There are so many details to think about when planning a wedding. One important thing to decide is the time to begin your ceremony. This decision is influenced by many factors. Hopefully this helpful information will assist you when trying to decide how to choose your wedding day ceremony start time.
- Venue
- Season
- Sunset
- Photography style
- First Look
Venue
First, check with your venue to see if they have any rules about timing. Then ask yourself whether your ceremony and reception will be at the same location. If you have one venue, that will influence the timing of your day. One location simplifies things a little.
Season
The time of year plays a pretty big role in the timing of your wedding ceremony, especially if you’re planning an outdoor wedding. It can also be a factor with indoor weddings, depending on the placement of windows in relation with where the couple and wedding party will stand and the time of year because of how the light may shine through the windows at a particular time of day. You wouldn’t want bright beams of light on everyone during the ceremony if ceremony photos are important to you. Bright light plays tricks with the camera and will make everything not illuminated by the beam(s) very dark compared to where the light falls. (The times you see below are based on my location in Birmingham, AL, but are considered general in much of the South.)
- Winter
- Shorter days mean an earlier start time (between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. depending on the month)
- Cooler days will impact your ceremony start time if it’s outdoors
- Spring
- Slightly longer days mean a little later start time (between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. depending on the month)
- Pleasant temperatures give you flexibility if you’re planning an outdoor ceremony
- Summer
- Longer days mean a little later start time (between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. depending on the month)
- Unpleasant temperatures (in the South) will impact your ceremony start time if it’s outdoors
- Fall
- Slightly longer days mean a little later start time (between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. depending on the month)
- Pleasant temperatures give you flexibility if you’re planning an outdoor ceremony
Sunset
Our sunset time changes throughout the year. You can expect the days to get shorter beginning after the Winter Solstice, sometime around December 21st. Conversely, our days will start getting longer after the Summer Solstice, around June 21st. Sunset times can have a huge impact on the time of your ceremony, especially if your ceremony is outdoors. If it’s dreamy golden hour light you’re after, and your ceremony is about a half hour or less, you’ll want to plan the start of your ceremony about an hour before sunset. If your ceremony is going to be an hour or slightly longer, consider beginning an hour and-a-half before sunset.
Photography Style
Photography styles vary. You may be interested in a true photojournalistic style, which means the photographer would not interrupt your day and photos would not be posed. This style would not need to have time set aside for posed portraits of family and/or the wedding party. Those photos would happen organically throughout the day.
If you want posed portraits, there would be a portion of your wedding day planned for these, and since you’d want really great light (if outdoors specifically), those photos would influence the ceremony time.
First Look
Some couples choose to have a First Look before the ceremony for different reasons. If you have a First Look, you’ll have the opportunity to take all posed photographs before the wedding ceremony, assuming you want them. Remember, if you’ve requested a photojournalistic approach, you’ll not need time for posed portraits.
If you would rather not see each other before the ceremony, you’ll need time after the ceremony to take your posed portraits, meaning, you’ll need sunlight left in the day if portraits are outdoors. Your ceremony would need to begin early enough to allow for posed portraits afterwards.
Ultimately, the look and feel of your wedding day is all up to you; that includes your ceremony start time. In this last photo, the couple wanted a candlelit ceremony outdoors right after sunset. I won’t pretend it wasn’t a challenge for me as a photographer because it certainly was, but the photos created were a great representation of the event-beautiful and real. Most importantly, the couple was happy! The vibe of their ceremony was more important to them than technically perfect images. I will do what I can every time to make my couples happy.
Contact me to talk about your wedding day!
