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.
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.
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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. 
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.
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. 
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.
