Beautiful sunset on the golf course at Pawleys Plantation

I always love Fall weddings at Pawleys Plantation Golf and Country Club. It’s so lovely this time of year without the heat and humidity. Matthew and Taylor were a fun and relaxed wedding couple with a small bridal party of the groom’s brothers and the bride’s sister. They had my photo booth at this wedding, so I arrived about an hour early to help my wife set everything up. They had a custom backdrop with a wood lattice and some beautiful foliage. I ended up hanging my gold backdrop behind the lattice; this hid the wall in the background and perfectly matched the colors. I never mind if you want to do some customization like this.

When I arrived at the bride’s room, Mary with Makeup Artistry on Location was finishing up with Taylor. Near the end of the bride’s hair and makeup is usually a good time for me to start. I like to have time for these shots as well as pictures of the dresses, bouquets, and other details. Matthew and Taylor had done many of the decorations themselves, and I made sure to go around and get pictures of all the little details they had spread around the clubhouse. I also got some fantastic shots of Taylor standing in the double doors with her dress spread out behind her.

First Look

Taylor and Matthew wanted to do a first look and get some of the pictures out of the way before the ceremony. With a small bridal party like this, we would have had enough time for photos after the ceremony, but it’s still a fun thing to do. It also gave the couple more time to enjoy the cocktail hour. There is a lot of nice shade down by the lake behind the clubhouse, so I usually try to take the bridal party and family pictures in that area. With the bridesmaids and groomsmen being all siblings, they had a lot of fun and were silly for the photos. I especially like the groom’s brothers picking him up with the bride’s sister helping from underneath. They were a goofy and fun bunch, and they had a great time.

Ceremony on the Golf Course

The ceremony was held in the usual spot on the lawn behind the clubhouse, overlooking the golf course and lake. It was an unusually lovely day with a blue sky and soft puffy clouds. I believe the minister was an old family friend, so he told some stories and made everyone laugh during the ceremony. I always love weddings that are more casual and relaxed like this one. I usually tell clients, if they ask, that unity candles don’t work outside because of the wind. They had little LED fake candles for this wedding that they switched on during the unity ceremony. This gave everyone a laugh, and they worked.

After the ceremony, I took the bridal party back out for a few more pictures in front of the clubhouse. I knew we were going back out for sunset pictures later, but I still did a few portraits with Matthew and Taylor near the trees in front of the clubhouse. There are a lot of cars around this parking lot, but I’m pretty good and finding just the right angle to get that pretty sunlight filtering through the trees without distractions in the background.

Sunset pictures on the Golf Course

Annie, the wedding coordinator at Pawleys Plantation, helped me out a lot that day. I knew the time would be tight, so she got everyone into the reception about 15 minutes early for me. This way, the bride and groom could do their intros and first dance and have enough time to make it back out for sunset pictures. I know it’s a pain for the couple to go back out for more photos, but it is so worth it if they can.

We started with pictures on the golf course with the clubhouse and ceremony location in the background. The groom played golf often at Pawley’s Plantation, so I let him drive us around on the golf cart. We went to one of my favorite spots on the marsh, with some old mossy oaks hanging over the water. The angle of the Fall sun was in just the right spot. We got some fantastic pictures with the sunset filtering through the trees and moss in the background.

Something you will notice, which comes from a lot of experience, is that I try to frame the subject using the background. I always love that bright sunlight filtering through the moss and branches, but I’m also careful not to have branches and objects sticking out of their heads. If possible, I try to frame around them with the tree branches in the background. Of course, this isn’t always possible, but in most of my pictures, I’m conscientious about the environment as well.

Fun at the reception

This reception had a big drinking and partying group and kept my wife busy doing crazy things in the photo booth. They also had a great time on the dance floor. Even the older ones danced most of the evening. They finished the night dancing to Thriller, I haven’t seen that one before. I hope you enjoy the pictures. Please let me know if you are planning a wedding at Pawleys Plantation, and I would be happy to help!