About Us
The idea behind the Coastal Wedding Expo stemmed from two spaces: Firstly, to provide a space to highlight local Black and POC-owned businesses in the event and celebration industry where they may have been overlooked in the past and to provide fellow contacts for those businesses to work with on future weddings and events. Secondly, the Expo was inspired by and is intentionally placed to evoke the spirit and history of the Seabreeze region of Wilmington, NC which historically has been a space where Black entrepreneurship flourished.
History of Seabreeze
Seabreeze was one of two North Carolina beaches available to African Americans in the state during the Jim Crow era. The beach area, originally 99 acres of underdeveloped beachfront land was acquired the Freeman family and eventually parceled in tracts designed to be self-supporting waterfront properties, Between the 1920s and the 1960s Seabreeze developed rich cultural traditions and history as blacks from across eastern and central North Carolina traveled for miles to experience the wooden dance floors and jukeboxes. With Freeman Beach they found a place to vacation, relax, and play. From the 1920s through the 1960s, the beach had three hotels, ten restaurants, dozens of rental cottages, a boat pier, a bingo parlor, and a small amusement park, complete with Ferris wheel. During the summer months thousands of visitors flocked to the area. Seabreeze survived as a close-knit residential community. Homeowners never abandoned the area and it attracted some retirees. These residents, including many Freeman descendants, established annual Heritage Day celebrations in the early 2000s, recalling the history and heyday of the resort.
Since it's inception, The Coastal Wedding Expo team has been committed to honoring the legacy of thee Seabreeze communities, including the family that owns the location that hosts the Expo.
