Morning Wedding at 21 Main Events, North Myrtle Beach

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. 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.

Wedding Preparations

When we arrived around 8am, we set up 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 set up 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 — Photo booth strips holder on tables – 21 Main Events

Wide angle picture of the courtyard - 21 Main Events — Wide angle picture of the courtyard – 21 Main Events

View looking out on the courtyard wide angle - 21 Main Events — View looking out on the courtyard wide angle – 21 Main Events

Best man helping the groom with his tie before the ceremony at 21 Main Events — Best man helping groom with his tie – 21 Main Events

Flower girl in a lavender dress getting ready with a bridesmaid at 21 Main Events — Flower girl getting ready – 21 Main Events

Flower girl getting headband put on - 21 Main Events — Flower girl getting headband put on – 21 Main Events

Bride getting on makeup - 21 Main Events — Bride getting on makeup – 21 Main Events

View of beautiful courtyard from the balcony - 21 Main Events — View of beautiful courtyard from the balcony – 21 Main Events

Table details - 21 Main Events — Table details – 21 Main Events

Mom checking out bride's hair - 21 Main Events — Mom checking out bride’s hair – 21 Main Events

Bride putting on earrings in the mirror - 21 Main Events — Bride putting on earrings in the mirror – 21 Main Events

Groom walking his mother through the courtyard toward the ceremony at 21 Main Events — Groom and mother walking towards the ceremony – 21 Main Events

Flower girl walking with mother - 21 Main Events — Flower girl walking with mother – 21 Main Events

Flower girl trying hard to throw her flower petals - 21 Main Events — Flower girl trying hard to throw her flower petals – 21 Main Events

Flower girl tossing petals as hard as she can in the courtyard at 21 Main Events — Flower girl trying as hard as she can to throw the petals – 21 Main Events

Flower girl throwing petals with a bridesmaid crouched behind her at 21 Main Events — Flower girl throwing petals – 21 Main Events

Bride walking with mother and father into the ceremony - 21 Main Events — Bride walking with mother and father into the ceremony – 21 Main Events

Groom first look of the bride - 21 Main Events — Groom first look of the bride – 21 Main Events

View of the wedding ceremony from the balcony - 21 Main Events — View of the wedding ceremony from the balcony – 21 Main Events

Groom looking into the bride's eyes during the ceremony at 21 Main Events — Groom looking into bride’s eyes during the ceremony – 21 Main Events

Bride and groom holding hands 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 — Bride and groom exchanging their vows – 21 Main Events

Bride smiling at the groom as they hold hands during the ceremony at 21 Main Events — Bride smiling at the groom during the ceremony – 21 Main Events

Groom saying his vows to the bride under the columns at 21 Main Events — Groom saying his vows – 21 Main Events

Bride putting on groom's ring - 21 Main Events — Bride putting on groom’s ring – 21 Main Events

Groom putting on bride's ring - 21 Main Events — Groom putting on bride’s ring – 21 Main Events

First kiss - 21 Main Events — First kiss – 21 Main Events

Bride and groom walking away from ceremony from the balcony - 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 — Bride and groom smiling after the ceremony – 21 Main Events

Kiss from the balcony - 21 Main Events — Kiss from the balcony – 21 Main Events

Photographer arranging the family group in the courtyard, seen from the balcony at 21 Main Events — I’m getting the group ready for the family pictures – 21 Main Events

Family and guests group photo in the courtyard taken from the balcony at 21 Main Events — Group picture from the balcony – 21 Main Events

Couple drinking wine together - 21 Main Events — Couple drinking wine together – 21 Main Events

Bride and bridesmaid swinging the flower girl between them on the beach at North Beach Plantation — Bride and bridesmaid having fun with the flower girl – North Beach Plantation

Bride, groom and wedding party on the beach at midday at North Beach Plantation — Midday portrait of wedding party on the beach – North Beach Plantation

Wedding party laughing as they walk down the beach at North Beach Plantation — Wedding party having fun walking down the beach – North Beach Plantation

First dance in the courtyard - 21 Main Events — First dance in the courtyard – 21 Main Events

Bride smiling over the groom's shoulder during their first dance at 21 Main Events — First dance – 21 Main Events

Groom smiling at the bride during their first dance in the courtyard at 21 Main Events — Groom smiling during the first dance – 21 Main Events

Bride smiling at her father during the father daughter dance - 21 Main Events — 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 — Groom’s mother getting emotional during the mother and son dance – 21 Main Events

Groom's mother smiling up at him during the mother and son dance at 21 Main Events — Emotional mother during the mother and son dance – 21 Main Events

Groom's mother wiping away tears during the mother and son dance at 21 Main Events — Mother wiping away tears during the mother and son dance – 21 Main Events

Kiss at the table - 21 Main Events — Kiss at the table – 21 Main Events

Bride and groom posing at the photo booth while the attendant watches at 21 Main Events — My wife running the photo booth – 21 Main Events

Bride and groom laughing with superhero props in the photo booth at 21 Main Events — Bride and groom in the photo booth – 21 Main Events

Bride and groom kissing behind a Kiss Me sign in the photo booth at 21 Main Events — Kiss in the photo booth – 21 Main Events

Having fun in the photo booth - 21 Main Events — Having fun in the photo booth – 21 Main Events

Closeup of cake - 21 Main Events — Closeup of cake – 21 Main Events

Kissing birds on the cake - 21 Main Events — Kissing birds on the cake – 21 Main Events

Cake cutting - 21 Main Events — Cake cutting – 21 Main Events

Bride and groom dancing together in the courtyard at 21 Main Events — Bride and groom dancing – 21 Main Events

Ring closeup - 21 Main Events — Ring closeup – 21 Main Events

Flower girl having fun during streamer exit - 21 Main Events — Flower girl having fun during streamer exit – 21 Main Events

Streamers exit for bride and groom - 21 Main Events — Streamers exit for bride and groom – 21 Main Events

Bride and groom kissing as guests wave streamers during their exit at 21 Main Events — Kiss during the streamer exit – 21 Main Events

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 that 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 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 the 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!