Plan your wedding day around the light

The single biggest factor in how your wedding photos look is not the camera, the photographer or even the venue. It is the light. Here is how I help couples plan a timeline that works with the sun, not against it.

Find your golden hour

Golden hour is roughly the hour before sunset. In Portland that is around 7:30pm in June and 5pm in October. Look it up for your date and build backwards.

Plan a first look

Seeing each other before the ceremony frees up time for family photos in soft afternoon light and lets you enjoy your cocktail hour.

Twenty minutes at golden hour is worth more than two hours at noon.

Leave buffers everywhere

Hair and make-up always run late. Add fifteen minutes to every part of the morning and you will never feel rushed.

Step out after dinner

Even a five-minute walk outside at sunset gives us the most romantic frames of the day.