Bride, groom swept into sea during wedding photo shoot in Laguna Beach

A bride and groom were swept to sea in the midst of a photo shoot last week, but were rescued by Laguna Beach marine safety officials.

On June 30, at around 6 p.m., the couple had been standing out on a rock outcropping at Middleman’s Beach, between Goff Cove Beach and Treasure Island Beach, when a set of waves swept them out into the waters.

Lifeguards responded from the Goff tower.

The first lifeguard on the scene, Camron Hauer, swam out to the conscious male victim, but saw the female victim floating face-down in the water.

Hauer subsequently left the rescue tube with the male victim before swimming out to rescue the female victim. Both victims were returned to shore with the assistance of other lifeguards.

Both victims were fully dressed, Marine Safety Capt. Kai Bond said.

“In this case, the male was wearing a suit with shoes and the female was wearing a full wedding dress,” Bond said, “that makes that rescue much more difficult to perform with that added weight, especially since [Hauer] had to rescue [the] second victim without a rescue tube.”

The couple were subsequently transported to Mission Hospital in Laguna Beach, but were later released, Bond said.

“It can be dangerous in that area,” Bond said. “The issue was that they were in a location and they weren’t paying attention to the surf and because they weren’t paying attention in this location, a set of waves came and swept them off the rock.”

Hauer will be honored at Tuesday’s City Council meeting with a proclamation by the city for his rescue.

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