Plan your pre-sunset toasts with the Golden Hour Calculator

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Sunset Toast (cropped)

When I was planning my wedding day schedule, I knew one thing: I wanted toasts to be happening on the front lawn of the B&B during the “Golden Hour,” that brief window of time before sunset when everything is glazed in that rich, warm, yellow light.

I spent a bunch of time online, looking at sunset times, trying to figure out how to schedule the transition from dinner to toasts so that I could nail the timing just right… if only the Golden Hour Calculator had existed then!

Using the tool (which is both a free web app and an iPhone app) you can very precisely calculate the timing of the Golden Hour for your exact location and specific date.

The developer, Roger Moffatt, takes his Golden Hour seriously, explaining:

I have chosen to define the Golden Hour as that period when the sun lies between the horizon and 6 degrees above. This definition of the Golden Hour more accurately accounts for the speed of the transition from day to night around the world at different times of year.

So, if you're trying to schedule your wedding day around that gorgeous Golden Hour light, head on over.

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Comments on Plan your pre-sunset toasts with the Golden Hour Calculator

  1. I have been searching all over to find this information. I shoulda known it’d be on Offbeat Bride! Thank you, thank you!

  2. My fiance is a meteorologist, so we purposely timed our ceremony to be during the “golden hour!” I’m planning all the attire based on being bathed in golden light with shots of pink, purple, and orange.

  3. You can’t adjust this for a particular time of year though or anything like that huh?

    • I don’t know about the iPhone application, but their website lets you pick any date of the year. There’s a year calendar at the bottom of their page… the current day is in red. I just clicked around and noted the golden hour for a few key dates over the next few months in a jiffy.

  4. It took me a while to figure out where the calendar was (mouse over the grids at the bottom to see the date); but it was otherwise super useful!

  5. Thrilled to see Golden Hour starts 15 minutes into my ceremony next year! Awesome website…and thank you in general for this website! I’ve frequented this website the most since my engagement (Long time reader, first time poster!)

  6. A word of advice to brides like me planning a wedding in the mountains of Colorado – this won’t help at all. These calculations are based on a flat-line horizon. Bummer.

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