Author: Margo R. Sears

Midday & Harsh Sunlight Advice

Post author By Margo R. Sears
Post date April 19, 2023
No Comments on Midday & Harsh Sunlight Advice

Avoid harsh, burning, overhead sunlight in midday hours ruining your once-only beach wedding photos! See examples above. Sunrise or sunset times (with exception during winter) have cooler, cleaner, nicer, more private & beautiful results. See our 1-minute video on this:

SOLUTIONS!

Sunrise or sunset hours get you clean, soft, deserted beaches, more private, quieter, much cooler temps, and amazing sky colors with fantastic wedding photos! See explanations below.

The exception is wintertime & early spring in late November to March – midday warmth is needed then.

BUT DURING May, June, July, August, September dates:

Avoid 9am – 6pm between mid-April to mid-October. It is SUPER HOT (& heat index around 100+ degrees May-Sept!)
Overhead, harsh sunlight makes everyone squint nonstop with shadowy ‘black-eyes’ and black cheekbones/noses make everyone look super haggard, old, tired (see pics above & below & the video in this article).
Heavy humidity, sweaty, running makeup and hairdo wilting …
Burning sand on bare feet …
Crowded & very noisy (running & screaming kids, loud music boxes, half naked, sandy/dirty, sweaty strangers in your photos)
Trashed beach cluttered with towels, chairs, shoes, coolers, cups, wrappers.
THE hottest hours YEAR ROUND are 2-5pm.
THE Best time for summertime beach weddings is first hour at sunrise time. Second Best is the last hour before sundown time, sunset time.
FYI: a breeze will not help at 100+ degrees in direct burning sunlight! It’s just a ‘hot breath’ with humidity.
Reminder: weddings are nothing like visiting the beach in your swimsuit and shorts, friend. Cool off by jumping in water or walk away into shade during your ceremony, are not options. So control the timing instead.
Seriously! sunrise or sunset times are best choices to avoid harsh sunlight issues.

Tags advice, best time, harsh, midday, photographer, photography, photos, planning, sunlight, sunrise, sunset, timing

advice during ceremony Legal Photography pre-wedding

What Do Locations Look like?

Post author By Margo R. Sears
Post date April 19, 2023

New clients for weddings or family photos, often ask us, “What does it look like there?” So to show you what the 3 most popular, gorgeous locations look like for a wedding in Margo’s lovely photos from our passed 2,000+ ceremonies, they are:
North Myrtle & Myrtle SC,
Ocean Isle Beach NC,
Sunset Beach NC.
BONUS! Each of them has ZERO travel fee with us! You may view each one right now in our “1-minute” slideshow videos, below.

Also, our map and a webpage listing ALL the NC and SC beaches and cities we serve, including other ones with travel fees, are at the bottom, too.

OCEAN ISLE BEACH NC
for Renewals, Weddings, or Family Photos.
View this 1-minute slideshow video to get a good overview feel:

SUNSET BEACH NC
for Weddings, Vows Renewal or Family Beach Pics.
What does it look like there? Have a 85 seconds look-see at this beauty:

NORTH MYRTLE / CHERRY GROVE / MYRTLE SC
And what does it look like there (including inland Little River) at SC locations? Just 57 seconds to see all (btw, City of NMB requires a new $25 beach permit starting 2024):

Tags beach weddings, beaches, cheap wedding, discount, locations, looks like, NC, SC, simple weddings

advice during ceremony Legal pre-wedding

Professional Officiant or Friend?

Post author By Margo R. Sears
Post date March 18, 2023

Online-Ordained Friend or Professional Officiant / Minister?

Blunt Warning: in NC, there are legal risks to using an online or mailorder ordained Clergy who is NOT authorized by their church. The risk is your marriage being invalidated by an NC judge IF someone tries to end a marriage quickly by reporting your officiant as mailorder or online ordained, therefore ALL other marriages by that clergy are invalidated too.

But couples risk that to have familiar comfort during a uniquely stressful event. So CAN you still have a warm, comfortable (and legal) ceremony with a hired professional? Oh yes! This article will address that point in a few minutes, read on.

First, do you know what legally authorizes a person to officiate in NC or SC?
Do you know what goes into public speaking, designing a ceremony and wording, or a rehearsal? IF your friend is a newbie at this its even tougher. To reframe this: would you hire a caterer who has never cooked before? Would you want your wedding to be their first time trying?
Moreover, this lack puts your loved one in a high-pressure, complex, and legal position of VERY BIG responsibility and consequences if they fail … with only ONE shot at it.
And you two won’t get this special moment back, either. This is a one-off situation.

