ten planners, read on their own sites
planners in Savannah And Tybee
Downtown planners who know the squares, the mansions and the river, plus Tybee coordinators who know the island. Each one read on their own website.
The Area
Savannah weddings move through a small, busy city. Ceremonies in a square, portraits under the oaks in Forsyth Park, and receptions in a mansion or on the river are often a few blocks apart, and a local planner knows how long those blocks really take.
Tybee is twenty minutes or so from downtown and runs on sand, wind and the tide. Weddings With Dana writes that he has lived on the island for 25 years.
The Planners
- 01
Tara Skinner EventsSavannahA destination planning and design firm based in Savannah that builds each wedding from scratch, design first.Prices PublishedRead The Listing - 02
Spectacular Saturdays Weddings And EventsSavannahA small Savannah team with five levels of help, from coordinating only the ceremony up to full planning.Read The Listing - 03
Sincerely Yours EventsSavannahA Savannah and Lowcountry team whose most popular package is wedding day coordination with two of their people on site.Read The Listing - 04
Port Town CollectiveSavannahA Savannah planning and design firm with a maximalist, history and film inspired look, and one contract for the whole team.Prices PublishedRead The Listing - 05
Megan Elizabeth EventsSavannahA Savannah planner who pairs planning with her own floral, lighting and tent design, across Georgia and South Carolina.Read The Listing - 06
Weddings With DanaTybee IslandA Tybee based coordinator who builds a custom package for each couple, and can also officiate.Read The Listing - 07
Posey Event DesignSavannahA Savannah planning and design firm that publishes its prices, with set packages for elopements and weddings of up to 30 guests.Prices PublishedRead The Listing - 08
S And B Events SavannahSavannah and Hilton Head IslandThe Savannah and Hilton Head office of Stunning And Brilliant Events, with full, partial, month of and design only packages.Read The Listing - 09
Savannah Wedding DreamsSavannahA downtown Savannah planner with three published packages, built for local couples and for couples flying in.Prices PublishedRead The Listing - 10
Winfield Weddings And EventsSavannahA Savannah and Hilton Head planning team led by Jenna Winfield, whose coordination packages carry no hourly limit on the wedding day.Read The Listing
No planner here lists that kind of help.
squares and parks
the City Rules For A Ceremony Outside
A wedding in a Savannah square that uses chairs, an aisle runner, tents, tables or other decor needs a permit from the City.
Source, savannahga.govA small wedding of fewer than fifty people with no setup can go ahead without a permit, first come, first served.
Source, savannahga.govPermit holders hire an off duty Savannah Police officer for the length of the event, and couples can apply as early as one year out from the month of the wedding.
Source, savannahga.govThe application fee is $30. The permit fee covers a four hour minimum, $350 for residents in any month and $725 for non residents in peak months or $575 off peak, with extra time at $60 an hour.
Source, savannahga.govPeak months are March, April, May, September, October and November, and the City allows up to two events a day in its parks and squares, never overlapping.
Source, savannahga.govMarch has block out dates for St. Patrick's Day, and the Forsyth Park fountain is dyed green at the start of the month and stays green until after the celebration.
Source, savannahga.govAround the Forsyth Park fountain, street performers, the farmers market, traffic and tours carry on, though the ceremony area itself is secured and cleared.
Source, savannahga.govPermits go through the Special Events, Film and Tourism office at 1 Waring Drive.
Source, savannahga.gov
tybee island
on The Beach At Tybee
Tybee asks for a beach permit for anything beyond what usual beachgoers do, and because the beach is public the City cannot block off or reserve a private area.
Source, cityoftybee.orgBeach permits run from 7am to 9pm only, and the City does not approve two permits for the same spot at the same time.
Source, cityoftybee.orgRice and birdseed are not allowed, and only real, undyed petals are, since artificial petals count as litter.
Source, cityoftybee.orgThe dunes are off limits to foot traffic, and photo poses should stay off the rock jetties.
Source, cityoftybee.orgNo fires or open flames, no glass, no dogs and no helium balloons or lanterns on a permitted beach event.
Source, cityoftybee.orgBeach parking is enforced from 8am to 8pm all year, and the City suggests a shuttle for large parties.
Source, cityoftybee.org
Forsyth Park began in the 1840s as a 10 acre plot and now covers 30 acres, with its fountain from 1858 at the north end.
from the photographer
light, wind and Where Portraits Happen
In the squares the oaks do the work of a softbox. Midday sun comes through the moss in patches, so ceremonies under the trees look their gentlest late in the afternoon, when the light lowers and evens out.
Summer evenings are long here, with sunset around 8.30 pm in June and July, and heavy, humid air that softens the light. Spring and fall give the warm evenings most couples picture, and they are also the City's peak months for square permits.
On Tybee the light comes off the water. A sunrise ceremony faces the ocean, and an evening one puts the sky behind the marsh side of the island.
light and seasons
sunset by Month
Sunset in Savannah around the middle of each month, in local clock time and rounded to five minutes. Hilton Head, Bluffton and Tybee run within a few minutes of it. Work back from it to pick your ceremony time.
- January
- 5.40 pm
- February
- 6.10 pm
- March
- 7.30 pm
- April
- 7.55 pm
- May
- 8.15 pm
- June
- 8.30 pm
- July
- 8.30 pm
- August
- 8.10 pm
- September
- 7.30 pm
- October
- 6.55 pm
- November
- 5.25 pm
- December
- 5.20 pm
rain plans
if it Rains
Savannah summers bring afternoon storms that often pass in under an hour. Ask your planner where the ceremony moves if it rains, and where portraits happen if it is still wet. Covered porches, carriage houses and the deep doorways on the squares all work for a few frames.
For a square or park ceremony, ask about the backup plan when you book the venue for the reception. The two decisions are easier made together.
The timeline that works is the one your planner and your photographer wrote together, early.
from the photographer
who wrote This Guide
I am Vitor Lindo. I have photographed and filmed 450 weddings in 14 years, about 400 of them here in the Lowcountry, from my studio at 1918 Howard Street in Savannah.
Photography and film are available together or separately, with one team planning both. That means one set of blocks on your planner's timeline, and nobody standing in the other one's shot.
questions
about weddings in Savannah
Do we need a permit to marry in a Savannah square?
If you use chairs, an aisle runner, tents, tables or other decor, yes, through the City. A wedding of fewer than fifty people with no setup can go ahead without one, first come, first served.
How early can we apply for a square or Forsyth Park?
The City says couples can apply as early as one year out from the month of the wedding.
Can we throw rice on Tybee beach?
No. Tybee does not allow rice or birdseed, and only real, undyed petals are allowed.
What time is sunset in Savannah in October?
Around 6.55 pm in mid October, and around 7.30 pm in mid September. Work back from it to choose your ceremony time.
the photographer's guide
Your Photo And Film timeline, built with your planner
Sunset, family photographs, travel time across the squares and twenty quiet minutes in the last light. Seven plain steps to hand your planner at the first meeting.
Photo And Film
Your planner runs the day. I keep it.
Tell me your date, your venue and your planner, if you have one. You will hear back from me, or call or text (404) 826-4156.