After trudging the half mile across Isle of Palms beach here in the Charleston, SC area I quickly remembered why I hate the beach. And then after spending 2 hours taking pictures for a friend’s somewhat impromptu beach wedding, I realized something else: I hate beach weddings. But the most important thing I learned this weekend is that I am not cut out to be a wedding photographer.
It started with a half mile hike across the beach. If you’re a big girl like me, you know what a task that already is. Once you reach a certain weight, you can’t walk all cutesy like across the sand. No, your feet sink in with every step and a half mile hike quickly feels more like 3 miles. Worse, I had my own weight to carry plus a chair and my purse full of several bottles of water. So there I was, hiking across the beach with an extra 25 pounds strapped to me.
Why did we have to walk a half mile? I don’t beach. I hate sand. It gets places. So when we were told by the bride “We’re looking to get married on the pier, behind Windjammer at Isle of Palms” I took that to mean that the pier was behind Windjammer and that’s around where we should park. I don’t have a clue where anything is anywhere beach wise.
Spoilers: There is no pier behind Windjammer. This is nowhere near it.
Being an impromptu wedding that was announced all of a week ago, there wasn’t much of an overall plan. Everyone who could, was asked to bring a camera. Of course I brought mine. I figured it would be a shame to let a great camera go to waste and I hoped I could provide my friends with some lasting memories. I soon learned that while I feel I succeeded, I won’t be starting up a photography business anytime soon.
I am thoroughly exhausted from this wedding – not just because of the hike back and forth, but the sheer amount of work it took to get pictures in from different angles and to try to be everywhere at the same time while dodging the cameras of other party members. It was so overwhelming. Mad props to wedding photographers because I completely understand now why they charge so much.
This was a very casual wedding without much in the way of plans nor rules. I took the liberty to focus on the overall day of it and take some pictures of the scenery. Their one goal (besides the whole getting married thing) was to have the ceremony performed at sunset. Unfortunately, the clouds weren’t really behaving and I set my camera to pick up as much of the sunset as it possibly could to get that vibe they were hoping for.
Unfortunately, we lost the sun quickly. It made for some pictures not turning out as nicely as they maybe could have. Also, I was struggling to take pictures fast and around other people’s cameras. Contending with other camera flashes and bodies otherwise in the way was really hard. I have a new found appreciation for professionals. I hope that one day when Jeremy and I decide to get married, I will remember how hard I worked today and try to keep that in mind when choosing a wedding photographer and paying them handsomely!
But despite all of the hard work, some pictures turned out quite lovely and have become some of my favorites. I hope that my friends Nick and Rachel enjoy these pictures and cherish them forever. They plan to have a bigger, better ceremony at a later time – possibly next year. But I hope that the pictures I gave them provide them with many years of fond memories of their special day. I’m so glad they invited Jeremy and I to be part of it.
P.S. We’re ugly kissers. Whatever.
Because I live in Florida and love the beach I’ve seen many, many sunset weddings. I learned very quickly that, while they sound pretty and romantic, they’re a big pain for guests and wedding party members. Big props to you for getting through this event. The pictures did turn out quite lovely!
I am definitely not cut out to be a professional photographer, especially weddings. A) I don’t have the skills and B) I’d NEVER have the confidence!
I want a beach wedding, but not one that requires a lot of sand walking to get to it.
Looks like such a beautiful place! I would love a destination wedding! Thanks for the fun giveaway with Angie :)
No matter how good I get at photography, I don’t think I ever want to be a wedding photographer. It is so much work, and if things don’t turn out it’s horrible because you’ve lost their special day forever. Too much pressure for me.
Thank you a million times over for making this day wonderful for us. Your pictures were absolutely amazing. I’m sorry it was stressful for everyone. The next one will be much much better and not on the beach.