Free Planning Tools · Sunset Calculator

Find your golden hour.

Enter your venue and date to see when the light is best.

The best light comes right before sunset.

Here’s when it happens on your date.

Step 01 · Tell us about your day

Venue location

Wedding date

Ceremony time

Skip if you don't know yet

If you have a ceremony time, we'll tell you exactly how the light will behave and whether you need a first look. No time yet? We'll show you the ideal ceremony window for your date instead.

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Sunset Calculator

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Sunset

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EastNoonWest

Drag to explore 12:00 PM

Your 4 key light windows

When the light changes — and what to do with it.

Tap any card to see that moment in the sky above.

01 · Getting Ready

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Morning, around sunrise

Window for detail shots, rings, and prep — soft, bright, shadow-free

02 · First Look

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~1 hr before sunset

Best time for private first-look portraits — glowy, not harsh

03 · Golden Hour ⭐

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60 min before sunset

The money shots. Your wedding photos that stop the scroll. Protect this time.

04 · Reception Light

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30 min after sunset

Blue hour. String lights pop, candles glow, sky goes deep indigo

Our recommendation

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The Math

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Next up

Keep building your plan

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Next step Build your wedding day timeline →

Planning your wedding?

Tell us about your day — we'll plan around the light.

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🌞

Your sunset is 1 click away.

Enter your venue and date above, then hit Calculate. We'll animate your entire wedding day in 2 seconds — golden hour, blue hour, every light window, all synced to your exact location.

☀ Exact golden hour

🌆 Animated sky

✅ Ceremony verdict

📅 Saves to your plan

Section 01

How to use your results.

Golden hour is the 60 minutes before sunset, when light turns warm and directional and flattering. It's the light in the wedding photos that make you stop scrolling. Your goal as a couple is to have your portraits scheduled inside that window.

The math we use: give yourself a 30-minute buffer after the ceremony for hugs, family formals, and getting from ceremony site to portrait location. Then you want 60 minutes of golden hour left. So your ceremony should end roughly two hours before sunset. For a 6:00 PM sunset, that means a 3:30 PM ceremony start for a 30-minute ceremony, or 3:00 PM for a longer religious service.

"The couples with the most timeless wedding photos have one thing in common — they schedule their ceremony two hours before sunset. Every time."

— Love & Moore Photography & Video

Your complete planning toolkit

All 4 tools talk to each other — jump between them anytime.

01 💰 Budget Calculator Real pricing for your market Open → You’re here 02 📍 Venue Finder Search real venues near you Open → You’re here 03 🌞 Sunset Calculator Find your golden hour Open → You’re here 04 📅 Timeline Builder Plan your day hour by hour Open → You’re here

📷 When you're ready See if we're a fit for your wedding No pressure. Browse our work, peek at our pricing, then reach out if it feels right. →

Section 02

Season changes everything.

Summer weddings have forgiving sunsets — 8:00 PM or later in June across most of the country. You can have a relaxed 5:00 PM ceremony and still catch every minute of golden hour. Winter is the opposite. Sunset in Chicago in December is before 4:30 PM. For a winter wedding, either plan a first look or build the entire day around getting outside by 3:30 PM.

Spring and fall are where most couples get tripped up. The sunset moves by two minutes a day in those months. A date change of even two weeks can shift your ideal ceremony start by 15 minutes. Run the calculator again if your date moves.

Photographer's Note — Indoor Ceremonies

An indoor ceremony gives you flexibility on start time — the light inside the venue doesn't change. But the light outside still matters. The best couple portraits of the day almost always happen outside during golden hour. Tell your photographer to pull you out for 20 minutes when the light is right. Those stolen minutes are where your best photos come from.

Section 03

What every couple should plan around.

Work backwards from sunset

Don't start by picking a ceremony time. Start with your sunset time. Every other timeline decision — ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, toasts — should flow backwards from that single number.

Never schedule portraits at noon

Midday sun is harsh, overhead, and creates shadow under every brow bone and chin. The photos will be technically "bright" but they won't be beautiful. Move them indoors or under shade.

Protect the golden hour window

Things will try to steal it. Family photos run long. Cocktail hour drags. An aunt wants a quick shot with everyone. Tell your planner in advance: nothing gets in the way of golden hour portraits.

Blue hour reception shots

Twenty minutes after sunset, the sky turns deep blue and your warmly-lit reception glows against it. Tell your photographer to step outside during dinner to capture the venue exterior.

Section 04

Why you can trust this.

These aren't estimates. The calculator uses real astronomical data for your exact coordinates — sunrise, sunset, civil twilight, and golden hour windows calculated the same way NOAA calculates them. Based on your wedding date's position in the year and your venue's latitude, you're seeing the actual light conditions you'll have. Within about 60 seconds of accurate.

Chicago · Illinois · Nationwide · Destination

Got your sunset time. Now let's build the day around it.

Whether you've picked your ceremony time or you're still figuring it out, reach out. We'll help you plan the light — even if you don't end up booking us.

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