Kiss after private horseback ride on the beach - Inlet Point Plantation - Little River

Horseback ride surprise proposal at Inlet Point Plantation Stables in North Myrtle Beach

This was such a fun idea for a surprise marriage proposal in Myrtle Beach. Geoff contacted me a few weeks before his proposal. He wanted to surprise his girlfriend but he wanted to do it during a horseback ride down the beach. He got in touch with Inlet Point Plantation stables that is up in the North Myrtle Beach / Little River area. They actually have a special sunset horseback riding package that was perfect for what he wanted to do. While I’ve never been to Inlet Point Plantation stables before, I was familiar with the general area. It’s close …

View post

Maternity portraits of man and woman sitting by the dunes - Huntington Beach State Park

Maternity portraits at the Huntington Beach State Park and Atalaya Castle

I had a lot of fun taking maternity portraits for an expecting mother and father last week at the Atalaya Castle and beach in Huntington Beach State Park. I’m still happy that I made this park in Murrells Inlet my regular location for family pictures vs the park in Myrtle Beach. As the sunset moves to later in the day, the traffic is not that bad driving down to the Murrells Inlet area. This mother was due to have her child in about four weeks, but even though it was a little tricky for her, she did a lot of …

View post

Brothers laying in the sand - Huntington Beach State Park

Mother with her two sons | Family pictures at Huntington Beach State Park

This year I’m again encouraging my clients for family pictures to make the trip to the Huntington Beach State Park if possible. Because of a recent hurricane, the dunes are very damaged at the Myrtle Beach State Park and they have roped them off to protect them. Also, in the summer, the Myrtle Beach park is very crowded. Because of the crowds, sometimes the park rangers are unfriendly with us photographers. The Huntington Beach State Park doesn’t have a pier but it has the Atalaya Castle and a beautiful beach with nice dunes. If you are looking to take some …

View post

Sunset behind the clubhouse -  Grande Dunes Ocean Club

Fun beach wedding with a large bridal party – Ocean Club at Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach

I always have a lot of fun photographing weddings at the Ocean Club at Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach. My latest beach wedding for Sara and John was no exception. Sara had me arrive a little earlier then usual to start taking pictures, about 2 1/2 hours before the ceremony. This turned out to be a good idea with 11 groomsmen and 9 bridesmaids in the party! I always warn my couples if you have a really big bridal party, plan on everything running an hour later than you think. Samantha, the wedding coordinator at the Ocean Club, had the …

View post

Couple about to kiss leaning against the pier at state park

Engagement pictures at the Myrtle Beach State Park after the flooding

I’m sure everyone has heard about the severe flooding we had in SC about a month ago. Myrtle Beach wasn’t hit as hard as some areas, but we still had flooding in many locations. You might have heard me complain that in Myrtle Beach state park, they are incredibly particular about photographers getting anywhere near the dunes. They don’t have to worry about it anymore because many of the dunes’ front slopes are completely gone. The dunes are now just cliffs with the roots of sea oats sticking out of the sides. The water must have been so high that …

View post

Guy getting a really big hug after surprise proposal - Myrtle Beach State Park

Surprise engagement proposal with the whole family at the Myrtle Beach State Park

I’ve been doing a lot of surprise marriage proposals recently. I think it’s because I’ve blogged about it several times, and clients must be seeing my posts. Whatever the reason, I always enjoy doing these, so I hope I keep getting more. I believe this engagement proposal was a real surprise. She was under the impression we were doing portraits of the whole family. I took pictures of the five different couples, including parents and grandparents, up by the oak trees and then by the dunes. When it was the about-to-be-engaged couple’s turn for pictures, he picked up the ring box the family had …

View post

Black and white of couple kissing with sunlight reflecting on the beach grass - Holden Beach

Beach house wedding at Holden Beach, one of my favorite beach locations.

This is the second time I’ve been to this beach house in Holden Beach, NC, for a wedding. Because of my earlier wedding there, I was told I came highly recommended, which is always nice. I’ve been to many different beach locations for weddings, and this one is pretty unique. Almost anywhere you go around this area, the houses are built right up next to the ocean, and in some spots at high tide, there is hardly any beach even left. In this area, the beach houses were built far back from the ocean. A long walk down to the beach through …

View post

Couple smiling at each other in front of the pier

Secret pictures of marriage proposal and engagement portraits after

I got to do something fun last week, trying to do marriage proposal pictures without being noticed. The man’s family, including his daughter, were hiding by the dunes while we waited for him and his girlfriend to arrive at the beach. There are always a lot of photographers down at the state park, so it was pretty easy to blend in. I don’t think his girlfriend noticed me until after he proposed, so I thought I did a good job. Then they just took engagement pictures on the beach together. It was a lot of fun and easy to get …

View post

Couple touching noses with the background of the Myrtle Beach State Park

Engagement pictures for a couple and their dog on a cloudy day at the Myrtle Beach State Park

I had another nice couple for engagement portraits at the Myrtle Beach State Park this past week. I’ve got their wedding coming up later this year. This couple brought along their baby for the moment, their little dog. I can’t remember what it was exactly. I know it was a poodle mix of some kind. I have two poodles myself. They are very sweet dogs as long as they are used to being around people. My dogs love it when clients come by to discuss a wedding, I tell them people are coming, and they will wait by the window. You have to …

View post

Family portraits – three boys and a little sister at the Myrtle Beach State Park

I realized I needed to blog about some family pictures. I don’t do it often enough. I’ve had several cute families recently, and before things start getting busy, I wanted to highlight a recent one. This was a family with three sons and a little girl I took pictures of on a cold afternoon at Myrtle Beach State Park.  Whenever I hear it will be a bunch of boys, I worry a bit. Sometimes, boys can be hard to work with. But if everyone stays in a good mood and tries to have fun and make the best of it, …

View post