Destinations · 5 min read · Updated
A wedding in Mallorca:when the best light falls
When the good light falls on the island, what changes by crossing the sea and how a destination celebration is approached.
If you are organising your wedding in Mallorca and settling the schedule with the venue, this is what is worth deciding before signing: when the good light falls on the island, what changes by crossing the sea and how the celebration is approached.
In Mallorca the sun sets almost half an hour earlier than in Madrid
Mallorca lies east of the peninsula and shares its clock. The practical consequence is that the sun sets there earlier: about thirty minutes in June and twenty-five in October.
| Date | Sunset in Madrid | Sunset in Palma | Where it sets in Mallorca |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 June | 21:48 | 21:17 | North-west, 302° |
| 15 July | 21:45 | 21:17 | North-west, 299° |
| 15 August | 21:14 | 20:47 | West-north-west, 289° |
| 15 September | 20:25 | 20:00 | West, 275° |
| 15 October | 19:36 | 19:11 | West-south-west, 260° |
Half an hour seems little and is exactly the window of good light. If you copy a schedule designed for an estate in Madrid, the couple's portrait begins when the light has already gone. In August, when most celebrations take place on the island, this means leaving the cocktail around 20:10, not 20:40. The estate works to its kitchen schedule, not the sun's.
The Tramuntana is not a direction but an arc of horizon
The point on the horizon where the sun disappears shifts about forty degrees between June and October: in June it goes toward the north-west, and in October through the west, leaning south-west. The Serra de Tramuntana is not "the north-west": it is ninety kilometres of ridge which, seen from the plain, occupy about eighty degrees of horizon. The sun travels that arc over the summer. The question is not whether the mountains get in the way, but at which point of that arc your date falls and what lies there.
The rule is simple: the sun drops one degree every six minutes. Measure how many degrees the mountain rises above your horizon and multiply by six: those are the minutes of sun you lose compared with the table. A mountain of a thousand metres at ten kilometres rises about six degrees, thirty-five minutes of light that appear in no sunset table. To know what lies ahead, stand where the ceremony will be, find the degrees for your date and look at what is in that direction with your phone compass.
If you marry on the mountain coast itself, such as Deià, Sóller or Banyalbufar, you are on the other side of the range and none of this affects you: the sun falls on the sea all summer. What happens to you is the opposite: the mountain blocks the light in the morning.
- for each degree the mountain rises above your horizon
- 6 min
- of sun lost behind a thousand-metre mountain ten kilometres away
- 35 min
- of horizon taken up by the range, from 255° to 340°
- 80°
- the sunset point shifts between June and October
- 40°
What changes by being an island
- You arrive the day before. A celebration in Mallorca is not covered by stepping off the plane that very morning, and a delayed flight has no plan B.
- The place is visited in the light before the day, to know where the sun enters the courtyard before there are guests.
- Equipment is carried in duplicate: on a Saturday in August on the island there is nowhere to replace anything.
- It is almost never a single day: welcome dinner on Friday, wedding on Saturday, lunch on Sunday. It is arranged by what you wish to cover, bespoke.
Two things about houses
In Mallorca many people marry not in a hall but in a house rented for the weekend. Two things are decided beforehand, not that day. Getting ready in the same place: if both groups dress in the same house, there are no transfers and the whole morning can be covered. And the hard midday light is not a problem but a resource: in an old house with wooden windows, that white light models with a softness no lamp imitates. Do not close the shutters: look at which side the sun enters and sit there.
Don't close the shutters: look at which side the sun enters and sit there. Y los distintos tipos de lugar: where to hold a wedding in Mallorca.
How a wedding in Mallorca is approached
Like any other, with one difference: travel and accommodation, if needed, are settled in writing before signing. It is where most surprises arise with teams from outside the island, and they are avoided by putting them first. Everything is arranged bespoke, according to what you wish to cover. Y lo que suma a la cuenta: what it costs to get married in Mallorca. Un solo equipo para foto y película: photo and film from one team.
Wedding photographer in Mallorca
If you already have the place and are looking for whoever will photograph and film your wedding: wedding photographer in Mallorca, Ibiza and Madrid explains how we work from Palma, and wedding photographer and videographer in Mallorca, what one team changes on an island.
Frequently asked questions
What time does the sun set in Mallorca on the wedding day?
Between twenty-five and thirty-one minutes earlier than in Madrid. On 15 June, at 21:17 in Palma against 21:48 in Madrid; on 15 October, at 19:11 against 19:36. If you copy a schedule designed for a Madrid venue, the couple's session starts when the light has already gone.
How much light does the Serra de Tramuntana take away?
Six minutes for every degree the mountain rises above your horizon. A ridge of a thousand metres at ten kilometres takes up about six degrees: thirty-five minutes of sun that appear in no sunset table. The range covers about eighty degrees of horizon, from 255° to 340°, so what decides it is not the range but which point of that arc your date falls on.
Can a wedding in Mallorca be covered by arriving on the same day?
It is wiser not to: the prudent course is to arrive the day before. A delayed flight has no plan B, and seeing the place in the light the evening before is what lets us know where the sun comes into the courtyard before a hundred and twenty guests are in it. The equipment should be brought doubled, because on an August Saturday on the island there's no shop to replace anything.
Is it more expensive to hire a photographer from outside Mallorca?
It doesn't have to be, but it has to be settled before signing. With us, travel and accommodation, if needed, are set out in writing in the quote; they don't show up afterwards. It's where couples working with suppliers from outside the island get the worst surprises. We reply within 24 hours and, after a short design call, send the final quote.
If you are planning a wedding in Mallorca, explore MAKERSWED's wedding photography and film collections, read the frequently asked questions or shape your story in three short questions.