Well, this should be fun :D

So I just signed myself up for an outdoor, sunset wedding, where the sun will be setting behind the couple, with nothing to diffuse aforementioned setting sun. Also, the officiant says no flash during the ceremony. So.... WTF do I do with that.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA Nice.

You tell your couple that the officiant says no flash so they're going to get either a bunch of silhouettes

You can still expose for the face but the background will be blown out. Definitely talk with the couple. Usually outdoor officiants are pretty relaxed about using flash.

HiepBuiPhotography wrote in post #15710138
You tell your couple that the officiant says no flash so they're going to get either a bunch of silhouettes

I already mentioned this. Thankfully,the brides daughter dabbles in photography so the bride seems to be somewhat knowledgable on the subject. She knew where the sun was setting and about how high it was going to be in the sky based on the ceremony time. Sadly, none of it was "good" news.

Is there an area behind the officiant you can be?
I can't remember an outdoor wedding that I was told I could not use flash. That's unusual.

Make a deal with the Officiant, let me use flash or I will bring a crew of 10 and each one of the will pop a reflector .

Explain to the Officiant that flash at mid-day will not be crazy as he think it will be or have the Bride talk to the Officiant.
Good luck and have fun either way S.!

Well, if she knows the challenges doing this without flash, you make the best out of it and she should be fine......we hope

scorpio_e wrote in post #15710355
You can still expose for the face but the background will be blown out. Definitely talk with the couple. Usually outdoor officiants are pretty relaxed about using flash.

Thanks! I will, of course, expose for the face. I wonder how well burst rate with bracketing the aperture 3 stops would work out...

hot light

I'm thinking that having the sun setting behind the couple isn't going to be comfortable for those attending, either. Who wants to be squinting into the sun the whole time?

the more you plan, prepare and worry about this, the more likely to be cloudy or rain when the time comes...

SMP_Homer wrote in post #15710546
the more you plan, prepare and worry about this, the more likely to be cloudy or rain when the time comes...

Ill take that!

Some nice responses so far I agree that you might be able to sweet-talk the officiant. Flash when outdoors is not nearly as objectionable as flash indoors.

Get a mix of exposure styles. Get some silhouettes, and some with a blown-out background. Use your "C" modes to be ready to flip back and forth as necessary... bearing in mind that you might need to continually adjust as the sun nears the horizon.