Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Picture you have just said yes. The ring is on your finger and the first thing someone asks you is not how are you feeling? It is when are you thinking? And suddenly instead of sitting in that beautiful moment, you are doing math, trying to figure out if October books up faster than March, whether summer is truly off the table and what on earth a monsoon is going to mean for your outdoor ceremony. Hey, I am Nick Gaskey from heartcraft Wedding Films and welcome to Golden Hour Arizona. This is the podcast for couples planning their wedding in the American Southwest. Today we are talking about one of the most important and most underestimated decisions you will make in this whole process.
[00:00:39] What time of year to actually get married in Arizona. I have filmed weddings across every single month of the Arizona calendar. I have stood in 110 degree heat in July and I have filmed couples in the snow up near Prescott in December. I know what each season actually looks and feels like, not just on paper, but in real life. In the frame, in the way the light falls, in the way guests feel, and the way a couple's face looks during Golden Hour in October versus February. So let me walk you through it.
[00:01:09] Let's start with the obvious one. Fall.
[00:01:12] October and November in Arizona are everything you have heard they are. Temperatures drop out of the triple digits and settle into something genuinely beautiful. We are talking 75 to 82 degrees during the day in Phoenix and Scottsdale. Evenings in the 60s, the air gets that clean, dry quality that makes you feel like you can see forever. And the sky. There is a particular shade of deep blue that only shows up over the Sonoran Desert in October. And I cannot tell you how many brides have cried watching their fall footage back simply because of what the sky looked like behind them. In Sedona, fall is something else entirely. The red rock formations glow in a way that is genuinely hard to believe until you are standing there.
[00:01:53] The last of the monsoon moisture is gone. The cottonwood trees along Oak Creek turn gold. If you have ever dreamed of a ceremony that looks like it was made for film, Sedona in October is your answer. Now here is the honest part of this conversation. Fall is also the most competitive season. October and November Saturdays book up 12 to 18 months in advance. You are going to pay peak rates across most vendors, usually 15 to 25% above what you would pay in January or February.
[00:02:22] If you want a specific venue, a specific photographer, a specific filmmaker, you need to move early. Not kind of early, actually early. Now let's talk about spring. Because spring in Arizona is underrated and I think a lot of couples miss it. March and April are Arizona's second peak season and what they offer is completely different from fall. Late February through mid April is when the Sonoran Desert does something remarkable. It blooms. We are talking poppies, lupine, owl, clover, desert marigolds. The roadsides and open hillsides turn into waves of orange and purple and gold that most people have never seen in real life. If you have ever wanted a ceremony surrounded by color rather than the quiet tones of the late desert, spring is absolutely your season.
[00:03:09] Temperatures in March and April in Phoenix and Scottsdale run from the low 70s to the mid-80s.
[00:03:15] April is the sweet spot, warm enough to feel celebratory, cool enough that your guests are genuinely comfortable in formal wear during an outdoor ceremony, and venue availability is just a little bit better than October and November, which gives you slightly more room to breathe. The one thing to watch out for with spring is the tail end. May can turn hot very quickly. Phoenix has hit 100 degrees before Mother's Day. If you are set on spring on lock in late February through mid April, the further you push into May, the more you are playing with heat. Let me tell you about Arizona's best kept secret. Winter. January and February in the Phoenix Metro area average 65 to 72 degrees during the day with clear skies. While most of the country is dealing with snow and cold and short days, Arizona is sitting at 70 degrees and sunshine. And I genuinely believe these are two of the most underappreciated months for weddings in this state.
[00:04:11] Here is why I love filming winter weddings. In October you get golden hour, which is spectacular. But in January and February the sun sits low in the sky from morning all the way through afternoon. That means the entire day has cinematic, workable light. I am not racing against the clock to get couples outside during a 45 minute window. The light is beautiful for hours.
[00:04:34] Winter weddings also tend to have better availability on venues and vendors and and pricing that runs 10 to 20% below fall peak rates. If you want the beauty of Arizona without the competition of peak season, January and February deserve a real look.
[00:04:49] The one thing to plan for is the evenings. By 9 or 10pm it can drop into the mid-40s. So if you have an outdoor reception that runs late, think about wraps or a light jacket for guests. But the daytime Truly beautiful.
[00:05:04] Now summer, let me be honest with you. June through September is the off season for outdoor weddings in Arizona for real reasons. Daytime temperatures in the Phoenix Metro regularly hit 110 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit during the peak months.
[00:05:19] I have filmed events in that heat, and it requires a level of logistics and flexibility that most couples are not expecting when they start planning.
[00:05:27] That said, summer in Arizona is not impossible, and it just requires specific choices.
[00:05:33] First, elevation is your friend. Flagstaff sits at 6,900ft above sea level. In July, when Phoenix is hitting 112, Flagstaff is sitting at 85.
[00:05:44] Prescott is at 5,400ft and similarly cooler. If you want a summer Arizona wedding that works comfortably outdoors, think north.
[00:05:53] Second, if you are in the valley, schedule outdoor elements after 7pm Temperatures start dropping noticeably once the sun goes down. And some of the most dramatic light I have ever filmed has been during late summer Arizona evenings when the monsoon clouds stack up on the horizon and the sky turns colors that do not exist anywhere else.
[00:06:13] Speaking of the monsoon, Arizona's monsoon season runs mid June through September.
[00:06:18] Afternoon and early evening thunderstorms are common, and they can be intense lightning, high winds, heavy rain. As a filmmaker, those storm formations are spectacular on camera. But if you are planning an outdoor ceremony, you genuinely need a real indoor backup plan, not a tarp. An actual venue space that guests can move to without the event falling apart. Have that plan, communicate it clearly to your guests and summer becomes manageable.
[00:06:46] So how do you actually decide? Here is the framework I share with couples when they ask me this question.
[00:06:52] Ask yourself what you want the physical experience of your wedding to feel like. Not just the aesthetics, the actual felt experience.
[00:06:59] Do you want guests to be able to stand outside comfortably for two hours without thinking about the temperature?
[00:07:05] Fall or spring?
[00:07:06] Do you want the desert at its most colorful and alive? Spring?
[00:07:11] Do you want incredible light all day long and better value on your vendors? Winter?
[00:07:16] Do you want something dramatic and memorable with the right contingency planning?
[00:07:20] Summer with elevation or a late evening start?
[00:07:24] And whatever you choose, here is what I have learned after filming weddings across every month in Arizona. The season shapes the backdrop, but it does not shape the story. The story is yours. It is in the way your partner looks at you during the ceremony. It is in the toast your best friend gives that nobody expected.
[00:07:41] It is in the quiet moment between the ceremony and the reception when nobody else is watching.
[00:07:47] Those moments are the same in October and January and April.
[00:07:51] The light changes, the temperature changes. The backdrop changes. The love does not.
[00:07:57] If you are planning your Arizona wedding and you want a filmmaker who genuinely cares about capturing your story the way it actually happened, visit heartcraftweddingfilms.com Our work is there for you to explore and we would love to hear about your day. I am Nick Gaskey. Thanks so much for joining me on Golden Hour, Arizona. Until next time, here is to your love story.
