How to get married at San Francisco City Hall | SF City Hall Wedding Photographer
San Francisco City Hall Weddings
Planning a San Francisco City Hall wedding? Awesome! The iconic San Francisco City Hall is a gorgeous and surprisingly affordable venue for your weekday destination elopement or intimate wedding. Each time I have the opportunity to capture a wedding there, I am always taken aback. The beauty of the architecture and its grandeur will never cease to amaze me.
I offer affordable rates and packages for weekday ceremonies at SF City Hall. If you are planning on getting married at San Francisco City Hall here are some tips!
Depending on the type of ceremony you want, the booking & rental process is a little different but not difficult to accomplish. You can rent out the beautiful 4th floor balcony for a private 1-hour ceremony for $1,000. But I’ve had great luck with having the regular public ceremonies done up there too at the regular fees ($193 = Marriage license $107 + Ceremony fee = $86) - but it isn’t guaranteed! Most of the time, the public ceremonies take place at the Rotunda, at the top of the grand staircase and sometimes at the Mayor’s balcony. You can make your reservations online - and you’ll need to make 2 appointments. One for your marriage license and one for your ceremony. My suggestion is to book the license a different day than your ceremony date. The license must be issued within 90 days of your Ceremony appointment date. Once you’ve selected your dates - the fun begins!
On your ceremony day - you’ll want to arrive at least 10-15 minutes before your actual appointment time, to check-in. They’ll issue you a number and you’ll wait for your call. This is the part that is much like the DMV - but it also allows you two and your guests to chat and get excited (and to have your photographer (hopefully that’s me!) get some candids of you all). When they do call your name and it appears on the tv screens, you’ll head in (you can skip the line this time) and you’ll meet with the judge and discuss location of the ceremony and other notables like your names and vows. You’ll also want your witnesses with you when you are called, so they can sign the paperwork (one witness is required - and I’ve had the honor of being that one witness!! - one of my favorites was a couple had their kids as their witnesses.). After this, depending on if there were people ahead of you or they are running on time/or behind - you’ll head up to the ceremony location and wait until your turn.
If you’d like more advice or guidance, feel free to reach out. I’m more than happy to help you with your San Francisco City hall wedding planning (even if I’m not your chosen photographer. . . no really!) And if you want to find out more about my rates or book me for your city hall wedding, please contact me!
