Late autumn and winter weddings have a magic of their own: low golden sun, colour in the trees, candles and fires indoors. The one thing to plan around is time. In the depths of winter the sun sets before 4pm, and blue hour comes around 3.30pm. The light you'd have all evening in June is gone by the drinks reception.
Think about your ceremony time
An earlier ceremony gives you more daylight afterwards. Even moving from 2pm to 1pm can make the difference between family photographs and a couple walk in daylight, or by torchlight. Check sunset for your date and work backwards.
Think about the drive
Where your ceremony is matters as much as when. Every minute on the road between the church and the venue is daylight you won't get back, and a long drive in winter can eat up the light you'd planned for photographs. If you can, keep the ceremony close to the venue or at the venue itself. If the drive is long, an early ceremony and a first look matter even more.
We strongly advise a first look
Seeing each other before the ceremony lets us take your couple photographs in good light, before the day gets busy. It's the single best way to protect your daylight in winter, and we'd strongly advise it if your ceremony is at 3pm. By the time you've walked back down the aisle, the light is nearly gone. We've written more about it in our post on first looks and aisle reveals.
Use the low sun
Winter light is low all day, which means long shadows, warm tones and a soft glow even at lunchtime. A short walk outside straight after the ceremony is often the best light of the day.
Warmth and comfort
Have a coat, a wrap or a jacket for the couple walk. Nobody looks relaxed while they're shivering, and we'll keep it short.
After dark is lovely too
Once the sun goes, the venue comes alive. Candlelight, fairy lights and fires make for warm, atmospheric photographs. And the party is the party, whatever time of year.
If you're planning a winter date, send us your venue and ceremony time and we'll help you shape a timeline that makes the most of the daylight.