Why I plan wedding days around the light

Couples often send me a timeline built around the caterer, the band and the church. That makes sense. But there is one guest who never waits, and that is the sun. Building your day around the light is the single easiest way to get photographs you will love.

Midday is the hardest light

Between noon and four in a Portuguese summer, the sun is high and harsh. It throws dark shadows under eyes, makes people squint and flattens landscapes. White dresses blow out, dark suits lose detail. It is not impossible to work with, but it is never the most flattering.

If your ceremony has to be at midday, choose a shaded spot: under olive trees, in a cloister or beneath a pergola. Ask guests to stand in the shade too. Open shade gives soft, even light that is kind to everyone.

A timeline that works

For a June wedding near Lisbon, when sunset is around nine, this is the shape I suggest:

• Getting ready from 2 p.m., near large windows
• Ceremony at 5 or 5:30 p.m., as the light starts to soften
• Cocktail hour and family photos from 6 p.m.
• Twenty minutes of couple portraits around 8:15 p.m.
• Dinner from 8:45 p.m., speeches by candlelight

That short portrait window just before sunset is what photographers call golden hour. The light is low, warm and directional. It wraps around faces and makes everything glow. I only need fifteen or twenty minutes, and I will bring you back to dinner before the starters cool.

Give me twenty minutes of good light and I will give you the photograph that ends up on your wall.

Do not forget the blue hour either. In the ten minutes after sunset, the sky turns deep blue and lanterns begin to glow. If you are near the water or on a rooftop, it is worth stepping out for five minutes between courses. Ask your planner to warn the kitchen, and nobody will miss you.

When you book, send me your venue and date and I will check exactly when the sun sets and where it falls. It takes me ten minutes, and it might be the most valuable planning you do.