What Type of Sunset is Best for a Beach Wedding?

Kauai Sunset Wedding Options

A sunset wedding is the dream of many brides who come to visit us here on Kauai, Hawaii. If you choose a sunset wedding as many couples do, you still need make another decision about your wedding photography: having photos with the sun directly behind you, or facing you from another direction.

Avoid the West Side

On Kauai there are times of the year where the sun sets into the water in areas besides the west side, such as the north or south shore. For information about these unique to Kauai sunset times try asking your hotel or give us a ring. In general, we find that most people do not end up liking the west side as a wedding destination due to the lower beach quality, the beaches not being close to where people tend to stay, nor having good places to eat afterwards … so we do not recommend the west side for most couples.

Shipwrecks Beach:  Angled Setting Sun Shots

There are times of the year that Shipwrecks Beach in Poipu has a sunset that reaches not quite to the water, but almost into it … certainly close enough for a great shot in front of the setting sun. Shipwrecks Beach however generally has too may people in our opinion to make it an ideal place to get married. Depending on where you are on the beach it is more likely that the angle at which most shots would be taken to capture the setting sun has a beach behind it … which means space for people wearing bright colored bathing suits to stand-not great for photos.

Hanalei Bay for Unobstructed Setting Sun

There are times of the year where the sun sets almost into the water at Hanalei Bay, as well as most beaches north of there. Although Hanalei Bay is also a pretty crowded beach, it is better for sunset photos than Shipwrecks in our opinion because the angle at which we can take a picture of you in front of the setting sun is nearly unobstructed by where people can stand, so it’s just you with the ocean, mountains and sun setting behind you.

Ke’e for a Far Away Beach with Sun Setting in Water

Ke’e is a very (year round) consistent beach for the sun setting directly all the way into the water. Because of this, lots of tourists go there each day all year to watch the sun set. The main negative point about Ke’e is that it’s a long drive away from Hanalei (about 30 min going over several one lane bridges) … but possibly for some people this may be a plus. This means it not only takes longer to get to, but some vendors may charge a travel fee to get out there. Once you are there it also means longer to get back to where you will have dinner, with everyone hungry and thirsty.

Sky Full of Color vs. Sun Going Down Behind You

In this Kauai sunset wedding, which produced magical tones of blue and pink, the sun went down 180° opposite to the background you see in this photo.

To get sunset colors into your pictures, get married between Lihue and Kilauea. Basically anywhere on the east side, southeast or north east sides, at any time of the year, will do (our favorite spots for this area are Nukoli’i or Lydgate.)

Untruth: Many people think they need to stand in front of the sunset going down into the water to get fantastic sunset photos. This is just not true. There are lots of great sunset shots on the east side of Kauai, where you can never actually see the sun go down into the water at anytime of the year. How is this possible? Because 180 degrees opposite of the sunset are some of the best colors! (Next time you are watching the sunset, turn around and look the other way and you’ll see what I’m talking about.)
 
The sun going into the water is undeniably beautiful, but it is a very specific shot. Once you have it you don’t need a whole photo shoot of the same thing. To many people a more interesting background for the majority of the photos are all the gorgeous colors 180 degrees away from the sunset (I personally agree given that here on Kauai some of the most secluded and best beach wedding locations are on the east side).

 
If you have any questions about any aspect of a Kauai sunset wedding, please contact us.