Planning a San Francisco City Hall Wedding in 2026: The Ultimate Guide
Courthouse weddings are trending, and for good reason! The intimacy, the editorial vibes, and the option to do literally whatever you want make a city hall wedding a dream, especially for couples who want something a little quieter than your typical 200+ person wedding. If your dream wedding is all about keeping things meaningful, small, and laid-back, you’ll love this guide on how to plan a San Francisco City Hall wedding, straight from a California wedding photographer!
Why a San Francisco City Hall Wedding?
First things first, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and picture what you want your wedding day to feel like. Are you surrounded by hundreds of your favorite people, or are your footsteps echoing down marble floors, light pouring through the rotunda, with just your person standing there waiting for you to say “I do”? Here are some of the top reasons so many people opt for a courthouse elopement:
You Want a More Intimate Wedding
If all you want is a few of your favorite people around to start forever with, an elopement might just be your vibe! And there’s no better place to do it than right here at San Francisco City Hall.
You Want to Cut Some Costs
I get it, weddings are crazy expensive. With a city hall wedding, you get to choose how many people you want, what vendors you want, and how elegant or how simple you want it! It’s an easy way to have exactly what you want for a fraction of the cost.
Easy Planning
Dying to avoid the stress of planning a wedding? Elopement. You can make it yours so easily without having to worry about what anyone else thinks or wants, and honestly, I love it for you.
The San Francisco City Hall is Stunning
Not only is this spot gorgeous (seriously, it looks like a movie scene in here), but they have several options for weddings here. Don’t worry, I’ll get into them all in a later section!
You Want an Intentional, Deeply Personal Wedding
And finally, the most common reason I see: you just don’t want all the fuss of everyone around. Your focus is only on starting forever with the love of your life, and honestly? That’s the best thing you could ask for!
How to Plan a San Francisco City Hall Wedding
The best part about planning a San Francisco City Hall wedding is that there are options, so if an elopement or civil ceremony isn’t necessarily your style, there are options for you to hold a wedding here, too! Here’s a rundown of all the different routes you can take:
A San Francisco City Hall Elopement
If you’re picturing something calm with more privacy and less stress, here are the steps for an elopement at San Francisco City Hall:
1 - Get Your Marriage License
First things first, get your marriage license to make things official! You can schedule your appointment and pay up front here. Once you get it, it’s valid for 90 days, so plan accordingly
You can get this the same day if you want, but as a pro tip, I vote to get them on separate days! Less stress and more preparation can never be a bad thing when it comes to your wedding.
2 - Make an Appointment
Next, schedule your civil ceremony and pay online here. Note that you do not get to choose your ceremony location going this route, and that ceremonies happen every half hour between 9:00 am and 3:30 pm, Monday through Friday.
If you have a specific date and time in mind that you really want, I suggest booking ASAP, because it definitely fills up fast!
3 - Invite Guests and Witnesses
At your San Francisco City Hall ceremony, you can have up to 6 guests (which includes vendors!). You are responsible for bringing witnesses, and if you’re opting for a public ceremony, you must have 1 witness present. If you’re choosing a confidential ceremony, you don’t need any!
4 - Say “I Do!”
On the day of your scheduled ceremony, show up with your witnesses, your marriage license, and identification for each of you. Go through the ceremony and begin forever! Congrats!
One-Hour Weddings at San Francisco City Hall
If you want a little more than a civil ceremony but a little less than a huge wedding, San Francisco City Hall offers a one-hour wedding. So cool, right? This option can accommodate up to 100 guests for couples who want to have some guests present. However, keep in mind that chairs are an extra rental cost on top of the $1,200 for the package!
To go this route, you can schedule your wedding here. Make sure to schedule at least four weeks in advance! With a one-hour wedding package, you get exclusive use of the Mayor’s Balcony OR a Fourth Floor Gallery for one hour. Your ceremony can be anytime between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm, Monday through Friday!
Two-Hour Weddings at San Francisco City Hall
For a wedding surrounded by family and friends, that’s still a bit less planning, you may want a two-hour wedding package! This option is Saturdays only, accommodates up to 200 guests, and starts at $6,000. Two hours to get married, visit a little with friends and family, and then head to celebrate in whatever way you want? Sign me up.
