How to plan wedding day sunset photos in winter or summer

Plan the ceremony around the sunset time

Sunset is a beautiful moment, and a lot of couples would love to have sunset photos taken on their wedding day. It is a romantic time, the backdrop is so good, and we want to capture it. The planning comes down to what time the sun sets on your date.

If you are planning a winter wedding, your sunset time could be very early, anywhere between 5:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Make sure the ceremony is planned at least 1 and a half to 2 hours prior to that time. The ceremony generally takes about half an hour to an hour, and you want a little buffer in between so you can actually see the sunset, and if things are delayed a little, we can rush things a little and still get some sunset photos.

If you are planning a summer wedding, the sunset could be between 6:30 and 8:00 p.m., usually a time when the reception has already started. On those days, what we typically recommend to our couples is that we do as many photos as we can before the reception, and during the sunset we take you out again for some sunset photos, in between the reception.

Winter weddings and the early sunset

An early sunset compresses the afternoon. If the sun goes at 5:00 p.m. and your ceremony starts at 4:00, you will walk back up the aisle in the last light. The 1 and a half to 2 hour margin leaves room for the ceremony, the family portraits, and then the light.

The buffer is also insurance. Weddings run late for ordinary reasons, a late shuttle, a long receiving line, and a buffer means a fifteen-minute delay costs you nothing. Without one, the same delay costs you the sunset, and there is no getting it back.

Summer weddings and stepping out of the reception

In summer the problem flips. The light is still going at 7:30 p.m., long after cocktail hour and often during dinner. So we front-load the portraits, doing as many as we can before the reception, so the sunset break only needs to be short.

When the sky turns, we come and find you, step outside for a few minutes of photos, and bring you back. Guests rarely notice you were gone. Tell us early that sunset photos matter, and we will set the timeline around that moment.