Los Angeles Wedding Timeline: When to Start the Ceremony, Month by Month

In Los Angeles the weather is rarely the reason a wedding goes sideways. The clock is. A ceremony that starts too early in August puts everyone in hard sun, and one that starts too late in December leaves the portraits in the dark. The right time changes by more than three hours across the year, so here it is for every month of 2027, with what each season actually brings.

Start times for 2027

Computed for the 15th of each month. The start ceremony time is sunset minus two hours and forty-five minutes, which leaves room for a half-hour ceremony, family photos, a cocktail hour, and a portrait walk that lands in golden hour.

The jump between March and February is daylight saving time, which starts in mid-March. A wedding on the first Saturday of March is still on winter time, so check the exact date.

Gray skies: May and June

Angelenos have names for it, and they are not compliments. A marine layer often covers the coast and much of the basin in late spring and early summer, sometimes clearing by midday and sometimes holding into the afternoon. For a camera this is good news more often than bad. Overcast light is soft and even, there are no squints, and skin looks its best. The cost is that the golden hour may not glow, and the sunset may be a gray fade rather than an orange one.

Our plan for a May or June wedding is to keep the table's ceremony time and stay flexible about the portrait walk. If the sky breaks late, we go out at the golden hour time. If it does not, we use the even light earlier in the evening and save the dramatic frames for the dance floor.

Heat: July to September

Late summer is the warm season, and inland venues can be hot well into the evening. September is often as warm as July. This is where the table earns its keep: a 4:54 August ceremony and a 4:14 September ceremony keep guests out of the worst of the afternoon, and the portraits at 7:05 or 6:26 happen when the heat has eased. For an outdoor ceremony at a garden venue like The Fig House or Rancho Los Cerritos in Long Beach, ask where the shade falls at your start time, and we will check it on the scout.

Near the water the story is different. Venues close to the coast tend to be cooler, and the breeze matters more than the heat. Sea breeze is the enemy of clean vows, so on any waterside ceremony we put microphones on the officiant and one partner.

Short, warm days: October to February

October is a favorite month in Los Angeles: warm afternoons, clearer skies and a 6:18 sunset that makes for an easy evening. Fall and winter can bring dry Santa Ana winds in some years, which mean warm, gusty afternoons and very clear air. On a rooftop like Savanna Rooftop, wind is worth asking about in the final week.

Daylight saving time ends in early November, and the November and December start times drop to around 2:00 PM. Winter is also when most of the year's rain falls. Rain is not frequent, but a covered or indoor fallback matters more in January than in any other month.

March and April

Spring is mild and green. After the clock change, the sunset jumps past seven and a 4:15 or 4:39 ceremony gives a relaxed day. It is one of the easiest seasons in the city to plan for; just watch for the marine layer starting to return in late April near the coast.

First look, or not

Here is how the month changes our advice in Los Angeles:

• March to September: a first look is a preference. There is enough daylight after the ceremony for family photos, wedding party photos and portraits.
• October: helpful, especially if you want wedding party photos in daylight and a full cocktail hour with your guests.
• November to February: recommended if you want portraits in natural light. With golden hour around 4:10, doing the wedding party and family photos before a 2:00 ceremony is what makes the day work.

If you want the first sight at the aisle, we plan for that and light the evening portraits ourselves. Both are good films.

Golden hour without leaving the party

Use the golden hour column as the time to step out. In summer that falls during dinner, so we take you out for fifteen minutes between courses. At a house venue like Carondelet House the portraits happen on the property. At a ballroom or a landmark room, we scout a spot a minute or two away. Where tall buildings or hills sit to the west, the sun disappears before the listed sunset, so we go a little earlier.

Choosing hours

A Los Angeles wedding with getting ready, ceremony, portraits, dinner, toasts and an hour of dancing usually runs about eight hours. Add travel between locations, which is real in this city, and some days need ten.

• The Aubade, 4 hours, $1,200: ceremony, family photos, cocktail hour, toasts. Right for an intimate or courthouse-sized day.
• The Verse, 6 hours, $1,400: late getting ready through first dance, in 4K with a highlight film and an extended edit.
• The Reverie, 8 hours, $1,500: most couples choose it. Adds an Instagram highlight and drone footage of the venue.
• The Sonnet, 10 hours, $2,000: the full day, including a send-off.

Each extra hour is $125, and a second videographer is $500. If you are weighing film against photography, read our photo vs video guide, and for how to compare crews, how to choose a wedding videographer.

Sample days

An October garden wedding: coverage from 11:30, ceremony at 3:33, family photos at 4:10, cocktail hour, portraits at 5:45 for golden hour and sunset at 6:18, dinner and toasts, dancing until 9:30. Ten hours with getting ready, eight if we start at 1:30.

A January wedding: coverage from 10:00, first look at 12:30, wedding party photos, ceremony at 2:21, a short portrait walk at 4:29, then dinner and dancing indoors. Six to eight hours.

The full table and our local coverage are on the Los Angeles wedding videographer page. Our packages cost the same at every venue with no travel fees, and a $500 deposit reserves your date.

We are not affiliated with or endorsed by any venue named here. Times are computed for the 15th of each month in 2027 and shift by a few minutes earlier or later in the month.