Daylight timing in September HELP please!

sbetler

We are getting married September 24^th this year and I want my ceremony to still have a little light but my reception to be dark. The sunset forecast says the sunsets at 6:50pm so we were thinking of getting married at 6pm. Does anyone know if it’s still light out for a while at the end of September? I would really prefer to do it at 6:30 or even 7pm but I don’t want it to be too dark for our ceremony and pictures after. However, I don’t want the sun beaming in my fiancé’s eyes and then our reception to end up being not dark enough. Can anyone help me with this or know from experience what the sun does during that time of year? Thank you!!!!

Wiscisbliss

Timing questions... 1) How long is your ceremony?  2) Is the reception right afterwards/how long do you need for pics?

I would probably get married at 5:30.  So the ceremony would be 5:30-6, Cocktails/pic from 6-7.  Reception would be dusky/dark starting at 7. 

Also, curiosity questions... Can I ask why you want the reception dark?  Does it need to be dark for dinner, or just dancing?

raspberrytart

Hey, we're getting married on the same day.  

The sun does the same thing in September as it does on any other day--the only difference is the time that it does it.  For example, the sun will get low in the sky and everything will have a nice warm glow about it.  Then the sun goes below the horizon and you'll still have about a half-hour of light in the sky.  Of course, these things can be altered a bit depending on the number of clouds in the sky, mountains, etc.

Things happen a little differently in different parts of the country, so I recommend that you take a visit to your site.  Make a note of when the sun is supposed to set that day.  Then pay attention to when the light changes.  Finally, adjust your time accordingly around the sunset in September, and you'll know with reasonable confidence what the light will be like that day.

ogrady88

This site is about spot on when it comes to the sunset time. The "end of civil twilight" marks when it is totally dark.
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.php

Whenever you're considering getting married during the sunset I would talk to your photographer.  Sunset pictures are very difficult to capture depending on the location and position of your ceremony.

mandi921vh

I recommend talking to your photographer as well. 

Magdala9

The closer you are to the equator, the later the sun sets.  So the sun set in Boston is earlier than the sunset in Miami.   Twilight will last for generally half hour after sunset.   Your photographer may not recommend photgraphs in twilight.

brooks55

We're getting married up here on the SC coast in Mount Pleasant (Charleston) on the 24th.

We're doing our ceremony @ 5:15 so the sun will be setting after the ceremony during cocktail hour - we want the guests to enjoy the sun setting over the creek and marsh with the harbor and shrimp boats in the backround.

I checked with a friend who is a tv meteorologist here for aversage sunset times - maybe do a google search for your area for average sunset times in September.

Congrats!