Phoenix Wedding Timeline: Ceremony Times by Month, With Heat and Monsoon

Ask a Phoenix couple when they are getting married and the answer is usually somewhere between October and April. That is not an accident. The Valley's wedding calendar is shaped by heat more than by anything else, and once you know the ceremony time for your month, the rest of the timeline is a matter of fitting the day around it.

The 2027 table

Computed for the 15th of each month. The ceremony start is sunset minus 2 hours 45 minutes, which allows for the ceremony, family photos and cocktail hour, then portraits at golden hour.

Why the times barely move

Arizona stays on standard time all year. In most states the sunset jumps an hour in March and falls back in November; here the mid-June sunset is 7:39 PM and the mid-December one is 5:21 PM. The full spread of ceremony start times is a little over two hours. That makes Phoenix timelines easy to plan and easy to compare across months.

October to April: the season

This is when the Valley is at its best for a wedding, and when venues book furthest ahead. Days are warm, evenings are pleasant, and an outdoor ceremony at the table's start time is comfortable for guests.

Two cautions. Winter evenings in the desert cool off quickly once the sun is down, so a December reception outdoors needs heaters and a plan for wraps. And with sunset at 5:21, the portrait window is short and early. A first look is the simplest way to get relaxed portraits before the ceremony.

For this season, garden settings come into their own. Secret Garden by Wedgewood Weddings and Boojum Tree Hidden Gardens are at their most comfortable in these months.

May and early June: the heat arrives

By May the afternoons are hot, and from late May on, temperatures well above 100 degrees are normal. The table's 4:36 start in May is still workable for a ceremony in shade, but we would not schedule one in open sun. Many couples in these weeks choose an indoor ceremony and save the outdoors for a short portrait walk at golden hour.

Summer: heat and monsoon

From June through August the question is not when the light is best but when it is safe to be outside. Heat on an exposed patio at 5 PM in July is hard on guests, on older relatives, and on anyone in a suit. If you marry in summer, choose a venue with a strong indoor plan; a resort such as The Phoenician or a downtown room like Croft Downtown lets the ceremony happen in comfort.

Then there is the monsoon. The official season runs from mid-June to the end of September, and the storms tend to come in July and August, often late in the afternoon or evening. They can bring sudden wind, dust and heavy rain, and then pass. For a film, a monsoon sky is one of the most dramatic backdrops in the country, if you are standing under cover when it arrives. We watch the forecast that week and keep the portrait plan flexible.

September: still summer

September is still hot in Phoenix, and the monsoon is not officially over until the month ends. The ceremony moves earlier, to 3:49, but the heat does not ease as fast as the clock. Plan September like a summer wedding.

First look or no first look

From November to February, we recommend a first look. With a 2:36 to 3:27 ceremony and sunset before 6:15, there is not much daylight after the ceremony for portraits, family photos and a cocktail hour.

From March to October you have a choice. A traditional timeline, with portraits after the ceremony, works because the table leaves nearly three hours between the ceremony and sunset. In the hot months, a first look also has a practical benefit: it can happen indoors or in shade, in the cooler part of the building, and it gets the posed portraits done before anyone has been standing in the heat.

The portrait walk in the desert

We keep the golden-hour portrait session to 15 to 20 minutes. In the warm months that is about the limit of comfort. Hydrate first, bring blotting papers, and have someone hold a fan. At a hilltop venue like Geordie's at Wrigley Mansion the portraits can look over the city; at a desert venue such as Desert Foothills Events and Weddings the saguaros against the evening sky are the shot. In either case the last ten minutes before sunset are the ones you will want on film.

How much coverage the day needs

Most Phoenix timelines fit in 6 or 8 hours, because the ceremony start times stay moderate all year.

• 6 hours with The Verse: getting ready, ceremony, portraits, introductions, toasts and first dances.
• 8 hours with The Reverie, our most popular collection: adds the morning details and keeps us through the late dancing, with drone footage of the venue.
• 4 hours suits a small ceremony and a dinner.
• 10 hours for a long weekend-style day or a reception that runs late.

If you are booking both photo and video, our combined 8-hour collection is $3,500. An additional hour on any collection is $125. Our cost guide and timeline guide go into more detail.

How we would plan it

An April garden wedding: getting ready from 12:00, ceremony at 4:14, family photos and cocktail hour, portraits at 6:25, sunset at 6:59, reception until 8:00. Eight hours.

A January wedding in Scottsdale: getting ready from 11:00, first look at 1:30, ceremony at 2:58, portraits during golden hour at 5:06, sunset at 5:43, reception indoors until 7:00. Eight hours.

The table and more Valley venues are on our Phoenix wedding videographer page. Every film collection includes raw footage, there are no travel fees, and a $500 deposit reserves your date.

Sunset and golden-hour times are computed for the 15th of each month in 2027. Weather and monsoon notes describe typical patterns, which vary from year to year.