What is the ideal month to get married?
Planning your wedding and don’t know when to seal the deal? Read this post for all the tips on when the ideal time is to have your wedding. Especially for amazing wedding photos.
First, ask yourself these questions:
What state am I getting married in? What is the weather typically like throughout the year?
What tones do I like in wedding photos?
Do I want my wedding ceremony to be outside or inside?
Will I be happy with wedding photos at any time of year as long as I have bridals taken at a gorgeous location at a separate time in ideal weather and lighting
What wedding colors do I like and want to have at my wedding?
What time will the sun set in the month I’m wanting to get married?
What do I want my anniversary date to be every year?
Do I like light and bright and colorful wedding photos with sunlight? Or do I prefer dreamy, artistic wedding photos that are a little moody? Do I even have a preference?
I won’t be going over every single question, but I do suggest thinking about these before finalizing a date.
Top tips for choosing the best month to get married in:
What is the weather going to be like at your venue? PRO TIP!!!!! —> Whether you are getting married outside or inside, you can look at photos of that location by searching for “places” on Instagram and seeing when different photos were posted to see what the area was like that month. I do this sometimes if I don’t have time to scout out an area and need to know if there’s snow, etc. So I’ll look up the location and click on “recent”. You CAN’T always count on that photo being taken recently, just that it was posted recently, so sometimes I’ll message the person who took it and verify. Or if you see ALL the recent photos are from that week and look the same, you can usually count on it being accurate.
A lot of wedding imagery looks “light and bright” because the wedding happened in the morning or midday, and they reflect what the light was like. It also depends how your photographer exposes for the scene. And then edits the scene. There are so many ways to photograph the same thing. BUT if wedding photographers had it our way, you would skip the morning and afternoon altogether for your outdoor ceremony. Wait for the light for the most important shots and thank me later! (Unless your ceremony area is covered or guaranteed to be fully shaded.)
If your wedding is indoor, on the other hand, earlier is better, so the light can come through the windows and bounce around.
But what is the best month for wedding photos and best quality of light?
The answer: July, August, September, and early October are the ideal months for a wedding.
consider these additional tips when planning your timeline:
First let’s talk about why I don’t have April or May on this list. Why not April or May for your wedding?: This completely depends on where you live. April and May are popular months for weddings, because school is ending, it’s popular, and things aren’t looking so dead. But in Utah, the weather is up and down and unpredictable. If there is grass at your wedding, it will likely appear yellow and not green and just doesn’t look great. (However, if you’re getting married at an outdoor venue without grass, and don’t mind either sun or rain or snow or whatever the weather decides to be, then go for it!)
Why not November through February for your wedding? I actually have mixed feelings about these months. Snow can create the most amazing photos and you will love them. But how many wedding photos do you have saved that are in a snowy wonderland? Is that what you’ve dreamt of your whole life? If so, go for it… cautiously… because you’ll be cold. And everyone else will be cold. And you might get red in the face and there might be wind chill and you just… might regret it. But again, you do you. I actually LOVE those months for other sessions, I just don’t suggest them for your actual wedding day.
I have to say again, that you will likely love your photos no matter when you get married, and it will OF COURSE be the best day ever. And your wedding is no one else’s. It’s yours. But it’s important to think of logistics and not have unrealistic expectations for your wedding day. if you hire an experienced wedding photographer, they will talk to you about your preferences and/or make professional recommendations. Your photographer will be able to create stunning photos in any weather condition if they are experienced.
And as a wedding photographer, my job is to help you have your vision come to life, and I know how amazing the photos can be if you do a little extra planning.
More tips you may want to think about:
Do you have favorite wedding photos you’ve saved? Look at those photos. Do you see a lot of greenery or a lot of warm desert tones? Is the lighting even? Is there a variety of looks and the background isn’t as important as the photographer’s ability to tell stories? Is there snow everywhere?
Let’s summarize:
Time of day is THE most important aspect of planning your wedding timeline.
Best months to have your wedding for the best photos: July, August, September, or October.
Wanna know more?
Why are September and October weddings in Utah are SO dreamy.
-The color temperature of the light is gorgeous
-Sunrise and sunset in September and October are beautiful for photography. It’s not overly harsh and creates such dreamy photos.
-The colors (in Utah, at least), are PERFECT. *chefs kiss. I love the combination of dark greens with shades of burnt orange and burnt reds and all the gorgeous colors of fall. Especially in golden hour. Ugh, just talking about it is making me crave that time of year. And the wedding colors… ugh they make for the PRETTIEST PHOTOS. You have so many color combination options. (like the photo below, um, yes please.)
The days are also longer this time of year.
Sunrise in July is around 6am and sunset in July is around 9pm and by October sunrise time is around 7am and sunset is around 7pm. (whereas the sunrise in January isn’t until 8am and the sun sets at 5pm in January!!!!)
I like to have rich tones in my wedding photography, and fall weddings have the most opportunity for depth, before the leaves have fallen.
The sun is also really kind during September and October. While there is still harsh mid-day light, there are usually more ways to diffuse the light and play around with it in your photos. The backlight the sun gives your photos in September and October is also breathtaking.
September and October months are also great, because you won’t be freezing, but you won’t be suffocating in hot summer sun.
If you want to plan your wedding for September and October, here are some extra tips:
Avoid having your outdoor wedding ceremony between 10am and 3pm
Aim for no later than the SECOND week of October for the best chance of getting fall colors before the leaves fall.
The ideal time for fall colors is between the last week of September and first week of October in Utah. 2023 has been a very interesting year, so we’ll see what happens this year. Last year, in 2022, there were still gorgeous fall colors up until October 9th. A few days later, on October 15th, there were VERY few fall colors left. September 20th through October 3rd is your ideal time for a wedding if you want to capture fall colors.
After September and October weddings, my favorite wedding months for wedding photography are July and August. If you want to hear more about these months, read on!
Why we love July and August weddings:
Lots of options for locations - desert, beach, greenery, forest, downtown, pretty much anything works.
July and August also have gorgeous sunrises and sunsets and color temperatures.
Long days!!! You can pack so much into the day before the sun sets and still wake up the next day at sunrise for the prettiest photos of your life. (I mean, I won’t make you, but I might suggest it ;)
More tips for July and August weddings:
AVOID THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY if you are wanting an outdoor wedding ceremony. You don’t want your wedding guests sweating buckets (and you don’t want to sweat buckets either.) You also don’t want to be squinting or blind people with your dress or have raccoon eyes in your photos- all things that can happen with harsh sunlight.
Plan your wedding ceremony for at least 4pm up until one hour before sunset. Keep in mind, wedding ceremonies tend to start late, so don’t schedule it too close to sunset. Remember, July and August the sun sets around 9pm, so you can have your outdoor ceremony up until 8pm. I recommend no later than 7pm depending on where you’re getting married.
Wedding season is the craziest from April to June and is still GORGEOUS, but if I could force every person to get married for the best wedding photos, it would be mid-September to early October, or between July and August (just NOT in the middle of the day ;)
In summary, the best months to get married in are July, August, September, and early October.
May and June are popular months (not my absolute favorites but still so pretty!) but keep in mind those will be your wedding vendors craziest months. You may be paying extra to get on their books those months, depending on how busy they are. And if you’re in Utah hoping for an outdoor wedding, I say skip those months. The weather is too hard to predict.
Good luck deciding on your wedding date!!
Tell me about your wedding planning. Are you planning your wedding out of convenience with your schedules? Or are you after a specific wedding date you want to remember every year on your anniversary? Does it depend on the wedding venue? I would love to hear what you’re running into while planning your wedding!
Let me know if you have any questions in your wedding planning process :)