Do you notice that some brides have those enchanting photos with their skin glowing? They basically look like perfection as the sun sets behind them. Most of those photos come from golden hour, which not every bride integrates into their timeline. Today, we’re talking about the reception timeline and how to prioritize sunset portraits so that you, beautiful bride, can have the beautiful shoot that you are looking for.

Season Times

Being a wedding photographer means knowing the timing of sunset portraits varies. This is largely depending on what season you are getting married. Summer weddings require later sunset portraits and winter weddings will have earlier sunset portraits. This is important in relation to the beginning of your reception timeline.

Tricky Timelines

For a summer wedding, most receptions begin at 6 PM, which leaves an hour and forty-five minutes to do dinner and the dances. During golden hour, most couples are indoors! This is an unfortunate circumstance since the opportunity is lost for beautiful photos. As your wedding photographer, you can be certain I wouldn’t let that happen! And at AGS, I’m more than just your wedding photographer, I’m here to help!

An Alternative Timeline

One thing I notice is that most weddings have traditional dances back to back. One thing I recommend is to sprinkle traditional dances throughout the dancing time frame. This offers guests other things to look forward to. Another idea is for the first dance of the bride and groom to be the last traditional dance so that the parents can enjoy the moment of anticipation.

End of Reception

I recommend cutting the cake an hour before reception ends. This encourages fun dancing photos before the end of the evening and is typically when everyone is having the most fun. Whatever the last technicality on the timeline is, it should be done an hour before the wedding ends.

Summary

If you want those beautiful golden photographs that you see other couples have, I would recommend prioritizing your sunset portraits on your timeline. Adjust it however you need to prioritize sunset portraits with your photographer during golden hour. Trust me, as a wedding photographer, it truly creates the best images and will be worth it!

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