. I came in and showed them how to do one centerpiece and they duplicated it for the other 11 tables! That allowed me to relax and hang out rather than rush around setting up. I have been coming to Shell Island as a vacation spot with my family since I was a toddler...to get married here was such a special moment. I can't say enough great things about the staff and facility.

Meredith and the entire staff at Shell Island were wonderful. The entire event went great thanks to them. For me, it was the wedding I always wanted. For our guests, it was the most fun wedding they have been to. Everyone loved the food and thought cocktail hour was the meal. Lol...

Meredith and the staff at Shell Island were fantastic to work with and made everything very easy. Great venue for our wedding!

Sasha was wonderful. I can't imagine what we would have done without her. George and the rest of the staff were always at hand. Everyone at the resort had a smile on their face. Sasha and George went above and beyond to make this dream come true. 5 stars aren't enough!

Meredith was beyond helpful! she was quick to respond to any questions leading up to the big day. Unlike most places, she was present for the rehearsal, ceremony and at the reception to make sure everything was in place. George and his team were very professional and provided excellent service throughout the reception. The banquet room was well kept. They allow you to bring in as much décor as you need, without any restrictions. The beach site is clean, and private. the arbor and chairs are set up an hour or so before the ceremony. The staff at the Resort are very friendly and hospitality is clearly a part of the culture they promote. The food was excellent. We had a buffet and cocktail hour. My guests raved about the taste, quality and how well it was prepared. the presentation of the fruit display and crudité was beautiful. I work in this industry, and Shell Island is indeed on point, and exceeded my high expectations.

Meredith Swicegood and her staff were exceptional from the start to the finish for my daughter's wedding. From the moment my guests and I checked in until we all checked out, we lacked for nothing!!! Shell Island is the perfect venue for a destination wedding! The staff takes care of everything!!! The rooms are beautiful, the beach is exceptional and the food is 5 star!!! I would like to thank again, Meredith Swicegood, her assistant Corey, George, Helen Gainer at the front desk, Shannon and Chris in the restaurant for a job well done!! You made this a perfect wedding weekend!!!!!

What a FABULOUS experience! Meredith Swicegood was a dream to work with! She can resolve any issue with ease and finesse and she has a wonderful personality! The entire staff was extremely accommodating. They go above and beyond to make their guests happy. We had our wedding on the beach at the Shell Island Resort and our reception inside the ballroom afterwards. The food was absolutely delicious! My husband and I invited our officiators to our reception and they told us that the food was some of the best they had eaten, and they do a lot of weddings! George, our maître d', was fabulous. He took care of every detail in the dining area. My husband and I have so many good memories of our experience at Shell Island Resort that we intend to return there again and again! I recommend Shell Island Resort for anyone planning a beachfront event!

Very, very pleased with the staff and how our wedding turned out! Very helpful and made our day so special!

Dear Shell Island,

Meredith is the most flexible person I have ever worked with. She is professional and friendly and makes everything very easy. She will always be remembered for making my life and wedding ABSOLUTELY AMAZING AND PERFECT!!!!

Thank you so much!!!

From day one, Shell Island went out of their way to make our wedding one of the best. From Meredith, our wedding coordinator all the way down to the bell hops, their service was exceptional. Meredith was absolutely amazing to work with. Every little thing we needed, she was there and ready to help us out, even through a pregnancy! The catering manager was George and he did a phenomenal job. He insured everything went perfect with not just the food, but every little detail. Honestly, words can express how happy we were with how our wedding turned out and we would HIGHLY recommend Shell Island to anyone who is considering getting married on the beach.

We had our ceremony on the beach and our reception at Shell Island. Meredith Swicegood, the wedding coordinator, was available to answer the many questions I had. She took the image of my wedding and made it happen. George, the banquet captain, kept our reception moving and even gathered all of our personal belongings at the end of the night and took them up to my parents room so we did not have to worry about anything. It is a beautiful location with service that cannot be beat! We received so many compliments and would absolutely recommend Shell Island to everyone.

The Shell Island resort was amazing. I was a moved bride from the Sheraton Atlantic beach. I only had 4 months to put a whole new wedding together. I met with Meredith at the Shell Island and she and her staff were unbelievable. They set me up with numerous vendors in the area since I was coming from Minnesota. She was attentive to everything I needed and helped me with numerous ideas and ways to make my night more special. She coordinated everything from my ceremony to my reception with me and was more helpful then I could ask for. I decided to have a buffet for my reception and had their new amazing chef host an italian, southern and seafood buffet. Everything was out of this world. There were no complaints at all about the food and service. The resort is located on a beautiful part of the ocean and we were able to have our ceremony right outside. Every guest that stayed at the resort was given a discount rate and every room is a suite with some even having a full kitchen. This place is top notch in everything they do and I would highly recommend having your event there.

