Wedding Photographer for San Luis Obispo Pismo Beach Santa Barbara Avila Beach Paso Robles
San Luis Obispo Beach and Parks Wedding Information

As a San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach Wedding Photographer I'm often asked "where can we be married right on the beach?” Here are a few select choices to be married on the beach with the sand between your toes. The Sea Venture Hotel offers an actual beach wedding. It's a wonderful wedding ceremony setting although the public may be walking in the distant background. The Sea Crest Resort offers private bluff ceremonies and a rather rugged stairway to the beach is adjacent to the property for portraits. The Shore Cliff also offers private bluff wedding ceremonies while a short drive will need to be taken for beach access and portraits. Avila Beach is another nice place to be married right on the beach. One site about 300 yards south of the pier offers a public area that is relatively private for a community beach. Further up the North Coast of San Luis Obispo County are Cayucos and Cambria. The Cayucos Veteran's Building offers a great location where the ceremony can be right on the sandy beach with the reception building just steps away.

A wedding on the bluffs overlooking the ocean can also be quite memorable. Moonstone Beach Drive in Cambria has a large number of small motels across the street from the ocean. This area has a nice long public wooden boardwalk that lines the small bluffs over the beach. In Shell Beach the Margo Dodd Park is a popular wedding setting. It offers a classic gazebo in a small park on the ocean bluffs. If you'd like photography on the beach, a long stairway to a beautiful beach amid giant rocks is about fifty yards away. Adjacent to the gazebo is Dinosaur Caves Park where a large circular terrace on the edge of the bluffs offers expansive ocean views for a large wedding ceremony. A wedding ceremony at a city park over the bluffs with 15 to 150 people can be quite beautiful and very affordable. The reception can be held at another nearby site or you could opt to rent a section of the park. Contact the City of Pismo Beach to make reservations.

Whether you're planning a beach wedding, vineyard wedding or any other beautiful place in San Luis Obispo County, I hope this information helps you make one of your most essential wedding decisions.

Here are some important considerations for having your wedding at the ocean:

  • Check a tide table for how high the water level will be at the time of your wedding ceremony.
  • How far will elderly or handicapped guests have to walk in the sand?
  • Fog happens. The summer months are the most common for fog but more times than not it burns out in the late mornings. During the autumn months of September, October and November the fog is less frequent.
  • If you have a hotel wedding and want portraits on the beach check with the hotel about beach access.
  • The optimum time for great looking photography is an hour or so before sunset when the light is softer and warmer in hue. Even if your wedding ceremony doesn't fit in for this "magic hour", try and work with your wedding photographer to have your portraits made at that time. You'll be pleased with the results!

Please view my photography and read more about my services. I would be glad to meet with you personally to discuss your wedding plans.

Tony Hertz Wedding Photography

Below is a list of vendors for wedding venues, reception locations and entertainment in San Luis Obispo County.
Reception & Ceremony Sites
Apple Farm Inn
Avila Beach Resort
Avila Lighthouse Suites
Back Bay Inn
Cayucos Creek Barn
Dolphin Bay Resort
Embassy Suites Hotel
F. McLintocks
Holland Ranch
Hummingbird House
Inn at Morro Bay
Kaleidoscope Inn
Madonna Inn
Monday Club
Officers Club
Paso Robles Inn
Pavilion on the Lake
Pismo Beach Parks
Robert Hall Winery
SeaVenture Resort
Shore Cliff Lodge
Stillwater Winery
Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort
The Cliffs Resort
The Victorian Pitkin Conrow Estate
The View At Morro Bay
Entertainment
AMS Entertainment
At Your Service Weddings
AV Solutions
Bailey Entertainment
Entertainment Now
Escape Entertainment
Joe LaBarbera, LaBarbera Sound
Kramer Entertainment
Muir Music
The Central Coast DJ
Phase One Mobile DJs