A sunset pop-up wedding is one of the requests I receive often from my brides. And I totally understand why…who wouldn’t want the perfect orange and pink sky in the background of their photos? You probably don’t know this but this week is actually Capture The Sunset week. So in honor of this special week, I have decided it is time I create the Guide To Creating The Perfect Sunset Pop-Up Wedding. Follow these 5 simple steps below and you will have the perfect sunset pop-up ceremony.
1. Check The Time
Some people don’t know this but you don’t have to guess when sunset is. You can Google any day in advance and it will tell you the EXACT sunset time. Pretty cool right? So for example, if you are getting married in Malibu on August 7th 2020, you would Google, “Sunset in Malibu on August 7th” and the exact sunset time will display.
Now, you don’t want to have your pop-up wedding exactly at sunset. Then there would be no time for photos after! The ideal time is actually 45 minutes to an hour BEFORE sunset. This is referred to as the “Golden Hour.” This is my favorite time to have a wedding ceremony because the lighting is so beautiful. So if you are planning a sunset elopement, plan it 45 minutes to an hour before sunset.
2. Be on Time
You and your guests should always be on time for your wedding day. But this is never as important as it is when you are literally racing the sun setting. If you or your guests are late, you could be left with no more sunlight for photos after the ceremony. And portraits with a flash are not nearly as beautiful as they are with natural lighting. If you are planning a sunset microwedding, you want to stress to your guests that they MUST be on-time.
3. Choose The Right Location
Now that you know the time of day you want to have your pop-up wedding, you need to decide where. Pop The Knot has a lot of great pop-up wedding packages and you can select from there. But if you want to make sure you have the perfect sunset pop-up wedding, you need to choose a venue that is facing West.
You also are going to want to make sure that there is no obstruction to the view if an epic sunset is what you are seeking. For example, if you are choosing a venue in Manhattan, you want to find out if there are any tall buildings blocking the sunset view.
4. Review The Plan With Vendors
Once you have the time and venue booked, you want to go over the plan with your team. If you are working with Pop The Knot, we will take care of all of this for you. However, if you are planning your own pop-up wedding, you are going to want to make sure to go over all of the plans with your vendors. The last thing you want to do is plan everything perfectly and then have the photographer standing on the West side with the East side behind you. Make sure everyone and everything is in the right position to capture the sunset in your photos.
5. Manage Expectations
Now you can do EVERYTHING right, and then on the day of your perfectly planned sunset microwedding, the weather doesn’t cooperate. The clouds are out in full force and your sunset is nowhere to be found. The reality is that no on matter how much you plan, there are things out of your control that can impact the perfect sunset ceremony and Mother Nature is one of those things. So do everything in your power to plan your ceremony around the sunset, but keep in your mind that you know there are things that may prevent it from happening and make a commitment to not let that ruin your big day.
At this point, you have read the Guide To Creating The Perfect Sunset Pop-Up Wedding and you are ready to plan your sunset elopement, microwedding, or pop-up wedding. So what are some locations that typically will be good for a sunset intimate wedding? The beach is my first choice because it is rare anything would be blocking the view from there. The con is that a beach with a notoriously good sunset can be crowded. My next favorite option is a rooftop. Having a rooftop ceremony with an amazing sunset is oh-so chic. The con is that there can be buildings obstructing your view so keep that in mind.
Pop The Knot has many options for venues which will give you that sunset ceremony you are seeking. If you want to get started planning your elopement, microwedding, or pop-up wedding then contact us today. We offer pre-made packages all over the country and even have a pop-up package where you can choose your own venue and we just bring in the rest. Contact us today to get started.
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