SOUNDSIDE PARK WEDDING AT SURF CITY ON TOPSAIL ISLAND, NC

First time I've shot here. I thought I'd seen just about every venue in Eastern North Carolina, but never thought of Soundside Park for a Wedding. The Couple had about 100 guests and it was perfect. We had great weather, and a lot of options as to where to hold the wedding. Soundside Park is absolutely gorgeous, with a long catwalk to take pictures on. They held the reception at the Surf City Visitors Center, which was great for 100 guests...if you have more guests their are other options on the Island. We were also close to the beach, so we managed to get some nice photos at sunset, which to me, made their timing perfect. I really loved this wedding and the couple was great. I took a handful of pictures and created a little slide show to give you an idea of how nice this wedding was.


                                                             

Topsail Island Weddings. Planning a wedding for Topsail Island? Great locations for a wedding. Here are a few things to consider.

If your getting married on the beach, watch the tides. The beach can get very narrow at high tide. You could be left w/ just a few feet of beach depending on your location. At low tide it's fine. 
     You want to plan your wedding for late afternoon. The light get's nice and soft and is much better for photography. Not too late though as you want your romantic pics done at sunset. Maybe about 90 minutes before the sun sets. This is ideal, if you have to do it earlier no worries...a good photographer will work through any kind of light.
     If your not too keen on the beach for your wedding, Soundside Park is lovely. It's capable of holding about 100 people comfortably for your wedding. You can get pictures on the sound but your close enough to the beach to get some beach pictures. Within walking distance or a very short drive is the Surfside Center. Great little place for a small reception. If your looking for a bigger place for a reception the General Assembly Building can handle larger weddings. 
     If getting married on the beach is not your thing I recommend the Emma Anderson Memorial Chapel. It's a large church, close to the beach for pictures and very nice and well kept. If  you want a Catholic Ceremony I really like the St. Mary Gate of Heaven Chapel. They have a covered outdoor chapel that is unique and close to the beach. If your looking to rent a beach house go to Ward Realty. They have a great reputation and are used to finding houses to rent for vacations and wedding parties. 
    During the summer months getting on Topsail Island can get a little craaazy. If your guests are staying off Island make sure they understand that they're going to be in heavy traffic at peak times. Plan accordingly. Off peak it's not too bad, but be ready for it.

Here are a few pictures from a Topsail Island Wedding.

                                 

The British Are Coming

Actually they're already here. Have done two weddings this past summer involving citizens of the UK. Both were an absolute blast for me to photograph and I met some really nice people. The first was on July 5th on Carolina Beach. Jenna was like this cool free spirit girl  from California, and James is from the UK. They got married at 9:00 in the morning & it was hot. Don't think our guests from the UK were used to our humidity, but nobody complained as it was a beautiful Carolina day. After the ceremony we did a bunch of family shots followed by romanic images of Jenna & James. Afterwards we went to Havana's restaurant on Carolina Beach. They have a beautiful room on the second floor, that's just perfect for a small post ceremony luncheon. I learned something new @ this wedding. It's sort of a tradition at some weddings in the USA for the bride & groom, after cutting the cake, to smash a piece of cake in each others face. Not so in the UK, I guess. During the cake cutting I had the camera focused on the bride & groom. I should have had it focused on the groom's mom as her expression was priceless; she thought they were mad @ each other.

     The second wedding was at Ocean Isle Beach. Rachel & Alex got married on the beach & had their reception at the Isles restaurant. Rachel wore a beautiful simple dress. She had a bunch of family and friends who came over from the UK. They had such a good time. The toasts were long & meaningful. Food was great and the Brits knew how to drink.  All & all a fantastic wedding. Around sunset we went down to the beach to take advantage of the light to get some more pictures. Overall it was a great wedding. Among the many things I'll remember is the flower girl. She had the cutest British accent I've ever heard. 

Invitations For The Modern Bride.

Many Brides are getting away from classic invitations and are using services like Evite. Let's face it, in our fast paced digital world few people are even used to getting mail anymore. We live our lives around email and it's easier for most of us to track stuff via email. Evite allows you to create digital invitations that get sent out via email, they'll also track who is coming and not coming to your wedding. Most folks under the age of 50 can handle a computer and email pretty well. Many Brides are using services such as evite for the majority of their wedding and using traditional invitations for the older generation who still cherishes a classic invitation. With all the craziness associated w/ planning a wedding this is one task you don't have to spend as much time on and it allows you to update your wedding on the fly if you need to. For example: Let's say your getting married on the beach and your reception is at an indoor venue. If a sudden storm comes in and you have to notify everyone that your plans have changed, either waiting for the storm to pass or move your actual ceremony to your plan B you can do it with a simple email blast. Much easier than having to contact everyone individually. Best of all using a service such as this can save you dollars...which is always a good thing.

             For pictures and info, go to www.billybeach.net