Wedding at WildHorse at Parker Farms with horses and a beautiful sunset

Photographing weddings at some of the beautiful farm locations we have a little inland from Myrtle Beach is always a nice change of pace for me. Wildhorse at Parker Farms is a very unique venue located in Longs, SC, and it’s about a 30-minute trip from Myrtle Beach. I’ve only shot one other wedding at Parker Farms back in April of 2020. This wedding was in the middle of social distancing, and many guests couldn’t attend, so it was great to be back with everything back to normal.

When I arrived at the venue, the bridesmaids hadn’t yet arrived, so I took pictures around the reception hall and of the bride’s dress, flowers, and even some grapes hanging on the vines. Next, I took some getting-ready photos with all the bridesmaids and her grandmother helping her with the dress. The groomsmen were dressed when they arrived, so I had them do a few pretend pictures helping with ties and putting on the boutonnieres. It was raining off and on during the day, so we started doing portraits under cover but were soon able to go out by the marsh for pictures. There was a big group of guys, and they had a lot of fun with the photos. They loved the little ringbearer’s Mullett, so they made him shake it around for a picture.

The ceremony was in a beautiful spot in front of the horse pasture. They have many new wild horses since the last time I was there. I believe the farm’s owner said it was around 35 now. He called over the horses right before the ceremony so we could have them in the background of the ceremony pictures. I loved how emotional the groom got when seeing his bride walk down the aisle for the first time. Even when I’m shooting a wedding solo like this one, I make sure to spin around and get the expression on the face of the groom.

After the family pictures, we went back down by the horse pasture, and the owner called them back again. The groom petted one of the horses, and after he stopped, the horse went back in to get more attention. It’s a cute picture. One thing I love about modern mirrorless cameras is how I can hold them above my head and still get accurate focus. I was below the group, down on a slope, when I was taking the pictures. To get a good view of the horses without the bright sun washing out the shots, I held the camera up as high as possible for many of the pictures. My large off-camera lighting makes a huge difference when the sun is right behind the couple, like in these pictures.

The rain completely cleared up when we got down to the marsh area with all the trees. So we got beautiful shots with the bokeh from the sunset filtering through all the marsh’s foliage and the sun reflecting off the water. After the dancing started, everyone had a great time until the evening ended. I hope you enjoy these wedding pictures from WildHorse at Parker Farms. Let me know if you plan a farm wedding near Myrtle Beach. I would be happy to help!