Four sample clocks
The same night run through my default rules from four ceremony times. Two speakers at four minutes, plated two courses, a mixed pace, the music ending five to five and a half hours after cocktails.
Wedding 101
the worksheet
2 o'clock ceremony
| 2:00 | Ceremony |
| 2:30 | Cocktail hour |
| 3:30 | Guests seated |
| 3:45 | Grand entrance |
| 3:55 | First dance |
| 4:00 | Welcome |
| 4:05 | Toasts, then air |
| 4:20 | Dinner, then air |
| 5:25 | Table visits |
| 5:55 | Cake |
| 6:00 | Parent dances |
| 6:10 | Open dancing |
| 7:55 | Last song |
| 8:00 | Send-off |
Dance floor 105 minutes. Daylight the whole way; the send-off is in the light most of the year.
4 o'clock ceremony
| 4:00 | Ceremony |
| 4:30 | Cocktail hour |
| 5:30 | Guests seated |
| 5:45 | Grand entrance |
| 5:55 | First dance |
| 6:00 | Welcome |
| 6:05 | Toasts, then air |
| 6:20 | Dinner, then air |
| 7:25 | Table visits |
| 7:55 | Cake |
| 8:00 | Parent dances |
| 8:10 | Open dancing |
| 9:55 | Last song |
| 10:00 | Send-off |
Dance floor 105 minutes. My default; the clock most Saturdays run on.
5 o'clock ceremony
| 5:00 | Ceremony |
| 5:30 | Cocktail hour |
| 6:30 | Guests seated |
| 6:45 | Grand entrance |
| 6:55 | First dance |
| 7:00 | Welcome |
| 7:05 | Toasts, then air |
| 7:20 | Dinner, then air |
| 8:25 | Table visits |
| 8:55 | Cake |
| 9:00 | Parent dances |
| 9:10 | Open dancing |
| 10:55 | Last song |
| 11:00 | Send-off |
Dance floor 105 minutes. Sunset lands in cocktail hour or dinner from May to August: plan the step-out.
6 o'clock ceremony
| 6:00 | Ceremony |
| 6:30 | Cocktail hour |
| 7:30 | Guests seated |
| 7:45 | Grand entrance |
| 7:55 | First dance |
| 8:00 | Welcome |
| 8:05 | Toasts, then air |
| 8:20 | Dinner, then air |
| 9:25 | Table visits |
| 9:55 | Cake |
| 10:00 | Parent dances |
| 10:10 | Open dancing |
| 11:25 | Last song |
| 11:30 | Send-off |
Dance floor 75 minutes with an 11:30 stop. This is the clock that squeezes the floor; a first look or a shorter cocktail hour buys some back.
Sunset, New Bedford, Massachusetts
| Date | Sunset | Last light | Date | Sunset | Last light |
|---|
| Jan 1 | 4:24 PM | 4:55 PM | Apr 1 | 7:09 PM | 7:37 PM |
| Jan 15 | 4:38 PM | 5:09 PM | Apr 15 | 7:24 PM | 7:53 PM |
| Feb 1 | 4:59 PM | 5:29 PM | May 1 | 7:42 PM | 8:12 PM |
| Feb 15 | 5:17 PM | 5:45 PM | May 15 | 7:56 PM | 8:28 PM |
| Mar 1 | 5:34 PM | 6:02 PM | Jun 1 | 8:12 PM | 8:45 PM |
| Mar 15 | 6:50 PM | 7:18 PM | Jun 15 | 8:20 PM | 8:54 PM |
| Date | Sunset | Last light | Date | Sunset | Last light |
|---|
| Jul 1 | 8:22 PM | 8:56 PM | Oct 1 | 6:26 PM | 6:53 PM |
| Jul 15 | 8:17 PM | 8:50 PM | Oct 15 | 6:03 PM | 6:31 PM |
| Aug 1 | 8:02 PM | 8:33 PM | Nov 1 | 5:39 PM | 6:07 PM |
| Aug 15 | 7:44 PM | 8:13 PM | Nov 15 | 4:24 PM | 4:53 PM |
| Sep 1 | 7:17 PM | 7:46 PM | Dec 1 | 4:14 PM | 4:45 PM |
| Sep 15 | 6:53 PM | 7:21 PM | Dec 15 | 4:14 PM | 4:46 PM |
Local clock, EST or EDT as the date falls. Golden hour starts an hour before sunset; with no first look the ceremony should end about two hours before sunset for daylight photos, an hour with a first look; outdoors, end thirty minutes before sunset at the latest. Sunset moves about a minute a day, so check the exact minute for your date. Source: US Naval Observatory, 41.6362 N, 70.9342 W, calendar year 2027; within a few minutes for the South Coast, the South Shore, Cape Cod, and Rhode Island.