Hundreds of people flock to Hilton Head Island’s beautiful beaches each year for the most important day of their lives — their wedding.

And David Leininger of A Wedding in Paradise has officiated quite a few of them. Here, he shares some expert advice to help make your own destination wedding as cool and care-free as can be.

Images: lace wedding dress

And it starts... with paperwork.

1. Get the beach permit

There are probably just two things that come free of charge for a beach wedding — the love and devotion of your better half, and your permit.

The Town of Hilton Head Island requires all couples to submit a permit request form, including the names of the bride and groom, the number of guests, the date, time and length of the ceremony and its location on the island’s 12 miles of beach. And they’d like it 30 days in advance, please.

Simple enough. Still, the town still gets lots of applications the week of the event, some from couples who didn’t know they needed a permit, others from those who didn’t know they’d be getting married.

“We try to respond immediately,” says facilities business assistant Mary Ellenn Tschupp. “But we don’t encourage it.”

In 2015, the town issued 302 beach wedding permits. Very rarely, it has to step in to prevent overlap, but the town can’t do that if it doesn’t know about your last-minute nuptials. And nobody wants to get between two dueling brides.

“We do try to ensure that nobody is going to be on top of anybody,” Tschupp said.

2. Wind and fire don’t mix

Beach weddings are known for being casual, easy-breezy affairs, but they can still be full of meaning.

But the popular Unity Candle ceremony — where two flames light one wick to signify ... physics? — may not be the best way to go. It doesn’t take a big gust to blow out a small flame, and re-lighting candles again and again kind of wrecks the symbolism of two souls seamlessly joining as one.

The classic beach alternative would be to do a sand ceremony, where the bride and groom — and often, any children — pour different colors of sand into a glass.

If that’s not your style, you could make any number of keepsakes from a bit of sand and small shells, from a Christmas ornament (this blogger added some glitter because she’s crafty minx) to a mezuzah for your doorway (maybe then, your Jewish mother or mother-in-law will forgive you for skipping the glass-breaking ritual).

To breathe a little life into the ceremony, couples could also try planting a beachy sago palm bonsai tree or scooping some sand and shells into a glass terrarium for.

Get creative and don’t worry if it’s been done before, or done to death.

“There are no rules,” says Leininger. “That’s one of the nice things about these weddings.”

3. Avoid the hottest hours of the day

Do you know what Hilton Head locals do on summer afternoons?

We hide. We sit inside wearing long pants and sweaters because our AC is cranked up to a nice comfortable freezing. And when we’re outside, we slip from shady spot to shady spot until the sun starts to set.

You know what there are none of on the beach? Shady spots. So in July and August, we urge you, resist the urge to schedule your beach wedding during the day.

“I try to tell them you don’t really want to do that, because you will die,” Leininger says. “It’s just not comfortable.”

Uncomfortable, that is, unless your venue offers a kind of canopy for the wedding, as Artsinfotos photographer Christophe Zydek has sometimes seen.

“This is actually an excellent idea as it will act as a diffuser for the sun, making the couple's face evenly lit,” Zydek.

For the rest, Leininger suggests morning and evening ceremonies, both for their cooler temperatures and pretty views.

Couples who listen to him are far less likely to melt in their suits and dresses, their photo-ready makeup and done-up hair.

Zydek says he once had a groom and groomsmen show up in shirts, vests and jackets.

“Let me tell you, by half day, everyone was sweating,” Zydek says.

And if you don’t care about yourself, think of the flowers. The sad, wilting flowers.

4. Always have a Plan B

I know. It’s not going to happen to you.

Not a drop of rain will fall from the sky, no tractors will be dumping sand at your ceremony site for a beach rebuild, and no blustery winds will carry away your hand-written vows, along with your hopes and dreams of wedding perfection.

But day-of hiccups do happen, and when they do, they look a lot more like a pile of sand than a whole dune if you have a backup plan.

Many people can simply hold their ceremony, if need be, at their reception venue, particularly if it’s a large space with a nice view. If you’re vacationing in a home, that could do, too. And in a pinch, a small party can head to Shelter Cove Community Park, where there’s a covered pavilion overlooking the marsh.

Just don’t bother with a big tent. It will blow away, and you will cry.

5. Spring for the good photographer

This is just common wedding sense in 2016, but it’s especially critical if you’re traveling hundreds of miles for a destination ceremony.

You’re not just paying for a locale — you’re paying for a sunrise or a sunset, for blue-gray skies, pristine sands and crashing waves, for that khaki-and-white-cotton Pinterest board of your dreams come to life.

So don’t leave things anything to chance and scrimp on the pictures.

The aptly named Hilton Head Island Photography won 1st Place in the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette’s 2016 Reader’s Choice Awards, and there are plenty of other photographers in the area who specialize in weddings.

“These are the things you go running back into the house for when a forest fire is threatening to bring down the whole neighborhood,” Leininger says. “These are your memories.”

See more at sheindressau.com