Friday, December 4, 2009

First club house wedding reception




Our first wedding reception in the new club house. This wedding took place on October 17, 2009 and was great fun! Thanks Sandrine and Jared for being so laid back and happy with everything. You made the kickoff wedding a great experience for your guests, as well as my staff.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

FINALLY! There are photos to show of our brand spanking new club house. It's absolutely beautiful, and we couldn't be happier about having weddings here. We've had several so far, and I'll post photos. I can't imagine a better spot to get married.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

June 20 wedding

This ceremony took place on the Ocean Terrace at 6:30pm, Saturday, June 20. Immediately after the ceremony, the cocktail hour kicked up with drinks and passed hors d'oeuvres right there on the terrace. You can't beat a party at the beach! As the sun was setting, the wedding party and guests made their way across the street to the reception held in our current clubhouse.


Monday, June 15, 2009

updated photos of clubhouse




The new clubhouse is really coming along, and thank God, because our first wedding there is October 17. Not too far away!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

honeymoon


When planning your honeymoon, don't write off Hawaii as an option because you think it will be too expensive a trip. Look into staying at a condo resort rather than a full service hotel/resort. Chances are, you'll get more space, including a kitchen, and the rates will be much less. I'm partial to Maui, west Maui specifically, and the photos here are of a large one-bedroom condo just feet from the ocean with two pools, views of Molokai, and hundreds of huge sea turtles that greet you each morning. I've been going to this condo for almost 20 years, so trust me when I tell you that it's great. You'll never want to leave. It's #215 at http://www.noelani-condo-resort.com/.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

first ceremony at new oceanfront terrace




Here are photos of our first wedding ceremony on the new Ocean Terrace!! The day started out cloudy and rainy, but the sun arrived just in time for a beautiful event. Just a note....we expect the palm trees to be fully grown out by Spring 2010.



Friday, May 8, 2009

clubhouse construction

Just a few months away from completion of our new ocean view clubhouse. What a big change from the old one! In terms of weddings, this building will have a decked out bride's room (window to the left of the front door), which will be the perfect spot to get ready for the big day. It'll be a welcome hideaway, too, as all brides and bridesmaids need a cozy spot to take a breather, reapply lipstick, etc. Further down the hall is a pre-function space, perfect for cocktail hour. It also serves as the backup space when an outdoor ceremony on the Ocean Terrace needs to move inside due to weather. Doesn't happen often, but you always need a good Plan B. The pre-function space (Carolina Room) opens onto the Atlantic Ballroom, which will be beautiful. You can see the ocean from both rooms, and they each have great access to a deep wrap-around veranda, as indoor-outdoor weddings are what we do best.
As soon as the building is finished and decorated, I'll have photos of the whole thing posted here.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

new oceanfront wedding venue





Ok, ok, it's been a while since I posted anything here. I've been waiting for progress to be made to our club's outdoor event venue, and now here are some construction photos. The space isn't completely finished yet, which is obvious since the black silt fence is still up, but it will be very soon. This space, called the Ocean Terrace, will be perfect for a wedding ceremony with a cocktail hour immediately following in the same space. The palm trees will provide shade (eventually!), and they will be uplit, which will look beautiful. As far as I can determine from my research, there really isn't another spot on the East Coast where you can get married so close to the water without actually having your feet in the sand. People are going to love it!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

covered boat house

Sometimes a wedding on water isn't at the beach. It may be on a lake, at a pool, or in this case, on a creek. When I took this photo, we were still setting up this event, but thanks to the daylight, you can get a sense of the scenario. We held a wedding's cocktail hour on this covered dock after a ceremony on the nearby lawn of this private home. Candles and paper lanterns (with LED bulbs) gave the space a beautiful glow that reflected on the quiet surface of the creek. On the bar we layered a large piece of burlap over the white linen to add an earthy texture, and on the built-in benches along the dock railing we placed burlap pillows that we trimmed in marsh green (wedding color) grosgrain ribbon to soften and coordinate the seating area. As a finishing touch, tall glass cylinders with white pillar candles lit the way to this lovely hour over the water.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

ceremony aisle

Flimsy aisle runners (the kind you buy at the craft store or get through a florist) do not work well at a beach ceremony. Even if you weigh them down, they inevitably start blowing around with the slightest breeze from the water. One of the first things I do when I'm showing a bride-to-be our oceanfront ceremony location is discourage her from even considering one of these runners. Instead, define the aisle by lining it with large seashells or decorating the inside chairs like we did in the photo shown here. Hanging these flower balls was easy, and not only did they add charm to an already charming setting, but they added color and coordinated with the flowers on the wedding arch, in the bride's bouquet, and in the centerpieces at the reception. Sweet and simple.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

beach wedding photography

This time of year I get a ton of requests for information from couples who recently got engaged over the holidays. Not only do they want to know about the availability for a beach wedding where I happen to work, but they also want suggestions on things like beach wedding photography. I'm married to a commercial photographer who also happens to shoot weddings. In addition, I was a photographers' agent in NYC for 10 years before moving to the coast of South Carolina, going to culinary school, and getting into the wedding business. Photography is obviously one of our specialties!

I asked my husband to offer his single most important piece of advice for being photographed on a sunny beach. He thought a while and gave a simple suggestion: If the sun must be shining in your eyes for whatever reason (this happens sometimes if you're insisting on a particular background - like the ocean! - and the positioning can't be avoided), right before the photographer is going to click the shutter, look down at the sand for a few seconds, keep your eyes open, and then look up at the camera for the shot. The photographer needs to know you're doing this so that she/he can take the photo immediately while your eyes are still wide and not yet squinting again. By looking down at the sand, your eyes will get acclimated to the reduction in sunlight, and they will open more. Pick up your head toward the sun for the shot, and there's a short timeframe for your photographer to capture your eyes open. Often, photographers will tell you to close your eyes and then open them for the shot. Bad idea. You'll over-compensate when you open, and the result is the deer-in-the-headlights look. Attractive! Feel free to take a look at Chris' wedding site at www.cmrweddings.com to see some beach shots. All the beach weddings you'll see took place on our island.