San Francisco City Hall

San Francisco City Hall is one of my favorite places to shoot. The beautiful arches, combined with the wonderful light, and those stunning windows all make for such wonderful photos! It also has some sentimental value to me, since I got married there myself. This page features a few of my favorite photos from my clients of their weddings at San Francisco City Hall, and I've also included a few words of advice on how to get the best photos of your special day at this beautiful location.

I always advise my clients to schedule their ceremony as early in the day as possible. There are two reasons: first, City Hall is a public building, and as the day progresses, it fills up with people which makes it harder to get certain shots, and second: the light is better in the morning. But don't worry if you weren't able to get one of the early morning time-slots, with such a beautiful location, it's possible to get great photos at any time of day! 

In order to get married at City Hall, you will need to get a marriage license. This is very straightforward, and can be purchased on the day. However, I always advise my clients to get their marriage license ahead of time. This just gives you one less thing to worry about on the day! Once you've got your marriage license, you'll need to book a time for your civil ceremony. This can be done online at the San Francisco Government website, here.

Remember that if you're getting married at City Hall, only six guests are allowed to attend due to space constraints. Though this may seem limiting, many of my clients have really enjoyed that the small number of guests means that they can really enjoy the company of only their very closest friends and family.

Even though Civic Ceremonies at City Hall only last around 5 minutes, I normally recommend my clients book me for 2 hours of coverage. This way I'm able to get some photos of you before the ceremony, signing your documents, and gives us time to get photos at a few different locations around the beautiful City Hall building after the ceremony.

And don't worry! Many of my clients have chosen to get married at City Hall, so I'm very happy to answer any questions about the process and help guide you along the way if you get stuck. It's actually a lot easier than it looks, and most people find it to be a surprisingly joyous event. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding, and I'm looking forward to working with you to capture some of the happiest moments of your life!

Contact Chelsea

I want you to feel 100% comfortable choosing me as your photographer for your wedding, so please use this form to ask me anything at all! If you'd like to book me to shoot your wedding, please be sure to include the date in your message.

You can also reach me by email if you prefer; my address is chelsea@ChelseaGregoryPhotography.com

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