We are going to a wedding in Wrightsville Beach (Wilmington area) North Carolina in early October and would like to extend our stay either before or after. What other places or resorts are worth our time that are not too far away? A friend suggested Bald Head Island or Kitty Hawk. Thanks for your feedback.

Oh, that will be lovely, and a GREAT time of year. Bald Head is a beach community--have to ride a ferry, and after you are there it is golf and beach. Historic Wilmington is fun in and of itself. Plenty of beach availability. Fishing if you do.
If you want another destination head down to Charleston--about 3 hours direct drive. Some things to do on the way would be Brookgreen Gardens at Litchfield (have lunch in Murrell's Inlet, best seafood on the SC coast), then on down with a pass through Georgetown (Revolutionary War town with a lovely historic district) and then Charleston with ALL it has.
That would be a pretty nice drive for the day with a destination at the end.

Kitty Hawk is hours from Wilmington. In Oct, I'd probably head south as suggested above, but may also be happy to stay put in the Wilmington area. How much driving are you willing to do, and what kind of things would you like to see/do?

We will be flying into Wilmington, and can fly out of another location. I don't think we want to drive too much, and like the idea of Charleston. I actually don't want endless beach time (melanoma issue) so am anxious to find something else to do. I have been in Charleston once before for a couple of days and that seemed like enough. Any other thoughts about Charleston or the surrounding areas would be appreciated.

There are endless threads about Charleston here. Just do a small search. The drive to Charleston on 17 is really not bad at all. Congested around Myrtle Beach, but easy otherwise.

Orton Plantation, dating from 1735, is 20 miles southwest of Wilmington. It boasts of an elabortae garden, 20 acres of nature trails and 200 acres of rice fields.

Fort Fisher, site of Civil War battles. Wilmington was the last major port in Confederate hands, taken by the Yankees on January 15, 1865.

USS North Carolina, a World War II battleship, lies on the Cape Fear River and is open to the public.

At Topsail Beach, a museum dedicated to Operation Bumble Bee is located. After World War Two, the American rocket program was considered for the uninhabited island but the weather proved to be to cold in winter for reliable testing and the site was abandoned for Cape Canarveal, Florida.

North of Wilmington in Duplin County are burgeoning wineries that conduct tours.

The drive to Charleston is 3 hours, and can be more with traffic in the MB area as mentioned above. If you can fly out of Charleston, the drive might be worth it.

Or if you want to stay closer to Wilmington, I'll second its downtown area as a nice destination, and would also add the small port town of Southport to the above suggestions (that's where the ferry to Bald Head Island departs).

Orton Plantation has been sold and is closed indefinitely. In Wilmington there are the Airlie Gardens as an alternative. Agree with the NC Battleship suggestion. Fort Fisher has a nice aquarium, comprehensive but not too large to see it all. The Riverwalk downtown Wilmington is pleasant with shops and casual restaurants. Brookgreen Gardens would be quite a drive, almost 3 hrs each way, I'd guess. It's a lovely place, though.