My first wedding at the Venue at White Oaks Farm near Myrtle Beach

It’s not often that I get to do photography at a completely new wedding venue. The Venue at White Oaks Farm started hosting wedding events this past summer, and they seem to be doing quite well. This venue is located north of Longs; it’s about 30 minutes inland from Myrtle Beach. It was actually a really easy drive. I was already on the White Oaks Farm vendor list because I had done some engagement photography at their other location, Inlet Point Plantation Stables. I very much appreciate being on the vendor list at wedding venues. A lot of my clients come from venue referrals.

Location pictures of the new White Oaks Farm venue

When I arrived, I started with some location and detail shots. The area for the wedding ceremony is beautiful, with arches over the seating area and even an outdoor chandelier. I’m assuming if it was a rainy day, they could drape a cover over the seating and still hold the ceremony outside. It is always great to have a rainy day backup option. The venue itself is very elegant. It’s about 10,000 square feet inside, and they say it could hold 250 guests. This number sounds about right to me. There is also an outdoor covered porch area for cocktail hour and a large overflow room off the main ballroom.

There is a clean white look to everything inside the venue. I loved the natural hardwood floors against the white walls with black highlights. They also had wooden chairs and white table linens, and nothing would clash with any extra decorations you provide. The white walls are also great for bouncing flash; there are no weird colors to mix in with the light. A lot of natural light fills the ballroom from the overhead windows and entrance doors. I pulled out my ultrawide lens to get some great shots of the venue interior you can check out below.

Bride and groom preparations before the ceremony

I first went to Kayli’s room to take pictures of her getting ready. They have a pretty room at White Oaks Farm for the bride preparations, and it’s also clean and white with a small couch and lots of lovely mirrors with gold accents. She did a first look with the bridesmaids. Then we went out for portraits of the bridal party before the ceremony. We just had to make sure the groom stayed hidden in his room.

Colan, the groom, also had a nice room for getting ready in. It has some dark wood on the walls, a hanging guitar, a blackjack table, and a large TV. You can tell that White Oaks Farm put some thought into the decorations and that the rooms are set up for the particular purpose of wedding preparations. I also took the groom and groomsmen out by the lake for portraits before the ceremony. I got a cute quick shot of “Ring Security” as well. He got shy and didn’t make it down the aisle during the ceremony.

Wedding Ceremony by the lake

I loved how emotional Kayli and Colan were during the ceremony. The groom could barely contain his tears when he saw his bride walking down the aisle. He also teared up a lot during the wedding vows. It’s a beautiful spot by the lake they use for the ceremony. The sun was setting perfectly behind the couple to give some great light. The only thing, I think it would be prettier if the December cold hadn’t made the trees lose their leaves and killed the flowers. Also, as the years go by, I’m sure more trees and foliage will grow and be planted. I’m looking forward to doing a Spring or Summer wedding here.

After the ceremony, we took all the family pictures and then sunset portraits of the couple by the lake. We also got some pretty photos near the flowers on the ceremony arch. The one with them touching noses and the sunset filtering through the veil turned out great. They also have a nice little dock down on the lake that worked nicely for some pictures of them laying together.

The black doors and solid white front of the main entrance at White Oaks Farm make an excellent backdrop for pictures as well. After it started to get dark, we went back out to the ceremony area to get some portraits with the chandelier lit up in the background. I got some help from Matthew Weathersby, the videographer, to fluff the veil out while taking some pictures. He was great to work with. Most of the time photographers and videographers get along great and even help each other out.

I hope you enjoy the pictures below. Please let me know if you are planning a wedding at the Venue at White Oaks Farm. I would be happy to help out and give you my further thoughts on the location.