Journal · Notes · 15 September 2026 · 2 min read
Plan Your Wedding Timeline Around Golden HourThe hour that makes your wedding photographs
Plan your day around the light, not the other way round. Find your own golden hour below.
- 1
- question first: what time is sunset?
- 20 min
- for the two of you, in the last light
- 45 min
- before sunset: when that session starts
Couples ask about the dress, the venue and the flowers. Very few ask about the light, and it's the thing that shapes your photographs the most. The same moment at noon and an hour before sunset are two completely different pictures.
So every timeline starts from one question: what time does the sun set on your wedding day?
Start from sunset, then work backwards
Once we know the sunset, everything else falls into place around it. The ceremony, the cocktail hour, the entrance: each one is placed in the light, moving things by half an hour here and there so the important moments fall in good light rather than harsh midday sun.
The same moment at noon and an hour before sunset are two completely different pictures.
Keep twenty minutes for the two of you
In the last hour before sunset comes a short couple session, just the two of you, somewhere quiet near your venue. Twenty to thirty minutes is enough. Your guests barely notice you've gone, and it's often the calmest part of your whole day.
An example day
Every wedding is different, but this is a good shape for a summer wedding in southern Europe with a sunset around 21:00:
- 14:30Getting ready: details, dress, the last touches
- 16:30First look or family portraits, in soft afternoon light
- 17:30Ceremony
- 18:15Cocktail hour: your guests photographed while they're relaxed
- 20:15Twenty minutes for the two of you, golden hour
- 21:00Entrance and dinner, as the sun goes down
- 22:30After dark: speeches, the first dance, the party, under flash
Winter and spring weddings move everything earlier, and so do weddings further east. Lebanon sets earlier than Spain in summer, for example. That's why the timeline always comes first. Try your own date:
Try it · Golden hour finder
When is your golden hour?
Sunday, 20 June 2027 · Madrid
- Golden hour
- 21:08–21:49
- Sunset
- 21:49
- Blue hour ends
- 22:22
A first plan, worked backwards from the light
- 15:20Getting ready: the details, the dress
- 18:20Ceremony
- 19:05Cocktail hour: your guests, relaxed
- 21:05Twenty minutes for the two of you, golden hour
- 21:50Entrance and dinner, as the sun goes down
- 23:20After dark: the first dance and the party, under flash
A starting point, local time. Every venue and family is different; the real timeline is tailored with you. Send your date
Leave room between moments
The weddings that feel rushed are the ones where every minute is booked. Add a little air between getting ready and the ceremony, and allow real time for travel between venues. When you're not watching the clock, you're present, and that's what shows in your photographs.
When the sun goes down
After dark is when the flash comes out, and the best part of the night begins. You don't need to plan anything for it. Just make sure the party has space and good music; the camera takes care of the rest.
About a week before your wedding, we have a final call to go through the schedule together, so nothing about the day comes as a surprise. If you're planning now, send your date and your light is the first thing looked at.
