Beautiful wedding on the lawn at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club

Danny and Alyssa had a beautiful day for their outdoor wedding. There is a reason the first weekend in October is so popular in Myrtle Beach. I always love it when people I work with in the wedding industry choose me as their photographer. Danny, the groom, is the wedding director at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club, so I always see him when I photograph a wedding there. I was so happy when he told me he loved my work and asked if I could be the photographer for his wedding!

Getting ready pictures and an emotional first look

When I arrived, I took pictures of the dress, rings, and a small collection of the bride’s details. I also got some ballroom shots but ended up getting better photos of the tables later that evening after the candles were lit. I worked solo at this wedding, but the groom and groomsmen were ready early enough to go out for separate pictures while Alyssa and her eight bridesmaids got hair and makeup.

After Alyssa put on her wedding dress, she wanted to do a first look with all the bridesmaids. The sun at that time of the day was pretty intense, so I took them over to the area with the shade from the trees to the left of the clubhouse. The bride also wanted the moms in the first look, so I got some cute shots of all of their reactions. After this, I took group shots with the bridesmaids and individual pictures of Alyssa with each bridesmaid separately.

Next, it was time for a first look with the bride and groom. We did it in the same spot under the shade of the trees. I started standing in front of Danny as Alyssa walked towards him in the background, focusing on each of them for a picture. I might only show two images below, but I always take many I give to the couple. Next, I told her to pause before she touched his shoulder so I could spin around to get an angle of them looking at each other. This worked well, and I got some great pictures of both their emotions.

Alyssa did a first look with her dad under the trees as well. We also had some time for pictures of the immediate family, some bridal portraits of just Alyssa, and some photos of just the bride and groom together. I knew I was taking the two of them out for sunset pictures after the ceremony, but it’s always nice to have a few photos earlier in the day as long as the wedding venue has some shady spots.

Ceremony on the lawn overlooking the ocean

The Dunes Golf and Beach Club has a beautiful outdoor lawn where they set up for wedding ceremonies. From the lawn, you still get a view of the ocean in the far background without having to be on the beach sand. It’s a pretty unique location in that way. The sun had been going in and out of the clouds all day. It was ideal for much of the ceremony as it went behind some clouds to give soft lighting. That is another great thing about the Fall. Even if the sun is out, it’s lower in the sky and doesn’t have the harsh overhead light and heat of the summer.

I took some great pictures of the wedding party walking to the ceremony. It was a fun group, and guests were cheering and having fun. That’s one of the recommendations I have in my wedding tips section. Tell your wedding party to have fun, look up, and smile when walking down the aisle. I have much more fun at a bit less formal weddings, where the brides are not so worried about everything going perfectly. For example, the little flower girl not wanting to walk down the aisle and falling over makes for a great shot.

After the ceremony, we finished all the family pictures we hadn’t taken earlier, such as the extended family and grandparents. This was also the first time I had all the bridesmaids and groomsmen together for pictures. By this point, it was almost sunset, so we let everyone go to cocktail hour so I could take photos with the bride and groom.

Fantastic sunset on the golf course for the bride and groom’s portraits

We started at the perfect time for the bride and groom portraits. The sun was beginning to fall behind the trees, but it was still high enough to get that soft, out-of-focus light filtering through the branches. We started with pictures in front of the brick wall on the practice green in front of the Dunes Golf and Beach Clubhouse, and a bridesmaid helped me throw the veil up in the wind. Next, instead of going to my usual area of the steps to the golf course overlook, Danny suggested we go to a bridge in a different location. I’m glad he did. This was a beautiful spot. I know I will use it for future weddings.

When we got out on the golf course, a large tree was positioned perfectly to get the sunlight filtering through the branches, with the golf course’s rolling dunes fading in the background. I also loved the portraits on the small bridge with the bride and groom reflecting in the water.

Something I’ve been getting more comfortable with since switching from Nikon to Sony cameras is shooting with my prime lenses wide open. I always used my older 85mm Nikon lenses at f2, so I knew my subjects would be sharp even if they missed focus slightly. The eye autofocus is so accurate on the Sony cameras that I’ve been doing many more photos wide open at f1.4. It’s a slight difference, but it makes the backgrounds just a bit more soft and dreamy. You can’t see it with the files uploaded to this website, but with the original 60-megapixel images from the Sony A7RV, I can zoom in on a whole body, far away shot, and see every eyelash perfectly in focus. It is wild the camera performance now. Those new photographers today don’t know how good they have it 😂.

We finished with a few pictures on the hill overlooking the ocean behind the clubhouse. After this, they were both getting worn out, and it was time to head in for the reception.

Fun reception with two great DJs and everyone on the dance floor

That evening, Ryan and JP from Globaltruth and Southern Flair Entertainment worked together as DJs. They are both excellent and get the party going. I only have a few DJs that are my favorites like them. If you want some suggestions, please let me know. A great DJ makes such a difference to the wedding reception. After fun introductions, Alyssa and David did their first dance and parent dances, dinner, cake cutting, and then they quickly started the party. Almost the entire group was on the dance floor. It was a really fun crowd, and everyone had a great time.

I hope you enjoyed checking out these pictures. Please let me know if you are planning a wedding at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club. I would love to be your photographer. Of course, you can check in with Danny while you are there. Hopefully, he will have great things to say about me. I know they were happy with the pictures.