San Francisco City Hall is an incredibly beautiful place to hold your wedding ceremony. It’s convenient, affordable, and available year-round. You won’t need to spend as much time planning a town hall wedding as you would a traditional wedding, but there are still a few things that need to be done ahead of time. I’ve been photographing City Hall weddings for years and decided it would be helpful to provide engaged couples with an easy-to-follow guide to getting married in this fantastic venue. Follow these steps and you won’t go wrong!
1. Make reservations. You’ll have to make 2 reservations. The first is to book a time to get the marriage license at the Town Hall. While you’re there, you can also reserve your wedding date. It is strongly recommended that you obtain your license prior to the day of the actual ceremony. We have photographed a few weddings where the happy couple tried to do it all in one day. We almost missed the ceremony in at least 1 of these cases and it always adds an element of stress that is not necessary. You can reserve the date of your ceremony 90 days in advance. The County Clerk’s office is open from 10 am to 3:30 pm Monday through Friday and is located on the first floor.
2. Choose your location. There are a number of great places to get married within City Hall. The Rotunda is located at the top of the grand staircase and is the most common place for couples to hold their ceremony. At the time of this writing, rates were $73 for this location or a private room. The fourth floor balcony and the mayor’s balcony are some of our favorite places, but you have to pay extra and reserve them if you want to be sure to secure them. Judges will often take you to these places if you ask, but only if they have time. If it’s a crowded day, it probably won’t happen, so you’ll need to pay the extra fee. Currently, the Mayor’s Balcony is $1,000 and you can invite additional people and they will even provide seats for you. Yet I’ve photographed weddings at these locations dozens of times and the couple didn’t pay a dime extra. It’s certainly a risk, so if you have a large number of guests, pay the money!
3. Hire a professional wedding photographer. Yes, this is step 3! Why? Well, because if you’re getting married in this beautiful place, you NEED to take some great photos. If you think you’re going to pull this off with Uncle Jim, who’s “really cool with a camera,” think again! Any type of wedding photography is difficult, but City Hall can be a challenge with its shifting light and tricky angles. It is highly recommended that you hire someone who has experience photographing City Hall weddings. There are quite a few good ones out there, just search Google or Yelp. Try to find a photographer who specializes in weddings and has done at least 3 City Hall weddings.
4. Build your guest list. This is the hard part. The San Francisco City Council only allows 6 guests for a standard wedding. To have more you have to pay. Does this apply? No. But should you show up with 20 people? Do not! The room is limited and if you bring that many people you will interrupt others who have their ceremony at the same time as yours. Keep it under 10 people and you should be safe. Ask your guests to try to stay away from other couples taking photos. It’s the courteous thing to do! If you want to bring a large crowd, please arrange with the clerk’s office and pay the additional fee. You’ll be happy you did.
5. What to do on your big day. Most importantly… Bring your ID and marriage license! You will also need a witness. If you don’t have anyone, your photographer can be your witness. The state only requires one. Registration for your ceremony is 10 minutes prior to the actual time. You really should plan to arrive at City Hall at least 30 minutes before this time to give yourself a moment to settle in and find possible locations for the ceremony. When you sign up, be sure to ask your judge if you can choose your location. Depending on the crowds that day, you may be allowed to pick your spot. Many times it will be dictated by what is available, but don’t worry, every location is fantastic. If you didn’t pick a Friday or other special date, chances are you can go wherever you want. Just be sure to ask.
6. You are married! Whats Next? If he hired a professional photographer, chances are they’ll take you on a tour of the building to be photographed in some of the best spots. Have fun with this and enjoy the beauty of San Francisco City Hall.
