I get asked for venue recommendations and dress designers and shot lists. But the question that actually changes your photos is the boring one nobody asks: what time should the ceremony start? Get this right and everything downstream gets easier and more beautiful.
Find your sunset, then count backward
Look up the exact sunset time for your date and venue. Golden hour is roughly the 60 minutes before that. You want to protect a 20–30 minute window inside it for just-the-two-of-you portraits — that's the slot that produces the images you'll print large.
“A first look isn't unromantic. It buys you an extra hour of daylight and a lot fewer nerves.”
— Marisol
A sample 5:00 PM-sunset timeline
- 1:30 — Getting ready (detail shots, the dress, the rings)
- 2:30 — First look + couple portraits
- 3:15 — Wedding party + family formals
- 4:00 — Ceremony
- 4:45 — Cocktail hour begins (you sneak away)
- 5:00–5:25 — Golden-hour portraits, just the two of you
- 5:30 — Grand entrance & dinner
If you can't move the ceremony
Sometimes the church or the venue locks your start time. That's fine — we just build a hard 15-minute pause into the reception so I can pull you out for a few frames when the light peaks. Couples are always glad I dragged them away from the party for it.
Want me to map this onto your real date and venue? It's the first thing we do together once you book.