How to get married at San Francisco City Hall in 2024
Here’s a quick guide on how to get married at SF City Hall in 2024
With over 10 years of photographing weddings at San Francisco City Hall, you learn a few little tips & tricks ;)
I’m thinking you’re here because you’re interested in finding out how to get married at San Francisco City hall in 2024. Well welcome and congratulations on your engagement!
It really is a simple process. There are 3 steps, actually 4- to get married at SF city hall. And when I say get married, I mean have your wedding ceremony there - whether that may be a weekday ceremony or a weekend affair. Weekend? Yes! You can get married at San Francisco city hall on a weekend. For a fee, of course. You can head here to find out more information about having a weekend San Francisco city hall wedding - you'll have two options. Either a Saturday two-hour private wedding package or full evening weddings on weekdays (except Tuesdays) and weekends.
So if you are getting married at San Francisco City hall during the public weekday hours which are still by appointment only - here’s the information you’re looking for.
Let’s go over the steps, shall we?
Step 1: Get yourselves a marriage license! To do that - you book your appointment for the marriage license here. Then complete these forms before your marriage license appointment. And please be sure to bring the necessary documents and IDs. Fees for this appointment are currently - $120
Step 2: Once you have your appointment for your marriage license, you’ll need to book your civil ceremony appointment within 90 days of receiving your marriage license (you’ll have that by the end of your marriage license appointment - so book a date on the same day or up to 90 days out from your marriage license appointment.) Currently most dates are already booked up! But don’t fret there are some early dates available and sometimes there are cancellations as plans do changes and the county clerk offices open up additional times/dates + from the cancellations. You’ll just have to keep going back to the site to see if your luck has changed. Fees for civil marriage ceremony at city hall during the weekday when it is open to the public is currently at - $103
See more detailed fee information here.
Step 3: Book your photographer! And start planning your wedding at SF City Hall.
Step 4: Get married at SF City hall on your ceremony appointment date! Woo hoo! Don’t forget to have one witness, if you have a public marriage (you won’t need any if you are having a confidential marriage. You can find more info here.). And yes, I’d be happy to also step in as a witness :) (in fact, I’ve had the honor of doing so not just as the photographer but officially on the marriage license!)
Additional questions you may have:
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Often you won’t have a choice as where you can have your ceremony, which is a quick 5-10 minutes as there are usually other couples before you or after you. It is often at the rotunda, which is the area at the top of the grand staircase. They have this roped off now for ceremonies. Before it was open without the stanchions.
However, there are times when San Francisco city hall has official events like a press conference or a big event is being set up and the use of the rotunda is not available. And you’ll be able to have the ceremony in the gorgeous 4th floor gallery or wherever there is no obstruction from the event setups (this can be very unfortunate and also fortunate - depending on what areas are impacted or closed off - including the grand staircase. Fortunate in the sense that - if you’ve wanted to book the 4th floor gallery, you might be able to have your wish without spending extra money to book it there.
With that said, I highly suggest calling SF city hall events - which is located at the bottom of their website (AND the county clerk’s office too in regards to any public meetings or events taking place) to check if any events are taking place. You can also try googling SF City hall events and see if there is anything that is coming up. I do have friends who work at the city - and sometimes, they don’t even know LOL. But I’ll do my best to help you find out.
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Officially, 6 - and that includes your photographer, children, your witnesses etc.
Have I photographed weddings there with more than 6 guests? Yes - because the building is open to the public. There are lots of visitors walking around taking in all the sights of San Francisco city hall.
Please contact us to discuss this further and if you have any issues or concerns with your guest size.
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Most likely, as your photographer we’ll spend some time in and around city hall for photos and depending on your booked coverage - we’ll explore other areas and locations too (like the Palace of Fine Arts or a view of the Golden Gate bridge). If you are planning to have lunch, dinner or a reception afterwards with more guests - I’d be happy to send you a list of restaurants and venues nearby. Just let me know!
Have more questions? I’m happy to answer them. Have a look at our FAQs and if you have a burning question you can’t find the answer for online, please feel free to reach out via email or text me!
Do you want some additional tips & advice on how to get married at San Francisco city hall? Yes? Wonderful! Feel free to reach out and let’s connect. If you are having your destination wedding at San Francisco city hall and need help sourcing vendors or locations for your stay or your reception - let me know, I am more than happy to help!
Ready to get married at San Francisco city hall?
Having your elopement or intimate wedding at San Francisco city hall doesn’t mean you have to skimp on your style, vibe or heck even your guest list.
There are so many creative ways couples have created their own unique wedding day at San Francisco city hall. See some featured weddings here.
Wedding planning can be overwhelming, no matter how big or small of an event you think you want.
Reach out—I’m happy to help you navigate the process of getting married at city hall and photograph it all!
Now..if you wanted to get married but not have your wedding at San Francisco city hall - I may know of some venues or know some vendors who could help with that. If you aren’t having your ceremony at SF city hall - once you get your marriage license, you can have your ceremony anywhere in California within 90 days. Your ceremony must be officiated by an authorized person. At my elopement, we had my dear friend officiate - and it was simply the best. Better than all the rest. Our friend went through, like most ordained friends of my couples who choose to get married not at San Francisco city hall - the Universal Life Church. You can find out more information about California wedding laws & requirements here.
*Please know I am not a lawyer or a government official nor do I represent to be one. The information contained on this website is provided for educational and informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice or as an offer to perform legal services on any subject matter. The content of this web site contains general information and may not reflect current legal developments or information. Please visit the San Francisco County Clerk’s page for the most current and up to date information.
