Intimate wedding at 21 Main Events with a reception in the courtyard

2022 has already been a busy year with several beautiful weddings. In fact, this was my first of two weddings in a row at 21 Main Events at North Beach. Since this was a smaller, more intimate event, they had the courtyard set up for the reception instead of the main ballroom. I arrived a little before the bride, so I began with detail shots of the table decorations, wedding decor, and the bride’s dress that I found was already there. The groom’s daughter was the only bridesmaid at the wedding. I got many cute shots of them getting ready together in the bride’s room.

New for this year, they completely remodeled the room for the bride’s preparations. It has been expanded to have a secondary dressing area, and all the dark colors and wood are gone. It’s now clean and white with a light marble floor tile. Check out how it used to look in another recent wedding. This room is now a beautiful spot for pictures of the bride’s dress and her with the bridesmaids before the ceremony.

Ceremony in the Courtyard

I’ve mentioned this previously. I love ceremonies in the 21 Main Events courtyard because of the nice shade. It’s tricky to get shots of the wedding party as they move from the bright sun to the shade while walking to the ceremony. But during the ceremony, it’s so easy to get amazing shots of the bride and groom with no harsh shadows or squinting that you sometimes get with a fully outdoor wedding.

I caught some emotional close-up shots of the bride and groom looking into each other’s eyes during the vows. You can even see the big smile on the groom’s daughter as the bride gave special vows to her, letting her know how much she was loved and would always be there for her. Being a solo photographer at this wedding, I couldn’t get any balcony shots during the ceremony. But I went up after and got some nice overhead pictures of the entire group.

Sunset on the Beach and Gazebo

After the ceremony, family pictures, and the first dance, I took a few photos of the bride and groom in the courtyard. After this, we went down to the gazebo near the North Beach Towers for more sunset portraits. I like to bring all the bridesmaids and groomsmen along with us for most weddings, but for this one, it worked out better to have just the couple.

After the gazebo pictures, we walked down the beach to my favorite spot, where the marsh flows back into the ocean. I always get some fantastic photos here, with the sun setting behind the dunes in the background. Then we finished up with fun pictures by the ocean before heading back to the reception.

Fun with the Sparkler Fountains

One of my favorite things at weddings is when the DJ brings cold sparkler fountains. Eyecon Entertainment, who I work with all the time, has these as an add-on option. He usually uses these for only the first dance and sparkler exit, but I asked him if we could set them up for a couple of posed pictures in the courtyard. I got a fantastic shot with the couple kissing with the sparkler fountains firing off in the background.

After a short time of fun dancing, the bride and groom did a sparkler exit. I again got some great shots with the sparkler fountains. It doesn’t matter if you have a huge wedding with a large bridal party or a small intimate affair. It will be a blast if you have a good crew of wedding vendors and a great location like 21 Main Events. If you are planning a wedding, please let me know. I would be happy to help you with recommendations of great vendors in the area.

Featured Vendors:

Eyecon Entertainment
You.Only Better Makeup Artistry

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