Kym was amazing! Loved that their ballroom has full ocean views. Overall loved them

My husband and I always wanted a beach wedding and when we found Shell Island, we fell in love with it. We had such an amazing experience! The beach is fairly private with very little to no public parking. So, your wedding won't be crashed by gawkers. The service they provide is wonderful, fast and genuine! Hands down an absolutely amazing wedding and reception!

Words cannot describe how impressed I was with the hands-on professionalism and above and beyond service at Shell Island Resort. My wedding coordinator Sasha helped me plan the best wedding my husband and I could have ever dreamed of, recommending outstanding vendors for our pastor, our cake, the flowers, and more! Many guests stayed overnight and were very impressed by the whole resort. Sasha and her vision for our reception from the decorations to her advice on food, wedding favors, and flow of the room were impeccable! Our ceremony was dream-like, and cocktail hour and a dinner were! Everyone was so helpful to our party! I would recommend this place to anyone!

There are not enough words to thank Meredith Swicegood, George and the entire staff at Shell Island Resort - Wrightsville Beach, NC for their professional expertise in helping plan and carry through our out of town Beach Wedding and Reception. We also had reserved room accommodations for wedding party guests at Shell Island and were very pleased with the service. The weather was absolutely perfect and the entire beach ceremony/reception were over and beyond our dream expectations. Thank you Shell Island for being a part of our special day! We highly recommend Shell Island for your dream Beach Wedding.

Our wedding was moved due to a hurricane in 2016 and Alex Lorenz was amazing even during a stressful time. Our wedding day could not have been more amazing. The food, staff, bar, beautiful location really captured exactly what we wanted. It was important that my wife and I felt welcomed and not judged being a same sex couple. To put it simply our day was perfect and amazing and a lot of that had to do with the staff.

What a beautiful place to have a wedding! We were very pleased with this venue. We had our ceremony on the beach and reception in the Ocean View room. Leigh was wonderful! She was quick to respond to emails and phone calls, very accommodating of all our requests, and was with us each step of the way to guide us through the whole process. Our servers George and James were very helpful. The food was delicious! I would definitely recommend Shell Island as a great place to have a wedding!

MEREDITH AND HER STAFF WERE SO PROFESSIONAL.....OUR GUESTS SAID IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST WEDDINGS THEY HAD EVER BEEN TO....AS PARENTS OF THE BRIDE WE TRULY AGREED !!!!!!!! WE WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!!!!!!

Meredith and the catering staff made everything so easy. All I had to do was show up with our decorations for the reception and they made it happen. It was a beautiful day that was very stress free.

GREAT place to have a beach wedding! They took care of everything- decorating, food, the actual beach ceremony- Meredith and Corey were great to work with and calmed my nerves from the moment we got there. We had lots of family and friends in from out of town, most of which stayed at the hotel so it was a great weekend. The bar staff at the hotel bar were very accommodating and stayed open late for us both Fri and Sat nights. We also had our rehearsal dinner there on Fri which was great as well. Just make sure your guests understand that the discounted block of rooms ends a month before the wedding!

Meredith Swicegood was wonderful to have as our wedding coordinator. My husband and I are not from the area, so we relied primarily on Meredith's recommendations for other vendors. I was pleased with all, especially Pastor Skip Corbett! I could not have been happier with the way my wedding day turned out! The weather was perfect and everything was taken care of for us. We did not have to set up for the reception or the ceremony....we were able to relax and enjoy the day. Meredith and her staff were very kind and helpful!

We recently got married at Shell Island Resort and the planning process with Meredith was wonderful! She even had her first baby through the planning, but made sure that her co-worker, Cory, took over in her absence. Meredith and Cory made everything as smooth as possible, and responded to emails and phone calls quickly. As we got closer to the wedding we kept changing our mind on if we were going to use the extra ballroom or not, and in the end we decided to. Meredith explained how the reception was going to work with that extra room, and painted a picture of how the whole evening would go. She was there every step of the way, and helped us out when our pastor was late for the rehearsal (she thought it started 2 hours later). She was there when I came down to the lobby to walk down the aisle, and helped with our crazy wedding party. George was amazing too, and kept the evening running well! Also, the two bartenders working were great! There was never a line, and we had a lot of drinkers! You can't go wrong with an oceanfront ballroom.
The only negative had nothing to do with the actual wedding, but the front desk. I spent time making hotel welcome bags for our guests, that had traveled from NY, PA, CA, among other places, and they didn't hand them out! It was the least we could do for our guests for traveling so far, and I was really disappointed that they weren't being handed out. I also had many guests say staff that the front desk could be quite rude (except for Brice, who was very helpful). It really left a sour taste in our mouth, and stinks to experience that when the whole time we were dealing with such professional and nice people from Shell Island. Despite the hiccup with the front desk, I would definitely recommend Shell Island to have your wedding at. Many of the other vendors have worked with Shell Island many times, so there is a sense of relief that the communication on our wedding day would go smoothly.

