The Maldives in Huvan.

Huvan runs from 6 January – 18 January, the fourth of the nine nakaiy of Iruvai and the fourth of twenty-seven. The nakaiy are the traditional Maldivian almanac, about thirteen days each and named for the stars; fishermen still read the weather by them. Inside the lagoon the days stay largely dry and bright.

Iruvai is the dry season: mostly clear days, a north-east wind and calm lagoons, and December to March is the busiest stretch on the resort islands. Planning is about heat and wind rather than rain: shade and water for guests, florals kept cool until the last hour, anything tall weighted against the breeze. Seaplanes fly in daylight only, so arrivals and set-up are scheduled around the light. We still hold a covered venue, rarely used in Iruvai; how we plan for rain explains what we hold.

Vivid colour in the water and clear evenings. Mornings are usually the stillest part of the day, which suits an early ceremony or a breakfast on the beach. For sunset, around six, allow for wind on the beach and weight anything that can lift. At four degrees north the length of the day barely changes and the golden hour is short, 30 to 40 minutes rather than sixty. We time the ceremony to it, and Golden hour in the Maldives explains how.