However, when we export the new files have a "created" and "modified" date of the day we exported, not the original wedding date.
Yes, and that’s correct because exporting creates an entirely new file, so the export creation date is consistent with that. But Lightroom can also preserve the EXIF Capture Time, so that isn't lost, although it also isn't visible on the desktop.
Have you tried customizing the filename in the Export dialog box so that the wedding date is part of the filename? That way, any application that preserves the filename also preserves the date. I also use the same file renaming feature to add a sequence number to the beginning of the filename so that the presentation order I want is also preserved when sorted by Name.
For example, my exported filenames look like this, all automatically generated on export:
[sequence #]-[capture date]-[capture time]-[original filename]
001-20160319-153124-P1080163.jpg
002-20160318-194943-P1080061.jpg
003-20160318-202241-P1080069.jpg
I would do it this way even if Lightroom could set the file date to the modification date, because the OS modification date is very unreliable — a lot of things can change it. Just editing metadata can change it. The file name is much less likely to be changed by accident.
Also, relying on the filename works in all applications and websites. If you relied on the creation/modification dates and uploaded to
That is what you think. Since there is no direct interface from OSX applications to LR...
That's not totally true. What is true is that Lightroom doesn't support the direct interface of the Mac Media Browser. But Lightroom fully supports Mac drag and drop, which is also a direct interface. If I want to use a Lightroom image in Apple Keynote, I can drag it out of the Lightroom Grid view and drop it directly into a Keynote presentation window, with no export step needed.
I just tried this with iMovie too. First I choose File > Import Media in iMovie to get the standard Mac import dialog box. And I know that it is possible to drop files into there. So I drag an image from the Lightroom Grid view and drop it into the iMovie Import dialog box, and that sets the Import dialog box to that file's location in the Finder and selects the file, so all I have to do is click the Import button. And I never opened the Export dialog.
I'd even argue that dragging and dropping is often faster than having to drill through the Media Browser to find the image you want.