Courtyard ceremony with a large wedding part at 21 Main Events

I always love weddings at 21 Main Events in North Myrtle Beach. It’s hard to choose which one to feature on my blog. These pictures were a little different because the gazebo was under repair, so we used the front of the clubhouse for wedding party pictures, and they turned out great. Trevor and Alexa also had a great party on the dance floor with beautiful photos under the courtyard lights at dusk. We didn’t go to the beach, but this wedding shows the fantastic pictures you can take without leaving 21 Main Events. Of course, the gazebo and the beach are beautiful if you choose to do that.

First looks and pictures before the ceremony

After the courtyard pictures, I took beautiful shots of the bride’s mother helping her with the dress and veil. I always love the big mirror they have in the bride’s room for pictures, it’s always tricky keeping myself and others out of the reflection. We also did a first look with the bridesmaids, Alexa, and her father. My wife was working with me as a second photographer, so she took pictures with the guys at their apartment, and kept them out of the courtyard until it was time for the first look with Alexa and Trevor. It’s always nice having some help corraling such a large group.

It was an overcast day, which actually worked out great for us. Alexa and Trevor wanted to take as many pictures as they could before the ceremony so they could enjoy the cocktail hour. I always warn a bride and groom that while we can do pictures earlier in the day, and there are some shady spots in the courtyard, it’s always tricky when dealing with the harsh overhead sun. But on this day, we didn’t have to worry about it.

Alexa had mentioned to me that she doesn’t like the background of pictures to be very blurry, so I made a few adjustments for her. I usually would shoot couples portraits with an 85mm lens, but instead I used my 50mm lens and set it to f/4 for many of the pictures. That gives less background compression and also makes the background more in focus. I still shot some pictures fully open with my 50mm f/1.2 lens to provide some variety. You might notice some of the pictures have a softer background than others. I prefer the more out-of-focus backgrounds myself. However, I’m always there to make a bride and groom happy, so please let me know if you have a preference. I show my settings on all my pictures, so if you see a higher f-number like f/4, that makes everything more in focus; if you see a lower number like f/2 or f/1.4, that is a softer, blurry background.

Under repair Gazebo and pictures in front of the 21 Main Steakhouse

We took a bus down to the gazebo at the North Beach towers, but when we got there, we realized the fountains were under repair and they had the area taped off. I heard the repairs would be completed before the summer, so it should be finished any day now. Instead, we decided to take some pictures in front of the 21 Main Steakhouse main entrance. They didn’t want to go down to the beach before the ceremony, so this ended up giving us some great variety vs just doing pictures in the courtyard.

Alexa had the idea to take a picture of the wedding party running past them, and being blurry while they kissed. As a photographer, I don’t usually carry an ND filter to reduce light because I can set my shutter speed as high as needed. However, I knew I would need to use a very slow shutter speed to blur the moving subjects. Thankfully, with the overcast day, using my max f/16 of my lens, I could get the shutter speed just slow enough to make it work. I might start carrying around an ND filter in my belt pouch, because I liked this effect, and it would have been even better if I could have reduced the light coming into my lens.

Ceremony in the courtyard with a flower cannon and a fun reception.

We had a little extra time, so we did a few more couples’ portraits in the courtyard, then it was time for the ceremony to begin. I always love it when DG Senter Designs sets up their flower cannon on the balcony at 21 Main Events. I had my wife up on the balcony, and we were both ready for the flower cannon to go off. When the bride and groom dipped after the ceremony, we both got great shots of them surrounded by the falling petals. It is a magical way to end a ceremony.

DJ Jake had dancing on a cloud and cold sparkler cannons for the first dance. After the parent dances, I took Alexa and Trevor out for pictures after sunset under the lights in the courtyard. I really loved these pictures because there was still just a bit of light in the sky, enough to give a blue glow but not enough to overwhelm the warm glow from all the hanging lights.

Everyone had a blast on the dance floor. I even caught the moment when the guys tossed Trevor up in the air off the dance floor. At the end of the reception, they did a bubble exit and a dip between the cold sparkler cannons. If you are planning a wedding at 21 Main events, please check out my blog category here for more pictures. You can view a lot of the different options available, like the gazebo, beach, or just staying around the clubhouse for all the pictures, like we did at this wedding. There are many different options.