Ceremony time for outdoor wedding

brittballard · November 2009

Hi! I'm planning an outdoor ceremony at an old historic home that overlooks the city. Our reception will be outdoor/indoor since it will be in the summer in the South. I would really like the ceremony to be around the time of sunset, but in July that is like 6:30 or 7ish. What do you think? Does this mean that it has to be formal. The ceremony will be in a garden, so I would really like dressy but not formal. Thanks for all of your help!

thesuninherhead · November 2009

I would personally plan for the ceremony to be earlier and to do pictures during dusk/sunset.

thesuninherhead · November 2009

I don't think time dictates formality, either, although the venue does to an extent. I think it can still be dressy in an outdoor ceremony (I know ours was).

tidetravel · November 2009

Dressy but not formal would be fine for your wedding..Use this tool to calculate sunset time on your day in your area:http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.php Make sure you have a backup plan.

opalsky007 · November 2009

It doesn't need to be formal, and in fact probably shouldn't be. At sunset in July in the South, it's still stiflingly hot and humid. Pick clothes that are comfortable.Also, just a thought: you may want to check with your photographer about getting the photos you want. Twilight can be a very difficult time to photograph, and you may want to take the bulk of your formal shots before the ceremony, or shift the ceremony forward like thesun mentioned.

ScarletGem · November 2009

Our ceremony was at 6, and sunset was about 8 (I think?). We got some really cool pictures of the sunset from our outdoor reception site (PIB, under Reception). And ditto Sun - the time doesn't necessarily dictate the formality, at least not nearly as much as the venue. When people see that it's a garden ceremony they'll know now to show up dressed to the nines.

DanielleLovesZach · November 2009

We're also getting married outdoors in the South (Louisiana to be exact) and we've decided on 6:30P.M. for our ceremony start time. Civil twilight on our date isn't until 8:30P.M. so that leave us plenty of time for our pictures. We found out all the info we need on this website:[url]http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.php[/url]Our ceremony will be dressy, but not formal at all, but like the PP said, it also depends on your venue. HTH.

ScarletGem · November 2009

oops, sorry, I just checked again and apparently only one of the cool sunset shots made it into my bio. Sorry for the bait-and-switch. ;-)

thesuninherhead · November 2009

The vast majority of our photos (or at least, all of those with the horse/in the fields) were taken close to sunset. We had our ceremony at 4, with the sunset that day at 5:50. We *just* had time to get photos done, although our photographer was really amazing and awesome with taking photos despite the light restrictions.

thesuninherhead · November 2009

(pictures in bio)

squirrly · November 2009

There are still a lot of people in the south who believe that for anything starting after 6 pm, formal attire is required. Certainly not all - but some. Whatever time you choose, please make sure it's clear to your guests that the ceremony will be outside so that they can take that into consideration when selecting clothes.

kmmssg · November 2009

There are plenty of people in the North who still feel anything after 6 is formal too. If I am invited to a 4 pm wedding I will not be dressed as formally as if I were invited to a 6 or 7 pm wedding.

Ceremony time for outdoor wedding

Re: Ceremony time for outdoor wedding

Choose Another Board

Search Boards