Outdoor wedding and reception at the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort

I’m excited to have extra time to post pictures from some of my favorite weddings of 2023. Sean and Beckie were married on October 13th, 2023, at the Hilton Resort in Myrtle Beach. I’ve done many weddings at the Hilton, but this was my first where the reception was held outdoors. Even with a windy day and rain later in the evening, this couple and their guests had a blast, and I captured some of my favorite dancing of the year! I also loved the bride’s light blue dress. It’s great for my photography when a wedding has something unique.

I had my wife as a second photographer at this wedding, so after I said hi to Sean and the guys, she stayed to take pictures with them while I went up to the bride and bridesmaids. This was a large wedding party with seven bridesmaids. The groom’s sister was also getting ready with the girls, however she was a groomswoman on the guys side of the wedding. I took some great shots with the bridesmaids doing a first look with Beckie in her wedding dress, toasting with champagne, and watching her open presents from the groom.

First look with the bride and groom

It was extremely windy on the beach that day. I had a few extra minutes, so I explored a bit south down the boardwalk behind the Hilton in Myrtle Beach. I found a pretty lawn a short walk away, sheltered between two towers that partially protected us from the wind. We used this area for a first look with Sean and Beckie and then some pictures with the bridal party. After this, we went down to the beach. I had the groom’s sister pose with some attitude, with her hand on her hip, while the other groomsmen looked serious. I thought it was really cute. The groom was a little shy for pictures. I don’t think he wanted all the girls to pick him up, but his sister was helping to push him into it.

Ceremony on the beach behind the Hilton Resort

There are two options at the Hilton for ceremonies. You can do it on the lawn behind the towers or the beach. They chose to have the wedding on the beach. With it being October, the beach wasn’t nearly as crowded as during the summer. You also get some soft evening shade from the towers, which helps cut down on the harsh light on the beach. After the ceremony, we took all the family pictures and a few more with the bridal party. It was overcast that evening, so we didn’t get the best sunset, but I was still able to get some beautiful pictures with the couple by the ocean before we headed in for the reception

The rain didn’t stop the dancing

This was my first time photographing a wedding reception on the lawn behind the Hilton resort in Myrtle Beach. It was great working with United in Paint and DJ Stephen Craig at the reception. With the cool fall weather, the outdoor reception was very comfortable. Lighting an outdoor reception with no ceiling to bounce flashes from is always tricky. I set up three different off-camera flashes around the dance floor. I had two Godox AD200 flashes near the DJ. I always do this for background kicker lights during the dancing, but I also set a large Godox AD300 as my main light to assist my on-camera flash.

The dancing at the reception was so much fun. Everyone was having a great time on the dance floor, and things were getting wild. DJ Stephen Craig and I were checking the weather forecast on our phones. It kept forecasting that rain would start any minute, so we thought they would have to take the reception inside or end it early. It started sprinkling pretty hard, and I moved some flashes under shelter. They are the only things I have that are not fully weatherproof. The DJ tried to put an umbrella over his equipment as best as possible while I got some fantastic shots of people dancing in the rain. However, just as we had almost given up, the rain stopped, and the party continued. I think some DJs would have moved inside at the first sign of rain; he was brave enough to keep going and didn’t seem to damage any gear.

I hope you enjoy the pictures from this fun wedding at the Hilton Resort in Myrtle Beach. If you are planning a wedding here, please let me know. I can give you some tips and more information.