JournalPlanning guide
A wedding overlooking the Hudson: views, light and timing at Alder Manor
4 min read
Alder Manor stands on the bluffs above the Hudson River, with the Palisades across the water. When the evening light is best in each season, how to time the ceremony and portraits around sunset, and what to ask on a tour.
Alder Manor is a 1912 mansion and wedding venue on the bluffs above the Hudson River in Yonkers, Westchester, about 30 minutes by car from Columbus Circle, depending on traffic, with the cliffs of the Palisades on the far bank. The river lies to the west, so on a clear evening the sun goes down across the water, and the last hour before sunset gives the warmest light of the day. If a view of the Hudson matters to you, plan the day around that hour: check the sunset time for your date and set the ceremony so that portraits fall in the last hour of daylight.
Where the Hudson River view comes from
The house stands at the southern end of the Hudson Valley, in the Greystone section of Yonkers, on high ground between North Broadway and the river. It looks down on the water from above rather than sitting at its edge, which is worth knowing if you are comparing Westchester wedding venues on the water. When it was built, the Palisades across the water reminded its owner of Alder Gulch in Montana, where he grew up, and he named the house after it. You can read more in the story of Alder Manor.
The best way to judge the view is in person, at the hour of your wedding. Trees, season and weather all change what you see from the terraces and gardens, so ask to visit at about the time your ceremony would begin. Until then, our photo gallery shows the house and its rooms.
Sunset by season
Approximate sunset times in Yonkers through the year. Check the exact time for your date with NOAA's solar calculator as you plan.
- Late March: about 7:05 pm
- Mid-May: about 8:05 pm
- Late June: about 8:30 pm, the latest of the year
- Mid-August: about 7:55 pm
- Mid-September: about 7:05 pm
- Mid-October: about 6:15 pm
- Early December: about 4:30 pm, the earliest of the year
Golden hour, the soft, warm light photographers look for, is roughly the last hour before sunset. In June it arrives late, often after dinner has begun. In October it comes just as cocktail hour starts.
When should the ceremony start to catch golden hour?
Work backward from sunset. For a summer wedding, many couples hold the ceremony in the early evening and step away for portraits in the last hour of light, while guests are at cocktails or between courses. In autumn, when the sun sets earlier, the ceremony moves into the afternoon so that portraits fall around cocktail hour. In winter, plan portraits before or just after the ceremony, and let the evening belong to the rooms.
A sample June evening
For a wedding in late June, with sunset at about 8:30 pm, the evening might run like this. An October wedding moves everything about two hours earlier.
- 5:30 pm: the ceremony
- 6:00 pm: cocktails on the terrace
- 7:00 pm: dinner begins
- 7:45 pm: the two of you step out for portraits in the last of the light
- 8:30 pm: sunset, then back inside for the toasts
- After 10 pm: dancing continues inside the house
Leave a few minutes for blue hour too, the short time after sunset when the sky stays bright and the windows of the house begin to glow. It is often the moment for a portrait with the house behind you.
Agree on the schedule with your photographer before you send it to anyone else. Photographers find a new frame in every doorway, stair and window here, from golden hour outside to candlelight within.
Seasons on the river
Spring brings longer evenings and new green on the bluffs. Summer gives the latest light of the year and warm nights for cocktails on the terrace. In autumn the trees along the river turn and the light comes earlier and lower. Winter is the season of the house itself: early dark, paneled rooms and the river in a cooler light.
Spring and fall Saturdays are often reserved a year or more ahead. Weekdays, Sundays and winter dates usually offer more flexibility.
If the weather turns
A view is never guaranteed, and mist on the river has its own beauty. Every outdoor plan at Alder Manor has an indoor alternative inside the house, agreed with you in advance, so a wet evening moves inside without a scramble. Ask your photographer to look at the windows on your tour as well: tall windows and stone halls make good light on a gray day.
What to ask on your tour
- Where would our ceremony be, and what will we see from there at that hour?
- Where do portraits work best at golden hour in our month?
- Where does the ceremony move if it rains?
- How long does it take guests to move from the ceremony to cocktails?
For a fuller checklist, read 12 questions to ask before you book a mansion wedding venue. For a shorter guest list, read planning a smaller estate wedding in Westchester. The rooms are on the estate, and more about weddings at the house is on our weddings page.
When you are ready, send an inquiry with your date. Tours are by appointment, and you can ask to see the house at the hour that matters to you.
