A guide to getting married at San francisco City hall

San Francisco City Hall is among the most extraordinary and iconic locations in San Francisco to get married for both locals and couples planning a California destination wedding. Its grand architecture, ornate details, and monochromatic color palette make it a classic Bay Area wedding venue, and the fact that it is so budget friendly makes it all the more attractive to couples looking for an easy and inexpensive way to get married in SF that is still memorable and beautiful. 

In the 8 years I’ve been doing wedding photography, I’ve photographed over 100 weddings at San Francisco City Hall. Having become somewhat of an expert on how things work there, I wanted to share a guide to help you ditch the wedding stress and plan your elopement at San Francisco City Hall.

Obtain a marriage license

Before you can get married at City Hall, you need to obtain a marriage license from the San Francisco County Clerk's Office. You can apply for a license online or in person, but both parties must appear in person to sign the license. The fee for a marriage license is $116 and you must get married within 90 days of obtaining your license for it to remain valid. Follow this link to review marriage license rules and apply for your license. The County Clerk’s office is open from 8am-4pm Monday-Friday at San Francisco City Hall.

Select your wedding date

When you can get married at San Francisco City Hall depends on availability. You can expect to wait a couple of months before there will be a date available for your City Hall Wedding, though sometimes you can get lucky and there will be a date available sooner. Weddings that are not a full buyout of the venue take place during City Hall’s usual business hours (8am-4pm, Monday-Friday).

Choose Your Officiant

You can either have a judge, commissioner, or religious official perform your ceremony at City Hall. If you prefer a non-religious ceremony, you can request a commissioner to perform your wedding. If you want a religious ceremony, you will need to bring in your own officiant. There are judges who volunteer their services regularly for San Francisco City Hall Weddings (such rockstars!) and if you do not choose to bring your own officiant, you will be assigned whichever judge is available for your wedding. 

BOOK A CEREMONY LOCATION

San Francisco City Hall has several ceremony location options available for rent, including the rotunda, the south light court, and the mayor's balcony. You can book your ceremony room online or by phone, and the cost ranges from $70 to $3,000 depending on the room and time slot. All of the options are beautiful and unique in their own way! My personal favorite is the South Light Court on the 4th floor. It has the most sunlight of all the ceremony locations, and offers more privacy. 

Prepare Your Wedding Attire

Let your creativity fly here! There are no rules for how to dress for a wedding at City Hall, and certain outfits will be more memorable than others. I recommend an outfit that will make you stand out in the sweeping architecture of the location. San Francisco City Hall is known for its sweeping views, tall ceilings, and grand architecture. For a good chunk of the wedding photos, you are going to be quite small in the frame in order to get the full room in the photo. Something like a skirt with a train or wearing a bold color will keep the focus on you in those wide angle shots. A veil gives you something to interact with in your photos when you don’t know what to do with your hands.

What to bring & Other Notes

• I suggest all couples bring a tote bag with them to carry makeup touchups, a comb and mirror, spare flat shoes for walking if your wedding shoes aren’t comfortable, water, a snack, and a folder for the marriage license and certificate.

• There is a cafe on the ground floor of San Francisco City Hall, which is a good place for your family and friends to wait for you while you walk around the building taking portraits with your photographer.

• Being on time to your wedding appointment is important, as is being prepared to wait awhile for your ceremony. Morning ceremonies are usually more on time than afternoon ceremonies.

• Parking is amply available in the Civic Center parking garage. The closest BART station is Civic Center.

• When you are ready to book your San Francisco City Hall wedding photographer, I do hope you reach out to me! I’m happy to answer any additional questions you may have and to make your elopement one to remember.