Hi there!
It’s just your friendly neighborhood wedding planner here to remind you to check the sunset timing on your wedding day BEFORE you set your CEREMONY start time.
Sounds a bit strange? It’s CRITICAL! Let me explain the why:
I would venture to guess that having gorgeous photos from your wedding day is something that’s probably very important to you as a couple and something that you’ve spent a significant chunk of your wedding budget on already.
Well, having great lighting is KEY to stunning photography images. Hence, you need to know when the sunset timing is for your particular wedding day before planning the rest of the day out.
The second critical thing to decide BEFORE setting that ceremony start time is if you want to do a First Look and pictures before the ceremony, or see each other for the first time down the aisle and take all your photos after the ceremony.
If you’re planning a First Look and photos before your ceremony, you have much more wiggle room with timing overall. However, if you prefer to take all of your photos after the ceremony, making sure the sun doesn’t set too close to the end of your ceremony is really important so that you still have natural light to work with for those photos.
This is especially trickier in Fall and Winter when the sunset timing can sometimes be as early as 5:30 pm. Don’t forget the “sunset time” is when the sun has actually, officially set - meaning it’s full dark at that time. For lighting purposes, it’s beginning to get darker the full hour prior to that listed time of sunset. You might have heard the term “Golden Hour” before - this is the hour before sunset when the sun is low enough to be shining through the trees and it’s more dusk than daylight.
Examples of our couples that made the most of that Golden Hour we were referring to!
Ideally for most weddings, you’ll want an ample amount of both daylight lighting and golden hour lighting to capture all the photos of your day that you’re hoping for.
We ALWAYS recommend checking in with your photographer about their recommendations for timing on your wedding day. Every photographer has different preferences for the order they like to schedule things, as well as how much time they like to spend on each type of photo grouping. They’ll have great advice on how to arrange your wedding day timeline to best accommodate your photography goals too.
What time of year are you planning your wedding? Are you team First Look or team Down the Aisle? We love both options and how moving and special each tradition can be. Comment and share with us what your plans are!
Where are all our amazing photographer friends at? What are your favorite tips for your couples about their ceremony timing? We’d love to hear your input too!
Need some help figuring all these sunset timing logistics out for your day? We’re here to lend a hand! Click here to reach out about your day and see how we can help!
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