Wedding Resources

Wedding Ceremony Time?

I am having an outdoor wedding ceremony on June 7th. Sunset is scheduled for 7:56pm that day. I don't want my guess to be sitting in a hot blazing sun, but I don't want to start the ceremony to late because we have a lot of out of towners. I was thinking a time between 4pm and 5pm would be nice. I do NOT want an extremely formal wedding and I want my photographs to come out nice as well, what is your suggestion on a time. I"m open I initially wanted a sunset garden wedding but 7:00 is WAYYYY to late.

Public Comments

1. 6 or 6:30? Well I think 7 would be fine it just depends on how long your ceremony is going to be.
2. Congratulations! Not sure where the wedding will be but honestly 4-6 pm will be horribly hot even here in NE United States if the sun is out. Maybe try 7 pm. I've been to many evening weddings and none have been before 6 or 7 - I'm sure your guests will be ok with it.
3. I was in a beach wedding a couple summers ago that started at 6. There was still lots of natural light for the ceremony and photography. The reception started around 7, and by the time everyone had eaten and started dancing, the sun had gone down.
4. yes, if you're too close to sunset your pics won't come out good. but there's an hour or so before sunset where the light is great for pics. remember, it doesn't get dark right at sunset, it still takes a little while to get completely dark. I would say if you can time it so your ceremony ends at 6:45 so you can do your receiving line and begin taking pics at 7, you'll be good.
5. I had a candlelite wedding at 7 pm and everyone told me I should have had it at 7:30. Superstition about the hands on the clock going down being bad luck. I would go the to spot, figureing time change as best you can and guess as far as lighting. Try 4:30 if thats what you want.
6. 5:30 or 6 pm, then ceremony is done by 7 and you should be able to get some of that light for some of your pictures. i had a 5:30 wedding last august and we did get some of that really nice sunset light without having the sunset. some of the pictures had a glow to them
7. Well you have to keep in mind that the scheduled sunset means that 7:56 is when the sun starts to set... and about 30 minutes later is when it becomes completely dark... So whatever you choose, maybe you should spend an evening outside and decide what time you would much rather have it. If it were me, I would say 6- 6:30, that way it will not be too late to eat. You also have to keep in mind how late and how long you would like the reception to go. Good luck!
8. Have it at 4:30, then you can be done by 5:30, then get photos done while the guests have cocktails, and be ready for dinner by 6:30.