A few tips to help you decide what time to start your East Texas Wedding ceremony.

You have your East Texas Wedding Venue booked, and now it’s time to decide when to start the ceremony so you can get to work on setting up vendors and sending Save the Dates or Invitations!

Surely, lots of friends and family are giving you their opinion on this, but we’ll break down some of the most important factors in choosing when to start your ceremony!

I really don’t want to tell you exactly when to start your ceremony, because it’s a personal choice based on your wants and needs. I just want you to know what factors are involved, and I want you to be HAPPY and EXCITED about your wedding!

8 Things to know before you decide-

Your photographer will need at least 1.5 hrs of natural lighting to take couples photos, family photos, and bridal party photos. Yes, seriously! You can choose how to divide which photos to take before and after the ceremony.

Sunset Time & Time of the Year: Google your date + Sunset Time + Tyler, TX.

Venue rental time: pull out that contract and see when your rental begins and ends. At Sunset Oaks, the last hour of your venue rental is reserved for breakdown & cleanup. (Typically music is off by 9 p.m. Sun-Thu and 11 p.m. Fri-Sat)

Reception Length: Including cocktail hour, the average reception lasts around 4 hrs before the majority of guests have left.

Behind the Scenes, top secret info: Those beautiful couples photos you see? They are usually taken hours BEFORE the ceremony (a first look) or an hour or two AFTER the ceremony. Those perfect photos of the bride? Those are often a completely separate Bridal photoshoot done WEEKS before the wedding.

Guest Experience: The #1 complaint guests have about weddings is waiting for photos after the ceremony (when all the photos occur AFTER the ceremony). That’s one of the reasons we encourage cocktail hour with snacks, opening the buffet during photos, or providing some cool games or entertainment during this time.

Okay, now you know all the factors involved, what’s next?

You should sit down with your photographer and talk about:

• what you want your photos to look like and

• what some of your must-have photos are (not certain poses, but who you want photos with)

• what photos you’d like to take BEFORE the ceremony (will you do a first look?)

• time of year- sunset time

• day of the week- Sunday/weekday rentals end earlier than Friday/Saturdays. Guest may be coming after work on Fridays.

Is a “first look” right for you?

At first, many of our couples either don’t know what “first looks” are, or they are against it. But, about 80% of our couples end up doing it!

What’s a “first look?” This is when the couple sees one another privately before the ceremony.

Typically, they have relative privacy before guest arrive, and they take a moment to capture the groom’s first view of his bride. There’s no one to hold back emotions from, no pressure of everyone watching, and nothing to stop them from soaking in the moment.

The dress, makeup, and suit are all in picture perfect shape since they haven’t been standing outside in the heat.

Other advantages of a “first look”

• You will get more photos (seriously, you will!)

• A significant amount of pressure is taken off the couple and the ceremony seems more enjoyable.

• Couples can get the crying out of the way before the ceremony (so no one sees it if you don’t want them to!) Plus you have time to touch up your makeup afterwards.

• Your guests will not have to wait as long during your “cocktail hour” (or 2) while you take photos.

• It’s easier to skip spending money on appetizers because the cocktail hour isn’t so long (and maybe use that money on a better photographer OR on more time with them!)

• It’s staged - and that’s a GREAT thing. It means the lighting is good. It means that your photographer and video team are standing in the right spot to capture your amazing reactions (and not in each others shots). It means they are READY to get that great photo, not hoping that your aunt Suzy with a smart phone doesn’t stand up in your ceremony in the way and they miss the reaction shot….

• It’s an AMAZING private moment between the couple on a crazy day It will be one of your favorite parts of the day!

• LESS PRESSURE, MORE RELAXING!

Does it diminish his reaction during the ceremony? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Time and time again, we’ve seen his emotions still shine when he sees his bride walk down the aisle, even when they do a first look.

Ceremony Start Time WITHOUT A “FIRST LOOK”

Mid March- October (Daylight Savings time)

• Friday/Saturday- 5 p.m. is an ideal start time. 6 p.m. is the absolute latest time you should start. Not due to lighting, but think about your guests- hungry grandparents and HANGRY friends! They will be waiting over an hour for dinner, so consider providing snacks/appetizers or opening the buffet while you take photos. Cleanup starts at 11 p.m. at the latest, and the average reception lasts about 4 hrs plus 0.5-1 hrs of saying “goodbye.”

• Sunday- 4 p.m. is an ideal start time, because your guests usually can’t stay too late if they have to work the next day. (plus cleanup starts at 9)

• For sunset photos, have your photographer bring you two back out during “golden hour” aka the hour the sun is setting and looks all glowy.

  
  

November-March

• 3-4 p.m. is the ideal start time.

• You may have a “Sunset Ceremony” this time of year by starting 30 min prior to sunset, but you MUST take most of your couple and bridal party photos before the ceremony.

• You may be able to move your venue rental time block up an hour or two if desired- since you're starting earlier, you could use more time in the morning vs. the night. This time of year, it seems to “feel so late” much earlier, so the party tends to wrap up around 9 or 10. Contact Amber to discuss moving your time block up earlier.

Ceremony Start Time WITH A FIRST LOOK

If you choose to do a first look and take couples photos prior to the ceremony, you can start about 30 minutes later than the generalized times above times.

If you do a first look, take couples photos, and take most of the bridal party photos prior to the ceremony, you can start about 60 minutes later than the generalized times above.

Just remember what time your venue rental ends!

Lastly, don’t let this stress you out! When in doubt, start 2 hrs before sunset time, and make sure all your vendor arrivals and departures align. That’s it!

Happy planning!