True love may know no bounds, but getting married in the state of South Carolina — like driving a car, catching a fish or owning a gun — requires a piece of government documentation to be fully legit. The man to talk to about that in Beaufort County is Judge Frank Simon, a Korean War vet who has served as the Beaufort County Probate Court judge since 1994. The court oversees the little bit of bureaucracy that attaches itself to every bit of true love: the marriage license. The court issues about 1,800 licenses every year. Even if you and your betrothed are just in town for vacation, you can still get a license (for an added fee of $45). The court doesn’t see too much Vegas-style eloping, but getting married in the Lowcountry can come with its own hazards.

It’s a day that everyone dreads: Jan. 2.

The parties are over, the presents put away, the decorations back in their boxes. And with everything closed up for another holiday season, there are officially no more available excuses for putting off those New Year’s resolutions.

Sure, everyone’s just getting back into classes after winter break, but it’s never too early to start thinking about the next step in your child’s education. If you’re considering private school, the Lowcountry has no shortage of options. Read on:

Why I went to private school

A writing assignment by Hannah Fulton

When I was in eighth grade, my parents took me to visit the boarding school in St. Louis that my father had attended. There was no pressure, no pushing — it was just a simple visit. Having lived in Hilton Head for quite a while, my parents wanted me to experience a different part of the country. Plus, my dad loved his experience at the school in St. Louis, and my mom had attended boarding school as well, so the concept wasn’t foreign to either of them.

It’s winter in the Lowcountry, and you know what that means: Huddling up under heavy wool blankets around the fireplace. Wait, no! Leave that noise to the folks who winter in the Midwest; here, nature barely cracks a window for the cold air before bathing-suit season returns again. Besides, the chillier months bring some of the best locals’ events around: oyster roasts, where friends and neighbors celebrate the kind of Lowcountry heartiness that refuses to cede the outdoors, even when the rest of the country is snowbound. But how can you make sure your oyster roasts with the best of them? We asked Russell Anderson — owner of Captain Woody’s, the site of monthly oyster roasts for more than a decade — for a pro’s primer:

10 steps to avoiding holiday burnout

The holidays are stressful to just about everybody — and despite what it sounds like, that’s not a generalization. A Harris Interactive “holiday stress index” survey found that 90 percent of Americans feel anxiety this time of year. The funny thing is, the holidays don’t have to be stressful, and you can begin approaching the season with more excitement and less dread right now. Let us count the ways...

We may be lacking in the snow department around here, but with choice Christmastime tunes, you can still make your island holiday plenty bright. A few favorite yuletide numbers, as selected by Monthly writers.

VINCE GUARALDI TRIO, ‘A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS’ ON REPEAT

In what’s become a legendary television goof, CBS originally gave Guaraldi’s pitch-perfect and snowfall-soft soundtrack an ungracious thumbs-down (along with the entire special inexplicably), but four decades later, nearly everything here — especially “Skating,” “Greensleeves” and the hastily assembled “Christmas Time Is Here” — has become required listening. (A wonderful 2006 reissue cleaned up the sound and added alternate takes of four tracks, well worth the upgrade).

When Shirley Daughtry opened the Heritage Organic Farm, it was the first of its kind in the state. To fill what she saw as a void in the local organic produce market, Daughtry launched a form of community-supported agriculture in which subscribers paid to have locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables delivered to their homes or neighborhoods. Today, the 20-acre property in Guyton, Ga. (just outside of Savannah) is at the center of a national movement, and in January it will re-introduce service to Hilton Head and drop off goods at the Sea Pines Montessori Academy. Daughtry talked about what it’s like to champion organics in a world where processed food is still king.

Q. Why did you start the farm?
A. I bought the farm in 1980, when I was middle school principal at Savannah Country Day School. I bought it mainly because my daughter was interested — she had a degree in large animal sciences from Virginia Tech. It just so happened that people in Hilton Head heard I was growing organic food. They reached out and asked that I sell to them. Before then, it was a hobby.