Rainy wedding day at the Grande Dunes Resort Golf Club in Myrtle Beach

Like many recent couples, Mary and Inman had to make some last-minute changes to their wedding plans because of Covid-19. They were originally supposed to have a big ceremony back in the bride’s home country of Venezuela. This ended up not being possible, with all the current travel restrictions. In just a few weeks’ time, they planned a whole new wedding in Myrtle Beach! They contacted me just a couple of weeks before the wedding date. Since their date was a Friday in February, I was available and happy to do it.

Wedding at the Ocean Drive Church in North Myrtle Beach

We have had an extremely rainy February this year, it seems like it rains almost every day. When I arrived at the church for the ceremony, there was a constant drizzle and the forecast looked bad for the afternoon. The bride arrived a little late, so we didn’t have much time for getting ready pictures. With all the last-minute planning of the wedding, the bride’s dress had just arrived for her to pick up that day! She had a backup dress just in case, but she was in love with the one that just arrived. She tried it on and everything fit perfectly. She also had some unique butterfly shoes that I made sure to get good pictures of.

The wedding in the church was beautiful, they had a nice balcony for some overhead shots. They didn’t mind if I moved around a bit for pictures of the couple’s faces during the vows. I always check with a church when I arrive, to see what the rules are during the ceremony. Sometimes, no pictures are allowed during the service. Other times it’s fine, as long as I’m discreet about it. I have a really long zoom lens, just in case I have to stay in the back of an auditorium, but it wasn’t needed for this ceremony. After the ceremony we did all the family pictures and a few pictures of the bride and groom as well.

Reception at the Grande Dunes Golf Club

With everything running behind, by the time we arrived at the Grande Dunes Golf Club, we only had about 30 minutes before sunset for pictures. Thankfully, there was a brief break in the rain, so I was rushing the couple as fast as possible to get some pictures while we could. The Golf Club provided us some carts to take out on the golf course. We stopped at a great spot that had views of the clubhouse in the background, as well as the elegant Grande Dunes bridge and the boat docks at the Marina Inn.

Even though we had a break in the rain, the weather was still awful. It was cold and completely overcast, but we made the best of it. When you don’t have a pretty sunset, it’s great to have other options for the background. I especially liked the lights that were near the docks at the Marina Inn, some of them were actually just lights on the highway. I knew if I really opened up the aperture on my Nikon 85mm f1.4 lens, I could use the lights for some great bokeh. I also used my Godox AD300 with a small beauty dish to help light the bride and groom, otherwise the lighting would have been flat and lifeless with the darkening sky. An overcast day is also a great time to do some black and white portraits. I think the pictures turned out beautiful, especially considering the weather.

This was only the second wedding I’ve shot at the Grande Dunes Resort Golf Club. They told me they have a separate owner from the Members Club, where I have done many weddings. I think it’s a great venue for a small wedding like this one. They said they are trying to book more events now, which I’m happy to hear. Especially since the Ocean Club is winding down their weddings. They have some beautiful views on the golf course for wedding pictures, and they were great about driving us out on golf carts, wherever we wanted to take pictures. I really hope I’m able to do another wedding here in the future.

If you are planning a wedding at the Grande Dunes Resort Golf Club in Myrtle Beach please let me know. I would be happy to help out. I hope you enjoy the pictures below.