What Time Should Your Ceremony Start? The 2027 Southern California Wedding Sunset Guide
Here's a question almost no couple asks at the start, and every photographer wishes they would: what time does the sun set on our wedding day?
In Southern California, the light is the reason you're getting married here. It's the warm glow on the ocean, the pink over the desert, the gold in the vineyard rows. It lasts about 30 minutes. If your ceremony runs long or starts late, you miss it.
So we did the math. Below are the 2027 sunset and golden-hour times for Los Angeles, San Diego and Palm Springs, month by month, plus the ceremony start time we'd recommend for each.
2027 Southern California wedding sunset times
Sunset swings by more than three hours across the year, from 4:46 p.m. in late November to 8:06 p.m. in June. That one fact reshapes your entire wedding day.
Month (sample Saturday)
LA sunset
San Diego sunset
Palm Springs sunset
Golden hour begins (LA)
Suggested ceremony start
January (Jan 16)
5:07 p.m.
5:06 p.m.
5:01 p.m.
4:31 p.m.
3:30 p.m.
February (Feb 20)
5:41 p.m.
5:38 p.m.
5:34 p.m.
5:07 p.m.
4:15 p.m.
March (Mar 20)
7:04 p.m.
6:59 p.m.
6:57 p.m.
6:32 p.m.
5:30 p.m.
April (Apr 17)
7:25 p.m.
7:19 p.m.
7:18 p.m.
6:52 p.m.
6:00 p.m.
May (May 15)
7:47 p.m.
7:40 p.m.
7:40 p.m.
7:12 p.m.
6:15 p.m.
June (Jun 19)
8:06 p.m.
7:59 p.m.
7:59 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
July (Jul 17)
8:03 p.m.
7:56 p.m.
7:56 p.m.
7:28 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
August (Aug 21)
7:32 p.m.
7:26 p.m.
7:25 p.m.
6:59 p.m.
6:00 p.m.
September (Sep 18)
6:55 p.m.
6:50 p.m.
6:48 p.m.
6:23 p.m.
5:30 p.m.
October (Oct 16)
6:17 p.m.
6:14 p.m.
6:10 p.m.
5:44 p.m.
4:45 p.m.
November (Nov 20)
4:46 p.m.
4:44 p.m.
4:40 p.m.
4:10 p.m.
3:15 p.m.
December (Dec 18)
4:46 p.m.
4:45 p.m.
4:39 p.m.
4:08 p.m.
3:15 p.m.
San Diego and Palm Springs run about 5–10 minutes earlier than LA, so start a few minutes earlier there. Sunset moves 1–2 minutes a day, so check your exact date.
The formula: sunset minus 90 minutes
Start your ceremony about 90 minutes before sunset. That leaves room for the ceremony, family photos and a golden-hour escape, with a cushion for the inevitable late start.
Here's how it plays out on a Saturday in mid-October in Los Angeles (sunset 6:17 p.m.):
4:45 p.m. Ceremony begins in soft, flattering afternoon light.
5:15 p.m. Ceremony ends; cocktail hour opens for guests.
5:15–5:40 p.m. Family and wedding party photos, while the light is still even.
5:45–6:10 p.m. Golden hour. The two of you slip away for portraits.
6:17 p.m. Sunset. Guests watch the sky turn pink with a drink in hand.
6:30 p.m. Grand entrance and dinner as the string lights come up.
Want ceremony photos in golden hour too? Push the start 30 minutes later, and accept that family photos may happen after dark.
Five timing traps only locals know
1. The summer squeeze. A June sunset at 8:06 p.m. pushes golden hour past 7:30. If your venue's music ends at 10, dinner, toasts and dancing all have to fit into about two hours. Keep the speeches short or move them to cocktail hour.
2. The daylight saving cliff. Clocks fall back on Sunday, November 7, 2027. A wedding on Saturday, November 6 gets sunset at 5:55 p.m. in LA. One week later, it's 4:50. Same season, completely different day.
3. The winter 3 o'clock ceremony. From mid-November through January, golden hour starts around 4 p.m. Your reception will be in the dark by 5, so budget for lighting: string lights, candles, uplighting.
4. The mountain shadow. In Palm Springs, the San Jacinto Mountains rise right above the west side of town. The sun can drop behind them well before the official sunset. Visit your venue at ceremony time, on a clear day, before you lock the timeline.
5. The marine layer. On the coast in May and June, haze can roll in by late afternoon and swallow the sunset entirely. Have a backup plan for portraits, and don't promise your photographer a dramatic sky.
Sunset wedding FAQ
What time should a sunset wedding ceremony start? About 90 minutes before sunset gives you ceremony, family photos and golden-hour portraits. For a ceremony during golden hour itself, start about 60 minutes before sunset.
How long does golden hour last in Southern California? Roughly 30–40 minutes before sunset at these latitudes, a little longer in winter.
What's the latest sunset of the year in Southern California? Late June, just after 8 p.m. in Los Angeles.
How we calculated this: sunset and golden-hour times are astronomical calculations for central Los Angeles, San Diego and Palm Springs on one Saturday per month in 2027, in local time with daylight saving applied. Golden hour here begins when the sun is 6° above the horizon. Hills, mountains, buildings and haze can make your actual light end earlier.
