When we think of a wedding, we’re usually referring to the afternoon wedding ceremony and imagine a lovely dinner. And along with that, our imagination of the wedding is done through a lovely romantic filter, which makes everything twice as beautiful and lovely. But what if we told you, instead of a wedding, the regular type as we just walked you through, can be much better? Wondering how? Well, the answer is, to ditch the regular wedding and plan a twilight wedding. Twilight weddings are quite popular at the moment and for all the right reasons! A twilight wedding, to us, and hopefully to you too by the end of this blog, is romantic, lovely, and filled with the right mix of what a magically dreamy wedding should be. Since we already love twilight weddings, we thought why don’t we bring the idea to you? In today’s blog post, our topic of discussion is a twilight wedding, if it wasn’t obvious enough already! And, no we’re not trying to say that regular weddings aren’t lovely and romantic, all we mean to say is that there’s something more you can try. For whatever reason, there’s a chance that the regular day wedding may not be ideal for you, or you may want to do something different, and for those reasons, we’re creating this blog! 

Planning a Romantic Twilight Wedding: A Guide

From this point onwards, we will help you figure out how to throw a twilight wedding, from the timings to the decor. The points below will help you to figure out what to keep in mind, give you some lovely ideas, and will also help you understand the reasons why a twilight wedding is a great idea! Without much further ado, let’s dive in! 

1. Wedding Photos: Plan it Out! 

One of the most important parts of your wedding is the aspect of wedding photos. Before we get into the nitty-gritty details, which you’ll see have to be planned to a T, you will need to ensure that your wedding photography planning is on-point. Before the day of the wedding, ensure that you sit down with your photographer or have a telephone conversation about what you’re expecting. Furthermore, before you make the payments and confirm the booking for your wedding day, ensure that you ask your wedding photographer to ask them if they specialize in twilight photography, if possible. Along with that, ask them how confident they feel about taking photos of your wedding. Based on the answers they provide you, make an informed decision. If you’re happy with their answers, then send over the wedding program with the timeline of your twilight wedding to your photographer, this will help the photographer to plan your wedding’s photo ideas. 

Think about it: Before you start planning your wedding photos, make sure you talk to your partner and discuss the same with your photographer. This will help you get an idea of what can be done and what is a little difficult to attain.

2. The Wedding Program: The Running Order! 

And that brings us to the timeline of your wedding day! Well, we don’t need to emphasize how important wedding planning is for you, and more so when you’re planning a twilight wedding! Since you’re planning a twilight wedding, we think it is safe for us to assume that you’re going to plan your wedding ceremony and reception outdoors because it will allow you to enjoy the environment and the sun going down! So, remember to check the timing of sunsets during the season your wedding is to take place. Even checking your weather app for a particular day will help you plan the wedding ceremony better. Now, let’s illustrate this with an example. Let’s assume that the sunset is predicted to happen at 6: 15 PM, then here’s what your running order should look like: 

• •Send out your wedding invitations with the time for them to arrive at the venue for drinks and snacks, at 5 PM. 

• •Then, put down the wedding ceremony’s time as 6 PM, this will help you align your wedding ceremony with the sunset, which will give you beautiful wedding photos.

• •Then you can plan the cocktail hour, reception, and photo session for 7 PM and give yourself thirty minutes for your photos. 

• •And then, for the last event, you can plan for a lovely wedding reception and dinner from 7: 30 PM to midnight. 

You can use the program we just created for you to inspire your own. Remember, make sure that you find an accurate prediction for the sunset. By accurate we mean, it should be at least 10 minutes here or there, so that you can ensure to capture a beautiful sunset in the background of your wedding photos, and wedding ceremony. However, another thing about timing your sunset wedding right is to know what you want to do at the time of sunset. A twilight wedding does not necessarily mean that you have to tie the knot at sunset. Your idea of a twilight wedding may be sitting down for dinner when the sun dips down, or you may want to host an elaborate cocktail hour. So, remember, it is your wedding day, and you get to choose what you, your partner, and your wedding guests do at sundown. 

Critical Reminder: When you’re planning a twilight wedding, make sure that you have the timing right. We recommend starting your wedding ceremony at least thirty to forty minutes before sunset. 

3. Wedding Venue: Find the right location

One of the most important things for your twilight wedding will be your wedding venue. Sure enough, everything about your wedding is going to be important. However, if your wedding venue is not picturesque enough, or does not have the right vantage points for you to overlook a sunset, your twilight wedding will miss the charms. So, when you’re looking for a wedding venue, remember to check the wedding venue, the space, and the vantage points. Although our favorite spots for wedding venues are usually beachside or waterfront locations, there’s more. You can also look for a wedding venue with a tall building and have a rooftop wedding ceremony! Apart from this, if you can find a venue near an iconic landmark in your city, you can choose a wedding venue overlooking the iconic landmark. 

