Looking up to the sky on Kiawah Island and seeing a continuous single spark explode into hundreds of twinkling lights, followed by a distant pop is something usually only caught on special occasions.
The reason? Fireworks are prohibited on Kiawah, excluding events like the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve when professional firework companies come in to entertain onlookers as they light up the sky.
However, the town has been receiving more and more requests for firework displays from brides.
According to Stephanie Tillerson, Kiawah Island’s Town administrator, pre-COVID, they only saw about four or five requests from brides for firework shows the night of their big day. She noted that it is already only February and they have had two requests for fireworks already.
“I don’t know if the amount of requests will stay steady at about one a month or if we will just keep it at about four or five, but I do think from a Town’s perspective, that this is something that has come up several times,” Tillerson reported.
Tillerson advised that council will look at this and determine if they should put “more teeth” into this situation or if they should just leave it as is, which means that brides must put in a request for approval.
Currently, a firework show request at a wedding would have to be approved by the town. They then have to go through the proper channels, like having the St. John Fire Department review the request and then they of course are required to use a professional company to set up and execute the firework show. The company is required to clean up after the firework show as well.
Tillerson said that the Public Safety Committee will discuss the potential for more rules on fireworks and then it will potentially come to town council for discussion.
Tillerson also said that in the past they do usually grant the requests for fireworks at a wedding unless it is during turtle nesting season, which is May through October. Outside of those months, Tillerson said that fireworks requests are normally approved.
Tillerson mentioned that there have been some concerns from residents as well, saying that many more requests for firework shows could come outside of the special events.
Tillerson made it clear that although fireworks are prohibited to individuals, their current policy doesn’t prohibit fireworks per se. “It just says at the discretion of the town to approve on a case by case basis.”
Some of the criteria they base the decision on is when they want to have the firework show and where. Tillerson added, “So, it becomes subjective. What we want is to have a discussion with public safety to try and remove some of that subjectivity.”
Council Member Bradley Belt commented that he sees a sign up around the July 4 holiday saying that the Town prohibits fireworks, but Tillerson clarified that those signs are up only during the July 4th holiday time period and that there still isn’t a clear rule with fireworks when it comes to private events like weddings.
President of the Kiawah Island Golf Resort Roger Warren spoke during the public comment period. Warren said, “Please help me. I would prefer that if you don’t want to do fireworks other than on the Fourth of July and on New Year’s that you give us a good out. We do a lot of weddings. It would be helpful for all of us. We understand all the negative effects, but without someone saying that you just can’t do it, my people end up looking like the bad guys.”
Warren added, “Frankly, I would appreciate the support. It would be helpful to have a policy that we can point to that says the community just doesn’t allow it and we move on.”
Warren also suggested that not including weddings, he wondered if there could be leeway with special events that might come in the future. “You never know what events might come our way in the future. It might be an opportunity to make an application that could be reviewed by whatever committee or whatever process. Just to have it reviewed for special occasions, but that would exclude weddings.”
Both Kiawah Island Golf Resort and the Seabrook Island Club put on a July 4 firework show last year.