The Pelican Inn is a bed and breakfast built in the mid-1800s in the beautiful Pawleys Island, SC area. While the house itself is not very impressive looking from the outside, it’s in a perfect location between the salt marsh and beach, surrounded by old oak trees and greenery. It’s a unique spot, and I don’t know of any other wedding location in the area quite like it. The inside of the house has a very rustic look but is clean and air conditioned. The wedding decorations and guest’s tables are set up on the large porch surrounding the house, and the lawn out back can be used as well. The bride has a private downstairs room in the inn where she can do her wedding preparations.
I met Sarah and Ryan, this bride and groom, well over a year ago when I took their engagement pictures with their two dogs. I started out taking getting ready pictures with Sarah and her bridesmaids at the Pelican Inn. Because the guys were getting ready in another location, we were able to go out on the marsh boardwalk and take some pictures with just the girls. At the end of the private boardwalk, there is also a small boat dock. Here, we had some nice shade for group pictures, and pictures of Sarah with each individual bridesmaid as well.
The wedding ceremony was being held at the nearby Pawleys Island Chapel on the Marsh. This is another rustic and beautiful location on the salt marsh, which I’ve featured in blog posts before. Because I was shooting this wedding by myself, I just met up with the guys about 30 min before the ceremony to get some pictures with them together. It was a little difficult wrangling the groomsmen together for pictures before the ceremony, I think they had a few more drinks than they should have. But everything worked out fine and we got some nice shots around the chapel and nearby boardwalk. It’s always a little difficult in a small chapel to get close-up pictures of the faces of the bride and groom during the ceremony. I don’t want to be too distracting, but I managed to work my way over to the front sides and got some great shots of their expressions during the vows. It’s also difficult here because of the backlighting from the windows. I used my Godox AD200 flashes to help brighten the interior of the chapel to match the light from the windows better.
After the ceremony, I took the bridal party down for some pictures on the beach behind the Pelican Inn. That is what is so unique about this area. It is so accessible to both the beach and the salt marsh. Sarah and Ryan had to get a shot with the “Keep of Groin” sign on the beach. I have a feeling no one obeys that sign. I got my feet completely soaked during the pictures, but it was worth it, getting some great shots of them surrounded by the ocean. One of the bridesmaids also helped us get some beautiful shots of Sarah’s veil blowing in the wind. After the beach pictures, we went to the marsh for some sunset pictures, surrounded by the grass on the boardwalk. Because of the recent hurricane, many of the boardwalks out onto the marsh are falling over or broken. You can see some of the wood twisting into the marsh behind the bride and groom in the background. Thankfully, the boardwalk for the Pelican Inn is well maintained and in good condition.
I only stayed for a short time at the reception, but I got a lot of fun dancing and some great shots of the bouquet toss. Everything went smoothly thanks to the planning of Willow Event Designs and DJ Butch Barnes. The Pelican Inn has a nice outdoor dance area that is surrounded by string lights hanging from the trees. It’s also fun being able to walk up the steps and get some overhead shots of the dance floor. I hope you enjoy the pictures below, if you are considering the Pelican Inn as your wedding location, let me know and I can give you some extra thoughts about it.
Table decorations – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
View of pelican inn from the back looking through the trees – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Boardwalk on the marsh – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Table details – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Bride’s dress hanging in the window – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
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Bridesmaids before the ceremony – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Ringbearer with father – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Floral bouquets on table – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Closeup of bride’s bouquet – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Details on bride’s bouquet – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Mother zipping up bride’s dress – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Mother and bridesmaid putting on the bride’s veil – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Mother pulling bride’s veil over her shoulders – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Bridesmaids laughing together before the ceremony – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Portrait of bride on marsh boardwalk before the ceremony – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Bridesmaids on the marsh boardwalk – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Portrait of bridesmaids on the marsh dock – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Individual portraits of bride and each bridesmaid – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Bride and bridesmaids on the marsh boat dock – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Picture with the pelican inn sign – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Picture of the chapel – Pawleys Island Chapel
Mother helping groom with boutineer – Pawleys Island Chapel
Groomsmen drinking before the ceremony – Pawleys Island Chapel
Groom fixing his cufflinks – Pawleys Island Chapel
Groom and mother walking towards the ceremony – Pawleys Island Chapel
Bridesmaids walking to the ceremony – Pawleys Island Chapel
Happy ring bearer walking down the isle – Pawleys Island Chapel
Bride and father walking down the isle – Pawleys Island Chapel
Proud father of the bride – Pawleys Island Chapel
Bride standing with father – Pawleys Island Chapel
Groom smiling at the bride – Pawleys Island Chapel
Wedding party during the ceremony – Pawleys Island Chapel
Bride and groom smiling after vows – Pawleys Island Chapel
Bride putting ring on the groom – Pawleys Island Chapel
First kiss – Pawleys Island Chapel
Big embrace after the first kiss – Pawleys Island Chapel
Happy couple walking away from the ceremony – Pawleys Island Chapel
Entire bridal party on the marsh boardwalk – Pawleys Island Chapel
Wedding party on the beach – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Wedding party walking down the beach – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Bride and groom with her veil blowing in the wind – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Bride and groom kissing with blowing veil – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Groom touching bride’s face – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Kiss by the ocean – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Couple looking at each other – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Keep off groin! – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Bride and groom standing above the ocean – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
I got my feet soaked taking this shot – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Waves crashing around the couple – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Walking down the beach holding hands – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Happy bride and groom walking down the beach – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Dips in front of the ocean – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Dips in front of the ocean – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Bride and groom posing in front of the ocean together – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Bride and groom posing in front of the ocean together – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Kiss with sunlight coming through the trees – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Lights from the inn in the background – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Sunset on the marsh – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Sunset on the marsh – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Kiss on the marsh boardwalk – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Bride and groom on the marsh boardwalk – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Looking into each others eyes on the boardwalk in black and white – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Sunset kiss on the marsh – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Table details after lit candles – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Cards table – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
First dance – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Audience watching the first dance – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Bride dancing with father – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Bride and father dancing – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Cake cutting – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Having fun on the dance floor – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Having fun on the dance floor – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Having fun on the dance floor – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Having fun on the dance floor – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Dancing with grandmother – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Having fun on the dance floor – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Bouquet toss – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Catching the bouquet – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
Grandmother on the dance floor – Pelican Inn – Pawleys Island
1 thought on “Wedding at the Pawleys Island Chapel with a reception at the Pelican Inn”
Beautiful work!