Wedding at The Cypress Inn in Conway, SC

I’ve photographed many weddings and engagement sessions around the Conway Riverwalk area, but this was my first time at The Cypress Inn in Conway. This bed-and-breakfast is located along the path of the Conway Riverwalk, so I’ve walked by it many times during photo sessions. I always love to make a blog post when visiting a new venue, but Erin and Nathaniel’s wedding was back in November 2023 when we were moving, and things were hectic. During this slow time of the year, I enjoy looking back at some of my past weddings and thought this would be a great one to post.

Pictures before the ceremony on the Conway Riverwalk

When my wife and I arrived at the venue, I headed upstairs to the room for the bride’s preparations, and she went to take pictures with the groomsmen on the Riverwalk. While she was taking photos with the guys, I took the detail shots of the rings, flowers, etc., and getting-ready pictures with the bridesmaids. The Cypress Inn has a large upstairs room for the bridal party with a balcony overlooking the marina on the Riverwalk, which is a lovely spot for pictures.

The bride and groom did a “first look” so we could finish most of the photos before the ceremony. Even though it’s early in the day, there is so much shade from all the trees on the Riverwalk that we can get pictures without too much harsh sun. I knew I was going to bring the two of them out for sunset pictures, so I mostly concentrated on getting the portraits taken with the bridal party and family.

Ceremony in front of the Cypress Inn and Sunset Pictures under the Lights

The location for the ceremony is a little tight on the front lawn of The Cypress Inn. The tent poles fall right in front of the aisle, but I managed to shoot around them, and my wife was there to get some additional angles as well. I always like to make sure I get the expression on the groom’s face as his bride walks down the aisle. Because of the limited space, I just had to shoot most of the ceremony pictures with my wider 35mm lens.

With the holidays approaching, the city set up many hanging lights from the trees near the end of the Riverwalk. It gave me the feeling of being in Brookgreen Gardens during the Night of a Thousand Candles. Back then, I had recently switched to shooting with Sony cameras and had a new 85mm f1.4 prime lens. The Sony eye autofocus is much more accurate than my older Nikon cameras, so I opened up to f1.4 and really blurred out the lights in the background while keeping the subjects in focus. I loved some of the close-up pictures of the couple with the bokeh in the background from the out-of-focus lights.

We finished up the bride and groom portraits on the nearby walkway with benches under the hanging moss. This is my usual spot to finish up any photo session at the Riverwalk. It’s a lovely spot, with the soft light of the sunset hitting the moss on the trees. After this, we went back for the first dance, cake cutting, and dancing on the patio in front of the Inn. Taking outdoor pictures at night is always tricky, but setting up multiple flashes around the dance floor helps with the lighting. I hope you enjoy the pictures. Let me know if you are planning a wedding at The Cypress Inn in Conway. I can give you my more detailed thoughts on the venue.