What time is sunset in Puglia? Month-by-month times for your wedding photos

Four hours between June and December

On 15 June the sun sets in Andria at 20:29. On 15 December, at 16:27. That is four hours of difference, and it moves the whole timeline of a wedding: the time of the ceremony, the aperitivo, the half hour the photographer takes you away. So when a couple asks me what time to start, the first thing I look at is the sun.

We are on the Murgia, inland in northern Puglia, at about 340 metres: no sea in front of us, but open skies, olive groves, vines and pale limestone, with Castel del Monte on the horizon. When the sun is low, this countryside is the background of your photos, and it helps to know when the light reaches it from the side.

Sunset times in Andria, month by month

Here is the sunset time in Andria on the 15th of each month, in Italian local time, with summer or winter time already applied. If you are flying in, remember that Italy uses Central European Time. On the days around the 15th the time moves only a little: hardly at all in June and December, a couple of minutes a day in March and September.

• January: 16:49
• February: 17:28
• March: 18:01 (winter time; on the last Sunday of March the clocks go forward an hour)
• April: 19:34
• May: 20:05
• June: 20:29
• July: 20:27
• August: 19:56
• September: 19:06
• October: 18:16 (summer time, which ends on the last Sunday of the month: after that, sunset comes an hour earlier)
• November: 16:37
• December: 16:27

The golden hour, and why photographers want it

The golden hour is roughly the last hour before sunset. The sun is low and the light comes from the side, warm and soft: no hard shadows under the eyes, no shiny foreheads, skin tones that stay true. At midday in summer it is the opposite: light from above, sharp shadows, squinting eyes.

After sunset there are a good twenty minutes left, when the sky turns deep blue and the lights come on. That is the moment for photos under the luminarie, the traditional Apulian festival lights in the courtyard. Your photographer knows it, but write it in the timeline anyway.

How to plan the timeline around the sun

Here the aperitivo, the Italian pre-dinner drinks, is usually in the vineyard at sunset. It is a practical choice before an aesthetic one: guests are served and wander between the rows, and the couple can slip away for photos without anyone waiting. Work backwards from the sunset time of your day:

• Sunset minus one hour: the golden hour begins. The ceremony is over, the hugs are done, the group photo is taken.
• The golden hour: couple portraits among the olive trees and in the vineyard, while guests enjoy the aperitivo.
• Sunset: the couple rejoin their guests.
• Twenty minutes later: the last photos with the lights on, then dinner.

An example. On 15 June sunset is at 20:29, so the golden hour starts around 19:30, and the ceremony should finish at least half an hour before that, to leave time for family photos. On 15 September, with sunset at 19:06, everything moves almost an hour and a half earlier. From late summer into October it is also grape harvest time here: we harvest at night, in the cool, and by day the rows are heavy with grapes.

Heat, evening and guests: four precautions

• In summer: a ceremony in the middle of the day in June or July is hard on everyone. If you choose the afternoon, make it as late as possible and think of water for guests who wait seated. The olive grove, where the ceremony usually takes place, gives more shade than an open lawn.
• In the evening: up on the plateau, away from the sea, evenings are usually drier and often breezy. After sunset a shawl or light jacket for older guests is never too much.
• Elderly guests and children: they feel the sun first and complain last. Seat them when the ceremony is about to begin, not half an hour before.
• In winter: in December it is dark by half past four. For a daytime wedding, take the outdoor photos between about half past three and half past four, and leave the rest to the lights.

Once you have a date, write down its sunset time and send it to your photographer and to us: it is the number the whole timeline starts from. If you do not have a date yet, tell us the period you have in mind. For choosing the season itself, read the best time to get married in Puglia.

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