Sunset Weddings: How to Time Your Ceremony for Golden Hour

For a sunset wedding, the ceremony time to aim for is not sunset itself. Say your vows as the sun goes down and your family photos happen in the dark, and your portraits don’t happen at all. Start the ceremony about two hours before sunset instead, and you’ll finish the family photos in good light with golden hour still ahead for the two of you.

On the Eastern Cape coast that means very different start times through the year, from about 17:30 in midsummer to about 15:15 in midwinter. It also means planning for something sunset photos online rarely show: on most beaches here, the sun goes down behind the land, not into the sea.

What time is sunset in Jeffreys Bay?

These are sunset times for the 15th of each month from the US Naval Observatory’s tables, with golden hour and the end of usable twilight calculated for the same dates and rounded to five minutes. The last column is a suggested ceremony start if you want golden-hour portraits.

The latest sunsets of the year come in the first week of January, at about 19:35, and the earliest in mid-June, at about 17:17. South Africa doesn’t use daylight saving, so these times only move with the seasons. Along the coast the differences are small: the sun sets about three minutes earlier in Gqeberha than in Jeffreys Bay, and about six minutes later in Plettenberg Bay.

What is golden hour, and how long does it last here?

Golden hour is the stretch before sunset when the sun is low, roughly six degrees above the horizon or less, and the light turns warm, soft and flattering. At this latitude it lasts about 32 to 37 minutes: a little longer in midsummer and midwinter, a little shorter in March and September. After sunset you get another 25 to 30 minutes of usable twilight, the cool light photographers call blue hour, before it’s properly dark.

Two things shorten it on a real beach. Dunes, cliffs and houses to the west hide the sun before the official sunset, so the sand often falls into shade early. And a bank of cloud on the horizon can end golden hour early, or turn the last ten minutes into the best light of the day. Your photographer will want to see the spot at the same time of day before the wedding.

Which way do the beaches face?

This is the part that surprises couples who’ve seen sunset weddings on Cape Town’s Atlantic side. Most of the main beaches between Gqeberha and Plettenberg Bay face east or south-east. Jeffreys Bay and St Francis Bay look out roughly east to south-east, Gqeberha’s beachfront faces east across Algoa Bay, and Plettenberg Bay’s main beaches face east to south-east. The sun sets between west-south-west in December and west-north-west in June, so on these beaches it always goes down behind the land.

What that means for your photographs:

• No sun sinking into the sea behind the arch. If that’s the picture in your head, it won’t happen on these beaches.
• Beautiful front light instead. With the sea behind you, the low sun lights your faces from the land side: warm, even light with the water as the backdrop. You’ll be facing the sun, so time the ceremony for when it’s low or behind the dunes, or you’ll squint.
• A pastel sky over the sea after sunset. On a clear evening the sky opposite the sunset often turns pink and blue above the horizon, which over the sea makes a lovely backdrop for the last portraits.
• Sunrise belongs to the sea. The sun comes up over the water here, between east-north-east in winter and east-south-east in summer.

If you’re set on the sun going down over water, look for a spot that faces west over a river, lagoon or dam, and check it with a sun-position app on your date from the exact spot.

How to time a sunset ceremony, step by step

Work backwards from sunset. Here’s a summer version for 15 December, when the sun sets at 19:28:

And a winter version for 15 June, when the sun sets at 17:18:

Adjust for your family photo list, because every extra group adds a few minutes. With a short ceremony and only a handful of family photos, 90 minutes before sunset is enough. Our wedding day timeline shows the whole day for 15:00, 16:00 and 17:00 ceremonies, and the reception order of events picks up from there.

Check the legal clock. Under section 29 of the Marriage Act, a marriage officer may marry you at any time on any day but isn’t obliged to outside 08:00 to 16:00. A 17:30 summer ceremony falls outside those hours, so agree the start time with your marriage officer in writing when you book, along with their travel time.

Check the tide. Around new and full moon, high tide at Jeffreys Bay falls in mid-afternoon, which can squeeze a late-afternoon ceremony spot. Our guide to wind, tides and weather explains how to read the tide table for your date.

The dusk drop: cold and wind

On the coast, the hour around sunset is when guests get cold. In summer the wind usually picks up in the afternoon, and once the sun goes behind the dunes a breeze that felt pleasant at 16:00 starts to bite. Average lows at Gqeberha run from about 18°C in February to 8°C in July.

We put blankets out for guests because of exactly this. Plan the timing so guests aren’t standing on the sand long after sunset: send them up to drinks while you do your portraits, and have a wrap or jacket ready for yourself.

Lighting for after dark

A sunset ceremony means the rest of the evening happens in the dark, and beaches have no power.

• Paths and stairs: battery lanterns or stake lights along the route back up, because guests carrying their shoes need to see where they’re stepping.
• Candles: LED candles in hurricane glass. Open flames blow out, and on a dry, windy evening they’re a fire risk.
• The reception: festoon and fairy lights need power, which at an outdoor site means a generator, so check the noise rules where you are.
• Photographs: ask your photographer how they’ll light the reception entrance and first dance once the sky is dark.
• Sparklers: only where the venue and municipality allow them, and never near dry vegetation on a windy night.

Sunrise and morning alternatives

Because the sun rises over the sea here, a sunrise ceremony gives you the sun-over-water picture that sunset can’t. In summer it usually comes with calmer air, an empty beach and a good excuse for a brunch reception. The catch is the hour: the sun rises at about 05:00 in December and about 07:25 in June, and your marriage officer isn’t obliged to marry you before 08:00, so agree the time in advance. For an elopement it’s hard to beat; our guide to eloping in South Africa covers the legal minimum.

A late-morning or midday ceremony is the other option. The air is usually calmer than in the afternoon in summer, but the overhead light is harsh, so you’ll want shade for the ceremony and a photographer who’s comfortable working with it.

Next steps

Look up the sunset for your date (the table above is close enough for planning), count back two hours, and check that time against the tide table and your marriage officer’s diary. Then build the rest of the day around it. Our beach wedding planning guide shows how the timing fits with everything else.

If you’re planning a sunset ceremony between Gqeberha and Plettenberg Bay, the timeline is part of what we write with you in full planning or on-the-day coordination. Send us your date and we’ll reply within a working day.