"It's something different, something easy, affordable because of the economy," the groom said before the ceremony. "We come here every year. Let's just do it where we are comfortable. And it's just kind of sweet."
But this type of simple ceremony - thousands of them conducted yearly along the Grand Strand - has led to complicated laws along local beaches that have confused couples and frustrated some of the preachers who preside over the nuptials.
"It does [create confusion] for the brides and grooms because they don't know anything about the laws," said Richard Martin, owner of The Myrtle Beach Wedding Chapel.
It's gotten so confusing that North Myrtle Beach - a popular wedding spot - is trying to spread the word about its rules for weddings on the beach through brochures and new information on the city's website.
Area governments recently standardized most beach rules, including those related to tents and dogs, but weddings weren't part of the discussions. Marino Garbin, a disc jockey and leader in the Coastal Wedding Professional organization, urged the group of area leaders, called the Coastal Alliance, to consider allowing weddings on all beaches, especially Myrtle Beach, which doesn't allow commercial weddings.
"It's hard for me to explain it to brides because I don't even understand it myself," he said. "Part of standardizing is they are all going to say no or all going to say yes."
The alliance didn't take up the topic of beach weddings because it was dealing more with safety issues on the beach, not commercial issues, said Allen Deaton, the alliance's chairman and the mayor of Surfside Beach.
"It really wasn't an issue for the alliance to address," he said. "That's commercial activity. That's somebody making money on the beach. That's why we stayed away from it."
Can and cannot
North Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach allow weddings in the sand, while Horry County and Myrtle Beach do not allow what they call commercial weddings, where a preacher, photographer or anyone else makes money from the ceremony, according to the local ordinances and government officials.
North Myrtle Beach, which embraces the beach weddings, recently compiled a set of city laws known as "beach wedding rules" to let wedding parties know what they can and can't do. Some issues with parking and picture-taking on the dunes have surfaced.
"The most common problem is parking where people park everywhere, even alongside of the road," city spokesman Pat Dowling said. "It's better for people to get group transportation to the street end."
Some other common issues include people trampling the dunes to take pictures, taking over the beach and demanding people move, blocking other beachgoers from using a walkover, and not ensuring that professional servicers, other than a minister, have a city business license, Dowling said.
"Very often people walk down to the dunes and take pictures," Dowling said. "Not only are the dunes pretty, but they protect real estate during storms and other events."
The city has talked about setting up a gazebo at the Cherry Grove Oceanfront Park at Towers on the Grove - a popular wedding location - as a way to direct attention away from the dunes for photos and smaller weddings and into a city park, Dowling said.
He said city officials probably will review the idea again next year.
Weddings aren't allowed on the unincorporated beaches in Horry County, and haven't been for years under the county's commercial-solicitation rules for the beach, county spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier said. She acknowledged that weddings do occur on the county beaches, but they haven't created any problems or sparked heavy-handed police enforcement.
"Weddings have never really been an issue," Bourcier said. "Usually they are very quick and very small. It's like in and out.
"We are not going to be in the business of harassing preachers or anything like that. We just haven't had issues where we have had to press the issue."
No means no in the city
Myrtle Beach has taken a strict approach to weddings on the beach, with several wedding chapel preachers criticizing the city's aggressive enforcement.
The city allows weddings in the sand as long as no one - not the minister, photographer, musician or anyone involved in the ceremony - is making money. That eliminates most ceremonies. Beach weddings are considered commercial ventures in the city's eyes, and commercial activity isn't allowed on the beach.
Couples can still get married beachside, at some city parks, in private yards or in the grass near the beach at some resorts.
But some wedding chapel preachers say that isn't the same as having your feet in the sand.
"I hate to see the city stick up their nose at any business that is a legitimate business," said the Rev. Harold Mitchell of Together Forever Weddings & Receptions in North Myrtle Beach, which performs most of his beach weddings in North Myrtle Beach. "It's the craziest kind of law."
Myrtle Beach isn't considering changing its beach weddings rule because it would open the door to allow other commercial activity on the beach, city spokesman Mark Kruea said.
"There's no way to carve out an exception," he said. "It's easier not to have all the commercial activity on the beach. The beach could quickly lose it's appeal if it becomes a commercial marketplace."
Though the law has been on the books since at least 1980, the city cracked down on commercial beach weddings in 2004 after a flurry of complaints from residents who lived near spots where weddings were performed, including the 79th Avenue North area.