I have to say that Meredith, the hotel planner made the day go by flawlessly. Her and her staff were there to fill our every need. The only downside to this venue was the reception room, it has a couple of pilars that seem likee they might get in the way but once you are there you hardly notice them. She rallied the guest from the beach into the reception and her staff waited on us hand and foot getting us food and drinks. They do a great job of staying the in background and when it was time to clean up they put everything onto a dolly for us to take back to our room or store it in another room for safe keeping for the night. The hotel bar was willing to stay open for us until two to allow the bridal party and me and my wife time to relax and chill out. I HIGHLY recommend this site for your wedding.

We held our wedding ceremony on the beach outside of the resort. Most of our family stayed at the resort for the wedding weekend.

Service was awesome. From the moment we parked in front of the hotel, George the bellman was on it...made our stay really special. Even helped our family and guests... Service from the bellstaff, restaurant, front desk, etc. was fantastic. Everyone made an extra effort to ensure you were enjoying your stay..

Restaurant prices were fairly reasonable..better than expected.
Bartenders/staff..awesome! Fun and attentive.....

The room was not as large as I expected (based on website pics). The views and location more than made up for it!

Pools were clean and well kept.
Beach access was awesome...We stayed during beautiful weather.. and beach was not crowded at all!

I am looking forward to returning on our First Anniversary!

Thanks to Shell Island staff for making our wedding weekend so wonderful...

Shell Island has a spectacular view of the ocean. A professional staff, Valerie, George,Meredith and the amazing wait staff were spot on. We were assisted every step of the way. The food was delicious ,the decorations were beautiful and the bar tenders were busy!
Recommend this venue for any special event!

Shell Island turned out to be great. We had our worries leading up to the wedding day due to a bit of lapse in communication and a little pushback on a few things we wanted to do. However, day of, everything went very smoothly and we couldn't be happier. The food was and drinks were great, the ceremony location was beautiful and worked out very well (we got married on the porch). The reception space was so much fun! The only issue we had with the space was that it was hard to see our guests while sitting at our sweetheart table due to the large columns blocking our view. Alex and Kalie did a phenomenal job getting the decorations ready and coordinating all actions on the day of and were very courteous! Also George the banquet manager was very friendly made sure to keep us informed and our guests well fed. James did an amazing job with the set up and layout of our space and was happy to help with any spacing related questions. Our bartenders were able to swiftly get drinks out without appearing overwhelmed. Lindsay especially, made incredible drinks! Last but not least the banquet staff was very accommodating and responsive to our guests needs. Over-all we felt very well taken care of on our big day and would highly recommend Shell Island!

The on-site wedding coordinator was fabulous- extremely responsive and helpful throughout the entire process. Many things can be personalized but there are some aspects of the reception venue that are standard and cannot be fully customized. Still, the venue is beautiful and elegant for a beach wedding. Only complaint regarding the venue was the disorganization and miscommunication from the hotel front desk staff throughout the room block, reservation, and guest check-in process.

We had a great experience with Shell Island! Meredith was very helpful and enthusiastic throughout the planning process and George and the rest of the staff were great the night of the wedding. Shell Island had many different options in terms of food, drink, decorations, use of space, etc. and we were really able to create the wedding we wanted. On the night of the wedding, everything went smoothly and I didn't have to worry about anything because I knew that the staff was working hard behind the scenes. I would definitely recommend Shell Island for a reception!

I had a beautiful wedding at Shell Island. The staff was amazing, the catering staff was prompt in answering questions. My only complaints are:

People setting up their beach umbrella in front of the ceremony site... With help of resort staff!!!

