Treat the light as an opportunity.
The softer light before sunset can be beautiful for portraits. It is worth discussing when we plan your day, but it is not something a timetable can guarantee. Cloud, the surroundings and the season all affect what is available.
The useful question is not simply “what time is golden hour?” It is whether that light, in that location, fits the actual wedding day. We will need to consider where the sun is in relation to your venue and when you are free to step away.
Keep your main portraits earlier.
I do not advise leaving every photograph of you together until the evening. Speeches can run over, guests will want to talk and weather can change. Protecting an earlier session means the photographs you care about are not all dependent on one short window.
Evening portraits can then feel like a lovely addition: a few quieter minutes after the meal, a short walk, another way to remember the setting.
Tell the people running the day.
If a short portrait session is in the plan, make sure your coordinator knows. We do not want to leave just as you are needed for cake cutting or a surprise. A little communication allows the photographs to sit comfortably alongside the celebration.
For a winter wedding, useful daylight falls earlier in the schedule. For a summer wedding, sunset may be later than your photography coverage. Discuss both the timings and the booking before relying on it.
You do not need another long shoot.
Around 10–15 minutes is my suggested starting point if circumstances allow. There is no need to turn the evening into a second full portrait session. Stay close, enjoy being together and let the light help us.
If the day does not offer that particular light, it does not mean it cannot offer beautiful photographs.
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