It’s been a while since I photographed a wedding in Brookgreen Gardens. Weddings at the Brookgreen Gardens Holiday Cottage are always beautiful, so it is nice to be back. It’s always great to work with DJ Wayne Cribb and Gigi Noelle Events. I arrived a little early at the location to get some detail shots around the cottage and ceremony area. The bride and groom had put special attention into decorating the Live Oak Allee gates that lead to the “Youth Taming the Wild” statue. The gates were covered in beautiful flowers, which made a fantastic background for the ceremony and for pictures later. I also like that they use brown chairs now for the ceremony. It really fits with the natural colors of the location.
The upstairs area of the Holiday Cottage is filled with light from the windows and is a beautiful area for wedding preparation pictures. I especially like the one of the groom’s daughter helping the bride put on her makeup backlit by the window. This was a pretend picture, as the bride already had her makeup finished before she arrived at the cottage. Even if hair and makeup are done before I arrive, I can get a lot of beautiful pictures just by briefly recreating certain things. I also loved the shot of the bride’s mom checking out the veil in the window light and the bride standing backlit by the window.
The bride and her father arrived at the ceremony in a classic car. After the ceremony was over, the bride and groom drove away in the car as well. The car made a great prop for some pictures of the couple right after the ceremony as well. They both had custom-made cowboy boots they wore during the ceremony. We made sure to get some good shots of the boots while they were sitting on the hood of the car. Then we did the family and bridal party pictures by the garden gates.
The only problem, as I was about to finish up the bridal party pictures, we were told we had to be in for dinner in 5 min. I hadn’t yet done the pictures with the bride and groom! I’m not sure what happened with the timing, but thankfully a call was made, and we got an extra 15 min. We still had to work fast, but I’m very used to working quickly when needed. We got some fun pictures around the gates and flowers, then headed to the lake around the Youth Taming the Wild statue. I always like getting pictures sitting on the brick wall in front of this statue. I also like the little bridges over the water on this pond. We even saw a small alligator that quickly went into the water before the groom could get in a picture with it. Finally, we took some quick pictures on the Live Oak Allee garden path near the cottage. If I had more time, there were a few more things I would have loved to get, but overall I think we got a lot of great pictures.
For the reception at the Holiday Cottage in Brookgreen Gardens, they now set up a large tent area on the side of the cottage. This gives a lot more room for the dance floor and tables than they used to have on the back patio. I used my 3 flash lighting setup for the dance floor. I now have one main light on the camera to send light forward and also bounce off the ceiling if there is one. Then I have two additional kicker lights in the background to add some directional light to the dance floor. You wouldn’t know it from the pictures, but the tent was almost completely dark except for the DJ lights. My lighting setup really makes the dance floor come alive and also helps to get rid of most of the color cast from the DJ lights. I shoot all the flashes manually, which gives a very consistent look to the pictures. I hope you enjoy the pictures. If you are booking a wedding at the Brookgreen Gardens Holiday Cottage and need a photographer, please let me know!
Mr and Mrs wine glasses – Brookgreen GardensHoliday Cottage – Brookgreen GardensCeremony location by the gates – Brookgreen GardensGarden path – Brookgreen GardensCeremony location under the oak trees – Brookgreen GardensDaughter putting on bride’s lipstick in the window light – Brookgreen GardensWedding dress hanging in the window – Brookgreen GardensDetail shot of bride’s jewelry – Brookgreen GardensBouquets – Brookgreen GardensBride and groom’s cowboy boots – Brookgreen GardensGroom getting on his tie – Brookgreen Gardens
Bride sitting in window light – Brookgreen GardensBridesmaids putting on the bride’s boots – Brookgreen Gardens
Bridesmaids helping with the dress – Brookgreen GardensBride and bridesmaids sitting in the window light – Brookgreen GardensBride posing with her cowboy boots – Brookgreen Gardens
Bride standing in the window light – Brookgreen GardensLace train at the top of the stairs – Brookgreen Gardens
Putting on the veil – Brookgreen GardensMother checking out bride before the ceremony – Brookgreen GardensBride standing at the top of the stairs – Brookgreen GardensBridesmaids laughing before the ceremony – Brookgreen Gardens