Seven main reasons to interview and hire a seasoned, qualified, professional Officiant/Minister:

NC court judges use a legal Precedent (set by case of Lynch vs. NC, 1980) which allow NC judges to invalidate any online or mailorder clergy ordination at any time… even years later! If your friend’s ordination is judged invalid, then your marriage is invalid. This causes you, your business, your property, your children and grandchildren very SERIOUS legal problems.
In all 50 states, the location state of the ceremony has jurisdiction over the wedding, not your home state. In NC, only a judge or a church-authorized clergy is allowed to officiate a legal wedding.
“Ordained” does NOT mean “legally authorized”. Many clergy don’t know this either: some clergy are NOT allowed to officiate weddings! Couples need to contact the leadership of that person’s church with three questions:
1. Was she or he ordained in-person or no?
2. Is that ordination current or expired?
3. Is she or he authorized by that church to solemnize your marriage or no?
What if your loved one says they are already a Clergy, are you uncomfortable with checking their legal credentials with other people? Most casual clergy don’t realize they aren’t authorized–like everyone else, they just assume and, finding out can be embarrassing and awkward.
Also, are you two willing to feel vulnerable and weep in front of this person? Do you want to see him in 90% of your ceremony photos? Are you willing to risk your wedding, your happiness, you’re your friendship if you don’t agree on important wording? And IF they tank at your wedding and ruin it, are you willing to risk your friendship, or forgive the loss of your ONE shot at your dream wedding?
Officiating well also requires dozens of special personal skills. Which skills are you willing to forfeit when an amateur overlooks them?
1. knows the minimum legal requirements
2. knows ceremony and rehearsal logistics,
3. is reliable, on time consistently,
4. enjoys public speaking, pleasant voice, good eye-contact, voice projection without yelling,
5. patient, calm and flexible during sudden changes or surprises,
6. controls stress habits (twitching, scratching, smoking, drinking, winking, waving hands around),
7. wears appropriate attire, hairdo, neat and clean,
8. be 100% sober and respectful to you,
9. speech writing skills: understands co-writing vows to YOUR taste not his.
Why set up someone you love (and yourself) for disastrous failure? The consequences are high with legal issues. Why not let them enjoy being an honored guest instead? Or a Poem Reader, MOH or Best Man, Toastmaster or Dinner Blessing, or all of those?

There are better, safer Clergy options that feel familiar and comfortable, too. A seasoned, trained, authorized Officiant knows what works, what won’t, and will let YOU choose. Moreover, if you don’t want a ‘stranger’ officiating, or you want more control over the vows, you can have that easily:

Ask your other wedding vendors for warm, personable reputable recommendations.
Ask married family and friends if they liked their Officiant, specifically why or why not?
Search reputable wedding websites with vendor listings. This can be VERY FUN! Read the reviews of the 4 and 5-star ones. In the photos do they look, read and “feel” good to you?

Your ceremony is what your wedding day is all about. We recommend you:

Contact 3 of the best. Ask for a phone interview or meet you for coffee.
Trust your instincts: how flexible is she? Is he enthusiastic? Notice reactions to your wishes and ideas.
Speak openly about what you do and don’t want, listen to their questions. Don’t worry if a clergyperson doesn’t share your beliefs … you won’t hire that one. (say “Thank you for your time, but we are going in another direction.”)
Do you like how she or he talks? How he looks (he’ll be in half the photos)? Does that person seem to like you?
When you find 1 or 2 favorites, ask for the contact info to the leaders of their churches to confirm their ordination and authorization. If they don’t comply, then smile, say that “thank you… another direction.” speech. Regardless of charm, if they aren’t authorized, you risk your marriage not being legal.

Find a warm, friendly, experienced Officiant who is on your wavelength and their church leaders confirm, and he or she is HAPPY for you. You deserve that!

Tags ceremony, cons, female, friend, legal, male, Minister, Officiant, Officiate, Preacher, pro, professional, pros, which

advice after wedding during ceremony Photography pre-wedding reception

Friend or Pro Photographer?

Post author By Margo R. Sears
Post date January 9, 2023

Friend or Pro Shooter?

CONSIDER THIS: The event itself lasts just 1 day (or less), but GREAT photos will bring back your Happy Memories all your life, and for 7 more generations of loved ones, AND be a record for another 700+ years too!
Need to fit a budget? Put your hard-earned money where YOU get the most from it -- compromise elsewhere.

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For gorgeous once-in-your-lifetime photos, you will choose either a friend / loved one, or a recommended professional photographer? There are pros and cons to each one:

PROs for FRIEND (the upside):

Free or cheap
Might offer unlimited time shooting
Familiar face and energy
May get insider pics from knowing the group’s politics
If you like to do it, you probably can micro-manage a friend shooting
Friend may party or drink with you.