I was told that the beach staff would ask and help anyone who set up beach umbrellas in front of the wedding site to move so as to not distract or ruin wedding pictures... Much to my dismay while getting ready I see shell island staff assisting a family setting up there stuff directly in front of the ceremony site ?? My husband to be talked to the resort wedding coordinator and she told him "they aren't in the view... It just looks like it from the brides room" so these people weren't even asked to move and they were most definitely in the view. All my pictures have either beach umbrellas or people in bathing suits with kids in them. I have several pictures with a random man in a speedo. And sad to say it was very distracting during the ceremony. To make matters worse the beach was mostly empty due to it raining shortly before the ceremony. These people chose right in front of the ceremony and no one, not even the staff digging the hole for the umbrella tried to dissuade them from parking smack dab in front of the arbor and chairs! The coordinator could have asked them to move as she said she would. I had wedding guests wondering if they should step in.... I wish they would have!!

And, warning the ocean view ball room has huge supporting beams/pillars in the room. I didn't notice them so much when touring the place but there were tables completely blocked from view of the sweetheart table. I admit I was mesmerized by the view of the ballroom and probably would have still chosen the venue anyway but bride beware that it is an issue.

My daughter was married at the Shell Island Resort on Wrightsville Beach, NC.
They bent over backwards to make sure everything was perfect. There were a few glitches but none that the venue could have controlled. We worked with two event planners, one of which left the hotel's employment a few weeks before the wedding. But the second planner picked up immediately and did an outstanding job.
The beach setting was perfect. The Beachview ballroom was beautiful and the food for the plated reception was fantastic.

Overall, I loved Shell Island for our wedding. The hotel and beach is beautiful, perfect place for a beach wedding, our pictures were phenomenal. The rooms are nice and our guests enjoyed staying there and you get a suite the night of complimentary when you book with them which is also a nice perk and a good deal. We loved our food and all our guests raved about it. Communication could have been a little better with the coordinator though. Before we purchased our sky lanterns we called and made sure we could use them on the beach after the reception and we got the okay on it so we ordered them. Well day of our coordinator was trying to convince us not to use them because they almost caught the dunes on fire. We agreed to do less than planned only to find out later that night from the staff that the metal from them is considered littering and we would have never been able to use them. So that was a waste of money after getting the green light on it. So just know to NOT DO SKY LANTERNS. Also, no one told us about where our top tier of our cake went and didn't give it to us when we checked out but luckily we were staying a few extra days somewhere else close and were able to come back and get it after calling them two days later to see if they had it. We also bought a bunch of paper lanterns and they ended up only setting up about half of them. The reception space otherwise was set up beautifully. We also had to set up our ceremony space on our own besides the chairs which I wasn't aware of so I had to designate that to a family member last minute. But when we had a issue with our DJ, Meredith the coordinator, did try hard to help us out and see if she could find someone to replace him and if not she said she would make sure to keep him straight day of which I appreciated. She did work hard to help us out and answer all of our questions and with us being out of towners she was helpful. Overall, I would still chose them again if I had the choice

This was a great place to get married. Just don't expect to eat/drink lunch from the hotel restaurant the day of your wedding. We didn't eat and had to get someone from the wedding to make a Jimmy Johns run. Make sure you have someone to get you things/come prepared. They're slow to respond to emails but were better closer to the wedding day. Also, we changed planners 3 times in 1 year, so just expect to have to explain yourself multiple times. The food was AMAZING. The bartender was AMAZING. The service the day of (other than not eating and getting hangry around lunch) was AMAZING. Also, know what room you want before you go and reserve it specifically!

The venue is beautiful. The hotel had just reopened after the hurricane. The beach is a public beach and the locals do not care about your wedding. The food was amazing at the tasting but by the time we ate it was dry and they ran out of meat. We had communication issues between the wedding staff and front desk for rooms. Obviously these are the things that were issues. The experience as a whole was good. Just some things to consider when looking for a venue. We used some of the wedding party to hold off locals while we did pics, in my opinion should have been done by the hotel.

Overall my day was perfect, but hit a couple of bumps leading up to the big day. I thought communication would have been better. I was also a bit surprised by their food tasting- wish we could have tried more than the three entrees to get a better idea of what we wanted since we were doing a three entree buffet. They had a bunch of items to choose from though and the food turned out well.

Beautiful location for a beach wedding. Had a gorgeous ceremony on the beach, and like many reviews before me, Meredith was very responsive. However, I have to say that I am extremely disappointed with the customer service and overall involvement with the hotel. I checked in on the Friday before our wedding.. never once did Meredith/management introduce themselves to us after going back and forth over email so many times before. I made the final payment over the phone in the hotel room and I guess they got what they wanted at that point!