The Rev. Lamar Boulware of Seaside Wedding Chapel remembers all too well. He was performing a ceremony when "the police came and ran us off. Wouldn't even let me finish the ceremony," he said.
Police stopped other ceremonies that year, though officials at the time said no one was arrested. Violators could face up to a $500 and/or 30 days in jail.
"How stupid Myrtle Beach is," Boulware said. "Nobody believes it but it's true. We can't do weddings there. It just seems like it is a weird thing for Myrtle Beach to do. It's like saying, 'we don't want y'all down here.' It's silly."
Some couples who call Martin's chapel request a ceremony in Myrtle Beach, but agree to shift the location north once they hear about Myrtle Beach's rules, Martin said.
"They are surprised," he said. "We tell them that we don't take a chance, they could close the wedding down."
Most wedding chapels have adjusted to the rules, with chapels in the North Myrtle Beach area sticking to doing ceremonies there.
Wedding Chapel by the Sea in Myrtle Beach only does about 10 percent of its weddings on the beach, using spots in Myrtle Beach that are privately owned up to a certain line on the beach, manager Dennis Stalvey said.
"There are also beautiful places to be on the beach but not down in the sand," he said.
Business is booming
Despite the confusion over the rules, some beach wedding chapels say business is booming.
The aesthetic, romantic appeal of getting married on the beach lures a significant number of couples to the Grand Strand from North Carolina, West Virginia - even other countries, wedding preachers said.
And they've also seen an uptick in business as budget-conscious brides look for more affordable options, and a basic beach wedding can cost less than a formal church ceremony.
Beach wedding packages can range from about $200 up to $2,500, depending on how many guests and the perks the couple wants, including photos and video.
Wedding chapel preachers squeeze in as many as nine to 11 ceremonies on the beach in one Saturday. Boulware performed 625 weddings in 2010, most of them on the beach.
"It's just been tremendous," Boulware said.
Martin is on track to double the number of weddings he'll do this year.
At least a couple of thousand weddings take place on the beach in North Myrtle Beach every year, the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce estimates.
"It's a significant industry," said Marc Jordan, the chamber's president and chief executive officer. "It's been growing, I think, as word gets out. It's a good setting."
The chamber had been getting so many inquiries about weddings that it set up a wedding page on its website about a year ago, said Jennifer Prince, the chamber's spokeswoman.
Couples contact the chamber six months to a year before the big day, she said.
"It's really significant when planning a wedding a year out in North Myrtle Beach," she said.
No group closely tracks weddings and can say how much money they bring to the Grand Strand each year. Chapel preachers estimate that it's significant.
"These people who get married bring their guests with them," Mitchell said. "All of the people have to buy hotel rooms, gas here, food here. That's why I can't understand Myrtle Beach.
"Myrtle Beach is famous for shooting themselves in the foot," Mitchell said, mentioning the controversy over Myrtle Beach's efforts to push the bike rallies out of the city limits.
One gauge of wedding activity - whether they get married on the beach, in a church or in court - are marriage licenses. Couples who come here to get married must have a marriage license issued in South Carolina. A license for out-of-state residents cost $100.
Horry County Probate Court hands out several hundred licenses a month, many of them to out-of-state couples, Judge Kathy Ward said. The court issued 3,312 licenses in 2009 and 3,640 in 2010, she said, though there's no way to know how many of those were for couples getting married on the beach.
In May, the court issued 399 licenses, up from 340 in April and 321 in March, Ward said.
"Very busy," she said. "399 licenses in one month - that is a lot of licenses. It is busy. A lot of people are very interested in coming to the beach to be married."
Happy days for all
For Niblock, now Kellams after her wedding a week ago, the various rules didn't create a problem for her special day because the couple usually stays in wedding-friendly North Myrtle Beach anyway.
They spent the week at the beach at an oceanfront hotel, and she estimates the wedding, including the dress she bought in Statesville, cost about $2,500.
"It was the best wedding for us," Amy Kellams said. "We just tried to make it as simple as possible but we wanted it to be special. I definitely would do it the same exact way."
The Kellams' ceremony didn't bother some of the beach-goers, including Jonelle Theresa of Longs, who along with her mom Andrea Theresa, scooted their sunbathing chairs over to make room for the aisle.
"We usually see one every time," Jonelle Theresa said. "We look forward to at least one a week."
Marilyn Bennett of Calabash, N.C., was lounging under an umbrella just feet from the ceremony, which she said didn't take away from her day on the beach.
"Don't mind a bit," she said. "Absolutely not. I think it is very sweet."
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