Free planning tool
Golden hour planner
Pick your date and venue and see when the light turns warm, in Eastern time. These are the same numbers I use when I plan a timeline with a couple.
Your light and timeline
On Saturday, October 10, 2026, the sun sets at 6:25 PM in Sparta. Your best portrait window is 5:55–6:20 PM.
- Golden hour
- 5:48–6:42 PM
- Sunset
- 6:25 PM
- Blue hour
- 6:42–7:03 PM
- Best for couple portraits
- 5:55–6:20 PM
All times are Eastern time, worked out for Sussex County, NJ. Golden hour here is the sun between 6° above and 4° below the horizon; blue hour is 4° to 8° below.
A photo timeline around it
No ceremony time yet? A ceremony around 3:30 PM leaves room for family photos, cocktail hour and a relaxed sunset window. Here is how that day looks.
3:30–4:00 PM
Ceremony
The anchor for everything else.
4:00–4:30 PM
Family photos
Right after the ceremony while everyone is close by. Send me the family list a week before and it runs like a checklist.
4:30–5:00 PM
Wedding party and a few couple photos
During cocktail hour, in open shade. Then you join your guests and save the best light for later.
5:55–6:20 PM
Sunset portraits
Step out during dinner, between courses. Twenty-five minutes, then back to your guests.
6:42–7:03 PM
Blue hour, optional
Five minutes outside for a night-sky portrait, if the evening is clear. The sky turns deep blue while the venue lights glow.
Worth knowing
- Hills and tall trees can hide the sun 10 to 20 minutes before the official sunset, which matters in Sussex County, the Hudson Valley and the Poconos. I check the horizon at your venue when we plan. On a cloudy day the light is soft all afternoon and the window matters less.
How it works
What the times mean, in plain terms
- Golden hour
- The sun between 6° above and 4° below the horizon. The light is low, warm and soft, and it wraps around faces instead of flattening them.
- Best portrait window
- The 25 minutes ending just before sunset. The sun is still on you, low enough to glow and not so low that the venue shades it out.
- Blue hour
- The sun 4° to 8° below the horizon. The sky turns deep blue and the venue lights start to glow. Good for one quiet night portrait.
- How it is calculated
- The NOAA solar position equations, worked out in your browser for the venue or town you pick, in Eastern time with daylight saving handled. It matches published sunset tables to within a minute or two.
Want the rest of the day mapped out too? The wedding day timeline template walks through every block from getting ready to the exit.
Your date only happens once.
Tell me your date and venue and I’ll plan the timeline with you. You’ll hear back within 24 hours.