Bride walking down the steps – Brookgreen GardensBride on the cottage stairs – Brookgreen Gardens
Bride posing in the upstairs window – Brookgreen GardensBride with her bouquet in the window light – Brookgreen Gardens
Groom standing on the dock before the ceremony – Brookgreen GardensGroom with nephew – Brookgreen Gardens
Groomsmen standing on the lake dock – Brookgreen GardensGroomsmen laughing before the ceremony – Brookgreen GardensWelcome sign – Brookgreen GardensGroom’s daughter and ring-bearer – Brookgreen GardensGroom watching the bride walk towards him – Brookgreen GardensWalking down the aisle under the oaks – Brookgreen GardensBride and father walking down the aisle – Brookgreen GardensBride smiling at groom during the ceremony – Brookgreen GardensBride and groom holding hands during the ceremony by the gates – Brookgreen GardensGroom watching bride give her vows – Brookgreen GardensBeautiful ceremony location near the gates – Brookgreen GardensPutting on the bride’s ring – Brookgreen GardensBride putting ring on groom – Brookgreen GardensFirst kiss – Brookgreen GardensHappy couple after the ceremony – Brookgreen GardensBride and groom walking towards the classic car – Brookgreen GardensWalking to the classic car – Brookgreen Gardens
Groom and daughter – Brookgreen GardensWife and daughter kissing the groom – Brookgreen Gardens
Bride posing in front of the gates – Brookgreen GardensBridesmaids and bride standing by the gates – Brookgreen GardensGroomsmen lifting up the bride – Brookgreen GardensGroomsmen lifting up the groom by the gates – Brookgreen GardensBride and groom sitting on the classic car – Brookgreen GardensShowing off the cowboy boots – Brookgreen GardensBride and groom leaning against the classic car – Brookgreen GardensBride and groom kissing by a classic car – Brookgreen GardensRomance on the garden path – Brookgreen GardensWedding party with the classic car – Brookgreen GardensGroomsmen showing off the suspenders – Brookgreen GardensGroom and bride having fun by the gates – Brookgreen GardensBride walking through the garden gates – Brookgreen GardensBride opening the garden gates – Brookgreen GardensBride and groom standing by the open gates – Brookgreen GardensKiss by the open gates – Brookgreen GardensBride and groom with “Youth Taming the Wild” sculpture in the background – Brookgreen GardensKiss in front of “Youth Taming the Wild” – Brookgreen Gardens
Bride and groom smiling on the marsh bridge by Youth Taming the Wild statue – Brookgreen GardensBride and groom kissing by the lake bridge – Brookgreen Gardens
Bride and groom reflecting in the pond by the statue – Brookgreen GardensBride and groom kissing under the Youth Taming the Wild statue – Brookgreen Gardens
Couple posing on the garden path – Brookgreen GardensKiss on the garden walkway – Brookgreen GardensGroom carrying the bride – Brookgreen GardensKiss with boots in the air – Brookgreen GardensDip back for a kiss – Brookgreen GardensWedding cake – Brookgreen GardensBride and groom riding in on a scooter – Brookgreen GardensFirst dance with 3 light setup – Brookgreen GardensFirst dance under the tent – Brookgreen GardensFirst dance – Brookgreen GardensBride and groom with daughter at table – Brookgreen GardensHaving fun during the cake cutting – Brookgreen GardensBride dancing with father – Brookgreen GardensGroom dancing with daughter – Brookgreen GardensHaving fun on the dance floor – Brookgreen GardensEveryone getting down on the dance floor – Brookgreen GardensFun on the dance floor – Brookgreen GardensDancing under the tent – Brookgreen GardensKids having fun dancing – Brookgreen GardensDancing – Brookgreen GardensMaking a train – Brookgreen GardensHaving fun with the group shots on the dance floor – Brookgreen GardensGroup shot on the dance floor – Brookgreen GardensGroom having fun on the dance floor – Brookgreen GardensBride having fun dancing – Brookgreen GardensGetting down on the dance floor – Brookgreen GardensBride dancing under the tent – Brookgreen GardensBride dancing with friends – Brookgreen GardensBride and groom dancing – Brookgreen GardensTwirl on the dance floor – Brookgreen GardensShowing off the boots dancing – Brookgreen GardensBouquet toss – Brookgreen GardensThrowing the bouquet – Brookgreen GardensReaching for the bouquet – Brookgreen GardensCatching the bouquet – Brookgreen GardensGroom taking off the garter – Brookgreen GardensGroom celebrating with the garter – Brookgreen GardensRing macro – Brookgreen GardensMore dancing fun – Brookgreen GardensEveryone partying – Brookgreen GardensGroom dancing with bride’s mom – Brookgreen GardensLast dance – Brookgreen Gardens
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