Had some major issues with inconsistent information with reservations. My guests were constantly phoning me regarding discrepant information they are receiving vs. what was in our signed contract. Guests were being charged different rates not as outlined in our signed contract. Information was not provided up front.. it was more of a "find out as we went along" sort of thing. Also, day of the ceremony there was some unnecessary stress.. ceremony chairs were not set out until 3:30 for a 4:30 ceremony! We had to call multiple times to check on this.. and since we are responsible for decorating ourselves this put quite a strain on family with decorating but also having time for them to get ready for the ceremony.

Overall, I would highly recommend a wedding here.. the location cannot be beat! Just be prepared to constantly check up on the details!

the event staff was amazing and the food was absolutely wonderful. But I began my process with Meredith and she was wonderful and was telling me what would be taken care of and then I found out that she would be gone two weeks before my wedding. Then when we got down to NC I gave all of my decor and such to Sasha's assistant. I let her know what everything was and where it went. Then on my actual wedding day my family ended up having to go do decorations in their formal attire because in Sasha's words "she doesn't do that." Then when I was getting ready my bridesmaids had gone down to look at the reception room which hadn't even been started, and that really wouldn't be an issue because they had it done by the reception time but Sasha was talking to other prospective clients and rudely told my bridesmaid she'd have to wait. Then I was telling Sasha about a ceremony seating issue and she said "oh well you'll need to find someone else because I don't do that." I mean I was in my wedding dress and everything and the coordinator was telling me to find someone else to coordinate right before my wedding. then at the reception we were made to wait to enter because she told us she has to be there to hold the door and she was on the phone.

I understand having multiple couples to prepare for and book. But I would think the bride actually getting married that day would have a little priority. The day after the wedding I found out from other people that they had not liked their encounters with Sasha as well. Mainly my mother who was extremely upset with Sasha's curt attitude.

I like to give people the benefit of the doubt and it seems like a bride after me had no issues with Sasha. So maybe it was because of the transition from Meredith and I was under the impression things would be taken care of and they weren't. But again we really had a wonderful day. And the food and reception staff were absolutely wonderful!

My wedding here was horrible, the only good thing the resort had to offer was the coordinator herself ! The stars above reflect the resort not her.

The worst experience I’ve ever had at a “resort” in my life. Not to mention my husband and I spent a lot of money for what we thought would be a resort like atmosphere but we were dead wrong. The management staff was rude to both myself and my guests. Their level of professionalism is what you’d see at Walmart. They not only messed up many things in my big day that were in my contact but it doesn’t compare to the health scare that occurred. My mother in law has a soy and dairy allergy, which we let the resort know from the very beginning. During the reception they did not give her the proper food which could have been a severe health problem. The sass from the staff and the terrible attitudes was not what I expected in my wedding day. We did every thing we could to prepare for this day but we couldn’t prepare for the service we received from this location. Do not go here. Big waste of money. No matter what you agree to in their contract you won’t get what you paid for. The entire place is still recovering. The smell from the water in the rooms was so awful. Do not recommend.

We were rather disappointed. While friendly and responsive, Meredith didn't really deliver on wedding day. The food we got wasn't at all like what we ordered (one entree turned out to be strips of grey overcooked beef and another was missing altogether), we paid for a 2nd bartender that we didn't receive (leading to a >20 minute wait at the bar) and we were told we would have premium liquor at the open bar (we had Aristocrat).
It turns out the premium liquor was being served (by our 2nd bartender) at a fraternity/sorority event across the hall. Nobody informed us that a few dozen wasted college students would be partying next door; I found out when I noticed that our guests were bringing their gifts into the ballroom. When I went outside I saw loud drunk students in the halls, the lobby, on the patio outside our ballroom and vomiting in the bathrooms. One even wrote "Get some!" on our wedding keepsake, rendering it useless. When I stepped back inside I saw that some of these students were helping themselves to our open bar. This became a constant problem; I spent about half of my wedding reception acting as bouncer. My wife noticed that cash donations were missing at the end of the reception so our first conversation as husband and wife revolved around the services that were paid for, agreed upon, and not provided as well as the embarrassingly raucous college students next door who probably stole from us.
When we confronted Meredith about the missing services the next day she replied that she thought we had removed them to save money (although she conceded that the bartender "should have brought out" the good liquor). This excuse rang hollow as we originally purchased enough to bring us right to the minimum required to rent the room and removing anything would not have changed our price.
We weren't very happy with our "honeymoon suite" either: no toilet paper, broken water heater and construction noise in the room above ours at 8AM. The beach is nice.