CONs – FRIEND (the downside):

Friend may party or drink while working – drunk people with only 1 hand free, don’t get good photos
May expect compensation elsewhere (i.e. big tip, free drinks, favors, borrow your car or condo)
Friend may not handle real challenges to your liking
May NEED micro-managing (if inexperienced)
May resist micro-managing, argue, sulk or feel insulted and stop shooting
Expectations are casual, so he may miss good shots which are important to you
Chatting, distracted by other guests, and miss important shots
If you speak up about it, you risk hurt feelings, arguing, embarrassment
Friend can just refuse your suggestions
Friend can take embarrassing pics or gossip about private things seen / heard
If friend gets sick, too drunk/high, injured, has travel problems–then a good replacement is hard to find at last minute.
Friend might not handle challenges (bad weather, rain, poor lighting, rude guests, dead batteries, hairdo and make-up failures, emotional meltdowns)
Friend may not know how to help people relax—gets awkward, adds to your stress, wastes time
Friend may not know how to pose people to look their best
You risk your photos being poor quality.
If you don’t like the photos, you risk hurt feelings & no solutions
Thus, you risk having no great wedding photos
Friend may not have truly high-tech equipment or authentic editing skills
If someone breaks his camera or lights, or gets injured (tripping/falling), or he damages property (drops your wedding rings, breaks a chair he stood upon), YOU pay for the camera, the doctor, and the lost property!
Because this was a free/cheap project for a pal (you), your wedding pics may get low priority to finish editing & deliver.

CON – PROFESSIONAL (the downside):

You pay a set, pre-determined fee
She may not feel like a familiar face at first
Shooter may not accept being micro-managed
Professional will not party/drink with you
Pro may not handle challenges to your liking (good recommendations fix this one)

PRO – PROFESSIONAL (the upside):

Professional shooter will not party on the job; stays sober and focused
If you don’t like something, you can ask for a change without argument or hurt feelings
Professional knows how to pose people to look their best
Professional always helps people to relax, be comfortable and genuine for photos
No embarrassing shots or gossiping; all stays confidential
You choose when the shooting starts and stops
Photographer is your employee to direct
If you don’t want to micro-manage on your wedding day, you don’t have to
Pro always takes your posing suggestions
If she is sick, injured or unable to work, she sends a good, professional, reliable replacement shooter
Professional can get clever shots from being unrestricted by your group’s politics
Uses professional high-tech equipment and editing tools and experienced skills
A recommended and experienced Professional handles challenges well (i.e. drunk or rude guests or meltdowns, weather, dead batteries, hairdo and make-up failures, etc.)
Professional will definitely get you great photos
If you don’t like the results, a professional can re-edit differently, or offer compensation or partial refund–without hurt feelings (good recommendations & experience avoid this)
Professional has insurance coverage if someone damages her equipment, or any property, or a guest gets injured (grandpa falls and breaks a hip trying to help move a prop, or sister trips over a camera bag), you don’t pay for those expensive, surprise bills!
Professional shooter delivers your photos on time because you’re a paying customer.

Tags cons, friend, photographer, photography, photos, pro, professional, pros, shooter, which

Avoid harsh, burning, overhead sunlight in midday hours ruining your once-only beach wedding photos! See examples above. Sunrise or sunset times (with exception during winter) have cooler, cleaner, nicer, more private & beautiful results. See our 1-minute video on this:

SOLUTIONS!

OCEAN ISLE BEACH NC for Renewals, Weddings, or Family Photos. View this 1-minute slideshow video to get a good overview feel:

SUNSET BEACH NC for Weddings, Vows Renewal or Family Beach Pics. What does it look like there? Have a 85 seconds look-see at this beauty:

NORTH MYRTLE / CHERRY GROVE / MYRTLE SCAnd what does it look like there (including inland Little River) at SC locations? Just 57 seconds to see all (btw, City of NMB requires a new $25 beach permit starting 2024):

Online-Ordained Friend or Professional Officiant / Minister?

Friend or Pro Shooter?

QUICK LINKS:

OCEAN ISLE BEACH NC
for Renewals, Weddings, or Family Photos.
View this 1-minute slideshow video to get a good overview feel:

SUNSET BEACH NC
for Weddings, Vows Renewal or Family Beach Pics.
What does it look like there? Have a 85 seconds look-see at this beauty:

NORTH MYRTLE / CHERRY GROVE / MYRTLE SC
And what does it look like there (including inland Little River) at SC locations? Just 57 seconds to see all (btw, City of NMB requires a new $25 beach permit starting 2024):