Couple kissing on the fallen tree

Pawleys Plantation wedding with a Beauty and the Beast themed reception

I always love going to Pawleys Plantation Golf Club for a wedding. It’s a beautiful area, and the staff there is very friendly. I loved the bride’s dress at this wedding. She had a Beauty and the Beast Disney theme for the dress and wedding reception. You can see some pictures of the ballroom decorations below. I recently got a new 14mm prime lens, so I enjoyed playing around with some wide-angle shots of the reception decorations. Looking through the lens, it was so wide that I realized I was almost sticking my camera in the cake. It’s not the …

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Dipping girl back in front of the ocean

Cold and windy day for engagement pictures at the Myrtle Beach State Park

There are always a couple of winter months when no one wants portraits done outdoors or on the beach. During those months, I always have some things to do, like wedding album layouts and catching up with clients about orders from the previous year, but it’s nice to be getting busy taking fresh pictures again. I seem to be getting an early start this year with some engagement sessions and even a wedding this coming weekend. I’m highlighting the engagement session this time for a couple with an upcoming wedding I’m photographing this summer. It was a freezing and windy …

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First kiss - Members Club at Grande Dunes

Sunset wedding on the veranda at the Members Club at Grande Dunes

I always love going to the Grande Dunes Members Club for weddings. It’s a beautiful clubhouse located on the golf course inside the Grande Dunes. This bride wore a stunning lace-covered ball gown. This is a perfect dress for getting pictures of the bride standing in a doorway with the full dress flowing out behind her. Working with some of my favorite wedding vendors, including Sara from Stunning and Brilliant Events and DJ Scott and Company, was also great. I began the day by taking pictures of the bride’s wedding dress and other details. I always love photos of the …

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Engagement portrait with poodle sitting on the train tracks - Conway River Walk

Two engagement photography sessions at the Conway Riverwalk, one with a Poodle

I like to do engagement sessions for my upcoming weddings during this slower time of the year. I recently had two sets of wedding clients that wanted to do engagement pictures at the Conway River Walk, so I combined photos from both their sessions into one post. I’m a little partial to the first set below because they had a poodle that looks almost like my dog Penny. Their poodle was a little nervous, especially up on the railroad track, just like my dog would be with the tail tucked down tight. The very last picture in the first set below …

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Leaning fiance back for a kiss at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach

Surprise engagement proposal at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach

This was another surprise engagement proposal I was asked to photograph, this time at the Ripley’s Aquarium in Broadway at the Beach. I was contacted by the young guy to hopefully get some surprise pictures of the proposal to his girlfriend. It’s usually hard for the girl not to know something is up by the time I spot them.  I’ve done a number of these types of surprise proposals recently, they are always really fun to shoot, and so far, the girl has always said yes!  So maybe it’s a good idea to have me there :). I’ve been to …

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Fun senior couple at their surprise 60th anniversary party – Doubletree Resort

This was a sweet senior couple that had a surprise 60th-anniversary party at the Doubletree Resort hotel. I wasn’t expecting such an elaborate event when I arrived. It was like a small wedding reception. They had a band, a wedding-style cake, and a dance floor. They even played that wedding game where they asked the couple questions and see how well they know each other. You can see in the pictures that they were constantly smiling or tearing up. They just seemed to have the best time and loved each other. I’m sure we all wish we could be like …

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Portrait of bride and groom kissing behind the sea grass at the Ocean Club in Myrtle Beach

Another fun couple getting married at the Grande Dunes Ocean Club in Myrtle Beach

I’ve been going to the Ocean Club for weddings a lot this year, not that I’m complaining. It’s a beautiful location. The club is located at the north end of Myrtle Beach, so there is a small area with dunes and sea oats with no hotels in the background.  This was a small ceremony down on the beach. I always like smaller ceremonies because they are usually more relaxed and flexible on time. I also prefer when they have the ceremony on the beach instead of the Ocean Club veranda. The veranda can get pretty tight to move around and …

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Dancing backlit by lights

Small beach house wedding down in Garden City, SC

I think a beach house wedding is a great idea if you plan a smaller, more intimate ceremony and if it is the time of the year when the weather is nice. I’ve had a lot of previous clients that will rent a large beach house, have the wedding down on the beach, and then have the reception in the house’s backyard. I’m sure this has to be a lot easier on a budget than many of the popular hotel and club locations.  Sometimes I can even get better pictures of a couple at a smaller, less involved event because …

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Putting on the engagement ring in front of the pier

Engagement pictures with an emotional marriage proposal on the beach

I had another fun couple that hired me for their engagement pictures and a marriage proposal on the beach. This one was a bit different than my last couple of proposals because his girlfriend knew that he was going to propose. This made it a bit easier for me because I didn’t have to try and be sneaky with my pictures of the proposal.  I also got to set the position of the couple up a little bit so there wouldn’t be people in the background.  We started doing my typical style engagement pictures around the oak trees and sea …

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Couple laying together in the sand - Litchfield Beach

Engagement pictures at the Litchfield Golf and Beach Club

I had the opportunity to do engagement pictures for this very nice couple staying at the Litchfield Golf and Beach Club. I’ve done weddings in this area before, but I’ve never been there for engagement pictures. I’m glad they suggested doing them there because it is a really pretty area. I knew some of the spots I liked out in front of the club from previous weddings, it’s always great when you can get some nice light coming through the leaves of oak trees. Using a really good lens blurs out the background sunlight in a really pretty way. The …

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