The Isle of Palms would seem like a perfect venue to have a wedding on the beach. And of course the beach is a scenic place to capture wedding memories with photographs.
However, with a city ordinance that restricts commercial activity on the beach, taking photographs on the beach could mean a fine.  
According to Isle of Palms  ordinance 2002-14, Sec.7-3-20, “no person shall sell or rent, or offer to sell or rent, any goods, merchandise, or services, or solicit any trade or business, on the beach, beach accesses, public parking lots, or the Breach Inlet bridge, except pursuant to a franchise granted by city council, or pursuant to a city-sponsored activity or event.”
According to professional photographers Bill and Kelli Nixon of Kelli Nixon Photography, they got a call in October from a girl who rented a house on the Isle of Palms specifically for her wedding.
The rental company, Island Reality, did not tell the bride-to-be that no photographers were allowed on the beach. As a result, she was extremely angry for not being made aware of this law after spending $8000 on the rental home for the week.
The bride could not be reached for comment.
“Several of us told her that they would not shoot the wedding because there is a $1100 fine,” Bill said.
He said that even though he and his wife have a commercial
license, they are not going to break the law.
However, for a bride that has booked a year in advance to stay, they have to tell the bride that they cannot shoot on the beach.
“We are really not a nuisance; we don’t have a stand out there,” he said.
The Nixon couple, who run their business from their Mount Pleasant home, do all of their business off of the island.
“If someone wants beach pictures, we have to have the beach to provide for that. If we stick to the letter of the law, the only beach available is Folly Beach which is a good 40 minutes away,” he said.
Bill Nixon feels it does not make sense to have this ordinance which endangers considerable tourist revenue for the area.
“It is a public beach, not a private beach. Regulating it for tourists who are spending thousands of dollars for rental property and then told they cannot have a professional photo made, does not make sense,” he said.
Lt. Raymond Wright of Isle of Palms Police Department said, “to my knowledge, I don’t believe we have charged anyone with that [illegal photography on the beach.]
“When someone wants to have [an activity] on the beach, they call me.”
Wright said that he tells them what they have to do and advises them they cannot have professional photography on the beach.
“To my knowledge no tickets have been given for violation of that ordinance. People have been warned and they have been advised,” he said.
Oftentimes people might rent the house on the beach and want to have the reception behind it. Rental companies refer the renters to the police department.
Amber Dooley with Island Realty Vacation Rentals said that they get a lot of people asking about weddings and receptions.
“I direct them to the Isle of Palms Police Department,”  she said.
“We are protecting our owners.”

(Helen Ravenel can be reached at helen@moultrienews.com. Read more stories online at www.moultrienews.com.)