Munden Point Park in Virginia Beach, Virginia
Outdoor wedding; Wedding tips
Are you planning and outdoor wedding? Here are some things to consider. Is it a rainy time of year? Is it a cold or hot time of year? Can you find pictures from last year? Will there be construction going on during your wedding. Who has access to the venue?
–Don’t get married too late. Give yourself at least two hours from the end of your wedding ceremony to your first dance for your pictures. All it takes is one wedding party member to go missing, or a relative heading to the bar and your picture timeline is going to get longer. If your ceremony time is too late during the day, your pictures might be in the dark. —
But there’s one more thing to consider before you pick a date. the sun. The big orange thing in the sky. It moves around during the day and can have a dramatic effect on your wedding photos, video and guests.
This image shows the importance of knowing the suns direction. These are two photographs shot just minutes apart. The one on the left is with the sun behind a bride, the image on the right would show the front of the bride as she comes down the aisle. Just ask your venue director where the sun is going to be on your wedding day.
If the sun is low and bright, your guests might get a tad blinded or you and your wedding party might be squinting a bit. If it’s high with no clouds, it might be plenty bright. In the spring and summer the sun is up longer, in the winter it goes down quicker because the days are shorter. So planning your day for the time of day and length of light is pretty important.
So what do you do? One thing you can do is look for wedding photos from the same time last year. If that doesn’t work, you can always get an phone app or look online for the sun’s location on your wedding day. You can try this website.
There are many ways to plan for the sun. Maybe your family pictures will be best before the wedding. Is there shade? Can you use the actual venue building to block the sun by having the pictures on the shaded side. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. During that time, the sun will move across the sky affecting the light at your wedding venue.
Do you have a plan ‘B’ for your wedding? Sometimes venues provide tents, but at a cost.
Your site coordinator or wedding planner should help you figure out where the sun will be. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at 804-269-4949.
