The courtyard at 21 Main Events in North Myrtle Beach is always a beautiful place for a wedding ceremony. This October wedding, with Kristal and Edgar, was a little unusual for me because it was held at 10am in the morning. I was a little worried about the strong sun during the ceremony and for the pictures after. We ended up having some clouds which helped during the ceremony. I also convinced Kristal and Edgar to come back that evening for sunset pictures with just the two of them. My wife was also with me at this wedding, to run our photo booth, which is always a lot of fun at a wedding.
When we arrived around 8am, we setup the photo booth in the newly remodeled room that is behind the main courtyard, but still not inside the main dining area. They had the bar for the wedding setup in this new space as well. This was a small wedding with just close family and friends. Instead of using the main ballroom, everything was set up outside in the main courtyard. After finishing the photo booth preparations, I started taking detail shots around the courtyard, as well as getting ready pictures with the bride and groom.
Ceremony in the Courtyard
There is a nice balcony at the back of the courtyard at 21 Main Events that overlooks the venue. Even though I was working solo for photography that day, since my wife was there to run the photo booth, she went up and got some shots from the balcony during the ceremony as well. I especially loved the pictures of the flower girl just trying her very best to throw the petals during the ceremony. After the ceremony, Kristal had asked if I could get some group shots from the balcony as well.
After the family and group pictures, we went down to the beach at North Beach Plantation with just the bridal party. The noon sun had decided to come out from behind the clouds, so we had some harsh light to deal with. Using my dual bare bulb studio flash I was able to fill in some of the harsh shadows. This has about 5 times the power of a typical flash.
When we got back to the courtyard at 21 Main Events, the bride and groom went into their first dance. I especially loved the dance with the groom and his mother. She was very tearful and emotional during the dance. I always make sure to walk around during the dances and get shots of the emotions on the faces of the bride’s father and the groom’s mother. Next, they had a yummy brunch style buffet in the courtyard. Then, after a couple of hours of fun and lots of photo booth pictures, they did their grand exit with streamers. The flower girl had a lot of fun with the streamers as well. Continue below for the sunset pictures.
Photo booth strips holder on tables – 21 Main Events
Wide angle picture of the courtyard – 21 Main Events
View looking out on the courtyard wide angle – 21 Main Events
Best man helping room with his tie – 21 Main Events
Flower Girl getting ready – 21 Main Events
Flower girl getting headband put on – 21 Main Events
Bride getting on makeup – 21 Main Events
View of beautiful courtyard from the balcony – 21 Main Events
Table details – 21 Main Events
Mom checking out bride’s hair – 21 Main Events
Bride putting on earrings in the mirror – 21 Main Events
Bride and mother walking towards the ceremony – 21 Main Events
Flower girl walking with mother – 21 Main Events
Flower girl trying hard to throw her flower petals – 21 Main Events
Flowergirl trying as hard as she can to throw the petals – 21 Main Events
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Bride walking with mother and father into the ceremony – 21 Main Events
Groom first look of the bride – 21 Main Events
View of the wedding ceremony from the balcony – 21 Main Events
Groom looking into bride’s eye during the ceremony – 21 Main Events
Bride and groom holding hands during the ceremony – 21 Main Events
Bride and groom exchanging their vows – 21 Main Events
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Bride putting on groom’s ring – 21 Main Events
Groom putting on bride’s ring – 21 Main Events
First kiss – 21 Main Events
Bride and groom walking away from ceremony from the balcony – 21 Main Events
Bride and groom smiling after the ceremony – 21 Main Events
Kiss from the balcony – 21 Main Events
I’m getting the group ready for the family pictures – 21 Main Events
Group picture from the balcony –
Couple drinking wine together – 21 Main Events
Bride and bridesmaid having fun with the flower girl – 21 Main Events
Midday portrait of wedding party on the beach – 21 Main Events
Wedding party having fun walking down the beach – 21 Main Events
First dance in the courtyard – 21 Main Events
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Bride smiling at her father during the father daughter dance – 21 Main Events
Groom’s mother getting emotional during the mother and son dance – 21 Main Events
Emotional mother during the mother and son dance. – 21 Main Events
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Kiss at the table – 21 Main Events
My wife running the photo booth – 21 Main Events
Bride and groom in the photo booth –
Kiss in the photo booth –
Having fun in the photo booth – 21 Main Events
Closeup of cake – 21 Main Events
Kissing birds on the cake – 21 Main Events
Cake cutting – 21 Main Events
Dancing – 21 Main Events
Ring closeup – 21 Main Events
Flower girl having fun during streamer exit – 21 Main Events
Streamers exit for bride and groom – 21 Main Events
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Sunset pictures on the beach
The sun at the beach, around noon time, is some of the worst light you can get. So I recommended that the bride and groom meet me back down for sunset later than evening and they agreed! First of all, we went back to the 21 Main Events courtyard, for some sunset pictures. We took some portraits under the large columns and in front of the beautiful greenery in the courtyard.
