Hello bride-to-be! If you’re in the earlier stages of planning for your big day, today’s post is for you!

Today I’m chatting all about what time you should start your ceremony! :) What I recommend will be based mostly on the time of year you’re planning your wedding & what will give you the best light for portraits, which are always the best!! This is especially important to consider if you’re not doing a first look, since most of your portraits will be after the ceremony! You don’t want to run the risk of losing all of the light and not having those beautiful, naturally lit portraits you’ve been dreaming of! When the sun “sets” at 6pm, you lose all your daylight and no more naturally lit portraits can be accomplished. Sunlight is gone even earlier in the city!

*Note: this all can change based on WHERE your wedding is too, so please look up the sunset times for your wedding date & location!! But this will give you something to think about based on sunset time as well!

If your wedding is in the SPRING or FALL:

You’ll really want to keep in mind that the sun sets closer to 6-7pm, depending on your date! This means that later ceremony times can be a little more difficult. If your ceremony is at 5pm, by the time it is over, the daylight could be almost gone, which means naturally lit portraits are not an option! A first look can solve this problem, and you can instead use that time after the ceremony to wrap up family formals and sneak out for glowy sunset photos! :) If you decide a first look is not a good fit for you, starting your ceremony closer to 3:30-4:30pm (depending on your exact date) is a must!!

If your wedding is in the SUMMER:

You have the widest variety of options if you get married in the summer! The sun typically doesn’t set until 8:30-9pm, so if you want that later ceremony, it’s definitely doable! Sunset photos are typically done later after all the reception events are done, since you’ll want to sneak out around 30 minutes before sunset time anyway! Definitely an easy time of year to get married timing wise!!

If your wedding is in the WINTER:

Winter can be more challenging to plan around the light! Sunset is typically close to 5-5:30pm. This means that if you don’t have a first look, you can’t start your ceremony later than 3pm for naturally lit portraits (and that’s if your ceremony only lasts 30 minutes!). First looks are definitely your best option, especially if you don’t want a mid-day ceremony! It’s really important to keep this in mind when setting your ceremony time!