If you’re worried about outdoor wedding planning, then here’s what you can do. You can have a wedding ceremony on the roof, this will give you the perfect view of the twilight. What’s more, a rooftop wedding will help you take advantage of the golden hour. For your wedding reception and cocktail hour, you can have your guests come down and enjoy open space with the city's best views. Furthermore, be mindful of the season. For example, if you’re throwing a winter wedding, then you’ll have to make sure that your wedding guests do not catch the chills. And if you’re throwing a sunset wedding in summer, make sure that you have ample ventilation along with coolers for your wedding guests to beat the heat. 

4. Wedding Ceremony: Decor and the Other Things

Another thing to keep in mind when you’re throwing a sunset wedding is your wedding aesthetic. Make sure that you have a clear idea of what your wedding ceremony looks like! One of the best ways to enjoy your wedding, and then your photos too, is to choose a picturesque space to take your vows with your soulmate. You can draw inspiration from the movie Twilight for your wedding ceremony. As Edward and Bella tied the knot under wonderful white blooms, you can choose a similar look space. However, bear in mind, the blooms don’t have to be white per se. You can choose a flowering tree of any color. Or you can use some decor items, such as lanterns and paper flowers to add colors to your wedding ceremony! You can also use some streamers, depending on the wedding theme colors, to add pops of colors to your wedding ceremony. 

Wedding Ceremony Decor Ideas
Not only can you add colors to your wedding ceremony aesthetic, but you can also use colorful wedding decor to add more style and charms to your wedding. Since you’re going to be tying the knot with the sun going down in the background, the decor you choose will help you make the day, and the setting even more magical. One of the best ways to make your wedding look impeccable, especially for an outdoor wedding ceremony, is to use greenery and lights. Since you’re throwing a twilight wedding, you can use muted lights. For example, instead of choosing rustic runners for your wedding ceremony aisle, you can choose a lovely greenery runner and have muted string lights wrapped around the greenery runner. This will help you create a lovely aesthetic. Along with this, you can also use bunting as your wedding chair or pew decor. And if you happen to have trees around the altar, you can use similar decor or just decor light strings to add more beauty to it! Outdoor weddings, especially twilight weddings, will already be well-lit. Finding a complementing color scheme or decor that does not take away natural beauty will be key for your aesthetic. Also, remember, the seasonal colors will add more detail and beauty to the natural ambiance. 

Altar Decor Suggestions
After you have a great wedding ceremony decor idea in place, you’ll want a wonderful altar to go with it. And honestly, we don’t blame you. First things first, you can use an outdoor wedding arbor instead of an altar to add more touches to the surrounding nature. This will help you add vibrancy to your wedding decor. You can use the suggestions above to find the mix that inspires you. But if your heart is set on using an altar for decor, then how about using loads of greenery with some candlesticks? You don’t have to light the candles. They can simply be in the background for aesthetic reasons, only! Apart from this, we also love an outdoor wedding ceremony with an oval archway for the entry, and a smaller one for the couple to walk under and step up the altar. You can also use some driftwood, and use it as side decor by placing it on either side of the altar. Another idea that we love for your outdoor wedding altar decor is to create a lush corner. For the corner, you can use a moss rug, pair it with greenery creeping up the walls, and pair some decor items, such as lanterns. To fill it out, you can place some floral details as well. A great thing about creating a corner around your wedding altar is that you can use whatever colors you like. It does not necessarily have to be of the same color as your wedding theme, just to add a bit of color. If this is not your thing but you want to add more floral details to your twilight wedding ceremony, then you can try using white flowers of your choice, remember to choose the smaller ones, as hanging decor. A great idea is to use small flowers and invisible strings to hang the flowers from the ceiling. This will help you create a magical ambiance for your wedding ceremony! You can also use dual tones, by choosing white and any other color from your wedding palette. What’s more, with the overhead hanging wedding decor that you’re going to add to the wedding ceremony, you can recreate something similar for your wedding reception as well.

5. Wedding Theme: Twilight Weddings and the Colors! 

One of the best things about planning a wedding is choosing the color scheme. And when you throw a wedding at sundown, the thrill of choosing the right colors and the wedding scheme is even more enjoyable. Before we get down to choosing the themes, let’s get something out of the way. As discussed earlier, remember that your wedding theme or even the color scheme should not overshadow the natural beauty. If you’re planning a wedding with an outdoor wedding ceremony with an indoor wedding reception, then the themes for the two events can be different. This will help you create two entirely different spaces. However, if you’re throwing an outdoor wedding reception to go with your outdoor wedding ceremony, then make sure that the color schemes are similar. This will help you create uniformity of the different elements. With that said, most couples find romantic or vintage wedding themes more appropriate for their sunset wedding. Both of these themes work well with the evening aesthetic and give you a dreamy look. For romantic wedding theme ideas, you can choose to use red, white, or even gold hues for your wedding elements. Additionally, to build the mood, you can choose to add lovely arches made out of flowers and greenery. Furthermore, the wedding floral details will play a huge role in your romantic wedding set-up. As for vintage wedding ideas, remember to choose the theme colors carefully. A vintage wedding theme can have metallic hues. However, remember that your metallic color choices should not be overwhelming. In a color palette, like in romantic themes, gold is usually a sublime addition. However, in a vintage theme, the gold and silver elements could take the center stage. So, remember to neutralize the metallic hues with white, beige, pearl white, or even black, if you’re interested. 