Next, we went headed down to North Beach Plantation, for the beach pictures. We started with pictures at the cute gazebo in front of North Beach Plantation. This is a great spot for fun shots, even though a road is right behind the gazebo, with all the bushes in the background it still looks great with the setting sun behind it. On the way down to the beach, a group of guys hanging around the pool wanted to buy to bride and groom a round of drinks. We had some extra time waiting for the sun to set, so they relaxed together with their drinks in front of the dunes.
We had an unusually pretty “almost” full moon that evening. I tried to get as many pictures as possible with the moon in the background of the bride and groom. One of the prettiest pictures below, I actually did a little cheating in photoshop and moved the moon a bit lower into the sky. I don’t like putting fake skies or fake clouds etc. into a picture. However, taking what is already there, and moving it around a bit, doesn’t change the realism of a picture. I hope you enjoy the pictures. If you are having your wedding at 21 Main Events and would like more information please let me know!
Kiss in the courtyard – 21 Main Events
Bride touching grooms face under the columns – 21 Main Events
Kiss by the foliage in the courtyard – 21 Main Events
Standing by the flowers in the courtyard – 21 Main Events
Posing in the courtyard – 21 Main Events
Touching noses by the columns – 21 Main Events
Kiss by the columns – 21 Main Events
Bride and groom looking into each others eyes on the gazebo – North Beach Plantation
Kiss on the gazebo – North Beach Plantation
Bride and groom holding hands on the gazebo – North Beach Plantation
Kiss under the gazebo – North Beach Plantation
Bride and groom under the gazebo – North Beach Plantation
Sitting together under the gazebo – North Beach Plantation
Sitting together and kissing on the gazebo – North Beach Plantation
Bride and groom laying together by the dunes – North Beach Plantation
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Bride kissing groom on the cheek sitting by the dunes – North Beach Plantation
Taking a break with some drinks on the beach – North Beach Plantation
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Looking into each other eyes in the sunset – North Beach Plantation
Kiss in the sunset – North Beach Plantation
Holding hands walking down the beach – North Beach Plantation
Spinning bride by the ocean – North Beach Plantation
Dip in front of the ocean – North Beach Plantation
Looking into each other eyes in front of the full moon – North Beach Plantation
Kiss under the full moon – North Beach Plantation
Bride and groom looking at the moon – North Beach Plantation
Standing together in the sunset – North Beach Plantation
Kiss in front of the inlet – North Beach Plantation
Arms around the groom – North Beach Plantation
Pulling groom in for a kiss by the water – North Beach Plantation
Full moon in the sunset – North Beach Plantation
Bride looking into grooms eyes with flowers behind his back – North Beach Plantation
Kiss under the full moon – I photoshopped the moon a little lower in the sky – North Beach Plantation
Final picture on the beach walkway – North Beach Plantation