For this option, you have to schedule at least three months in advance. Pro tip: the sooner, the better! It books up quickly, and for good reason. For this package, the earliest ceremony begins at 9:00 am on Saturday, and the latest begins at 12:00 pm.
Evening Weddings at San Francisco City Hall
And lastly, if you’re dying to have a traditional wedding at the gorgeous SF City Hall, you should choose an evening wedding. Dimly lit romance on the Grand Staircase and dancing in the Rotunda? Hella cinematic.
This option is the most inclusive and flexible, allowing weddings on the evenings of weekdays or weekends, any time you want (as long as the event wraps up by midnight). For this wedding option, note that the City Hall stays open to the public from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Monday through Friday, so you may have to work around the crowds, but there is a possibility to reserve spaces for private events!
More Tips for Planning a San Francisco City Hall Wedding
Ready to keep planning? I’ve got a ton of tricks up my sleeve to make sure your elopement at City Hall goes smoothly AF.
Elope, then Celebrate!
My personal favorite part about an elopement or civil ceremony is that you can choose to celebrate however you want. A big party afterwards? Sign me up! A low-key dinner date with just the two of you? Love, love, love.
If I had to choose my favorite ways to celebrate, it would first, of course, be taking photos throughout the city. There are too many cute spots, and the excitement after your elopement is too good not to capture! Then, I love the idea of going out to (or throwing) an intimate dinner party with your favorite people!
Hire a Photographer That Knows How to Work Around the Crowds
My top tip? Hire a photographer who’s a pro at San Francisco City Hall weddings (like me, hi!). Unless you go for an evening wedding with a private space booked, there’s a nine out of ten chance that there will be crowds around, so knowing how to work with the space and how to create the perfect timeline for photos is key to your day running smoothly. But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered on this step!
The Best Day (And Time of Day) to Get Married at San Francisco City Hall
San Francisco’s City Hall is going to attract people constantly. I mean, with beauty like that, of course it does! Fridays are definitely the busiest time here, so if you want to beat the crowds, I always suggest a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday wedding. The earlier in the day, the less crowded it will be, too!
The Best Places for Photos at San Francisco City Hall
And now for my favorite… the absolute BEST places for photos at your City Hall wedding. I’ll break each spot down so you can see where we’ll be frequenting on the day of your elopement.
The Grand Staircase, because, duh. This is THE spot for photos in San Francisco City Hall. It’s super important to have a wedding photographer who knows how to beat the crowds in this area, because everyone wants a photo here (for good reason).
The Mayor’s Balcony. The architecture, the luxury, the photo ops… It’s so good, it makes me sick.
The Hallways on the 3rd and 4th Floors are always stunning. The neutral colors, the marble accents, and the natural light always make for crazy good photos, and I could snap pictures of you two here all day long.
The Doors. Each door in this place is so intricately crafted and makes for a stunning backdrop for some creative wedding photos.
My last tip for photos for a City Hall wedding is to do couples portraits before your civil ceremony. I’m always pro-first look, and this also makes more sense with the timeline for your wedding day!
Sam and Salvador’s San Francisco City Hall Wedding
Now, here’s the fun part: inspiration! Sam and Salvador had a micro wedding at City Hall, opting for a one-hour ceremony package so that they could have some extra guests. It was still intimate and so meaningful, and and full of those “I’m not crying, you’re crying” moments.
The couple shared an emotional first look on the first floor, and Salvador’s reaction?! I can’t get enough. We then did couples photos before the ceremony to utilize our time in the best way possible, and let me just say, the grand staircase photos… So romantic. I’m obsessed.
These two started forever surrounded by so much love, and I truly couldn’t be happier for them! They shared a quick first dance with everyone watching (which brought tears to my eyes), and had a super fun exit with their people lined up, blowing bubbles! Sam and Salvador did it all right, and these photos need to go on your Pinterest board like, now.
Lani’s Vision | San Francisco Elopement Photographer
If you’re going for a City Hall elopement, you name the time and the place, and I’m there! But seriously, I would love to capture your day cinematically, artfully, and show how it really felt. You can inquire with me when you click here. I hope this guide helped you plan your perfect San Francisco City Hall wedding!
If you’re looking for more elopement or intimate wedding inspiration, check out these blog posts too:
How to Plan a Backyard Wedding (That Still Feels Upscale)
Grand Island Mansion: A European-Style Wedding Venue in California