Apart from this, we have some more ideas. We feel that an ethereal forest theme would be perfect. When we say ethereal forest theme, what we mean is a wedding dress with lots of greenery, white flowers, and decor with lights. A great way to incorporate this would be to fashion some lovely trees out of lights. You can also use some LED lights. Also, in addition to this, you can also add some more interesting touches with overhanging greenery, with some lights to go with it. One of the best things to do here would be to use bright white lights. You can also swap out the white lights for warm lights, it will look just as beautiful. If you’re looking for a fun twist to the ethereal forest theme, you can swap the green hues for shades of blush pink, purple, and white.

6. Planning the Wedding Reception 

While you may have an absolute blast planning your twilight wedding ceremony, let’s not forget that your wedding reception will be just as amazing. As mentioned earlier, if you’re planning to throw a wedding reception outside, and if you’re throwing a wedding reception party indoors, the planning guide will be different. For the sake of clarity in ideas, we will discuss the outdoor reception party and indoor party separately along with some ideas to help you plan these better.

Planning a TWilight Wedding Reception Party: Outdoor Edition 

When you’re planning an outdoor reception party, the first thing to keep in mind is that you have to pay attention to the natural elements. Depending on the season, make sure that you make the necessary arrangements. For example, in summer, ensure that you have ample portable fans and coolers for your wedding guests to stay cool during the reception party. And if you’re throwing a winter wedding reception party outdoors, then think about how the guests will keep themselves warm. Additionally, you can have a station for hot beverages for your wedding guests to enjoy and remain cozy. That said, you can have a brilliant feast outdoors. For example, you have a whole roast chicken placed on every table for the guests to carve and enjoy. Or you can have a buffet of some mouthwatering delicacies, which will help your guests enjoy the wedding reception better. Apart from this, regardless of the season, if you ask us, outdoor barbeques are the best! You can have a barbeque station for your wedding guests for your outdoor wedding dinner.

Planning an Indoor Wedding Reception for a Twilight Wedding

If you’re planning on keeping everything indoors, then you can focus on the time. Indoor wedding receptions are comparatively quite easy to plan. While outdoor wedding dinners have a rustic appeal, indoor wedding dinners are a sit-down affair. So, you can add some interesting touches by leaving notes on tables with some sides or favors to kick off the celebrations, or you could focus on catering to your wedding guests right in their seats! Also, instead of simply leaving notes, you can choose to add celestial charms to the wedding escort cards, and the lovely seating chart! Additionally, you can use these elements to add some extra colors to your wedding theme.

The Wedding Exit: Plan a Unique Exit

Since a twilight wedding will end late in the night, you will have the opportunity to plan your wedding exit in a unique manner. Instead of simply walking out with some sparklers, you can choose to have a grand exit. For example, we will love to see a twilight wedding end with a show of firecrackers as though it's the fourth of July! And for environment-friendly options, instead of firecrackers, you can have paper lanterns light up your way as you leave the wedding venue! Also, we have an unconventional wedding exit idea! Instead of simply walking out waving to your loved ones and closest people, you can have a dance with your partner. To end the night on a festive and fun note, you can simply choose to have the last first dance of the night, and twirl away!

A Few Last Things About a Twilight Wedding

When you’re planning an outdoor wedding, you have to be careful of the weather. If your heart is set on a twilight wedding but the weather is not appropriate for an outdoor wedding, then you can choose to pair your wedding day’s activities with the timeline of the sunset. Since it is your wedding, you can decide what aspect of your wedding will happen outdoors at the time of sunset. That aside, remember to check the weather forecast first! Pay attention to the weather and the temperatures, neither you nor your guests should be uncomfortable. Also, when you plan your wedding photos, remember to work around the time of the day for your photos. It is crucial to remember, that since you’re throwing a sunset wedding, you will have limited use of the outdoors. That aside, you can use the well-lit areas of your wedding venue for the photo session with your partner, or you can use the indoor space of your wedding for the photo session.

The Takeaway! 

We think by now, you’re convinced that we love a twilight wedding, and we are going, to be honest, we do! We love all kinds of weddings to be very honest. However, we find the idea of a twilight wedding unique, romantic, and magical. This blog was created in an attempt to introduce you to new ideas, and help you plan a twilight wedding. The ideas we have discussed in the blog are not limited to being used or applied to only a twilight wedding. You can use these ideas for other kinds of weddings as well. Also, before we leave you, please remember that these ideas are interchangeable. Your wedding should look and feel like the wedding that you dream of, and that is why we list out ideas that can be tweaked to fit your idea of a dream wedding!