Inside Our San Francisco City Hall Wedding: The Fairmont, Original Joe’s, and More

Last updated on May 19th, 2026 at 11:37 pm

It’s totally every girl’s dream to walk down the aisle ~100 feet from where her and her future husband live, right? Or does anyone actually grow up dreaming about getting married inside a public government building? Because yeah, me neither. But somehow our San Francisco city hall wedding turned out to be one of the most incredible days of our entire lives, and I’m here to share all the details from our big day!

Think of this whole post as the ultimate San Francisco city hall wedding recap from someone who just lived through it.

For some background: I’m a Bay Area native (shoutout to Walnut Creek) and I’ve called San Francisco home for over a decade. So I never thought in a million years that a San Francisco courthouse wedding would be on my bingo card – but it turned out to be the perfect ode to the city my (now) husband and I built our entire life in. We met here. Got engaged here. Adopted Bagel the beagle here. Bought our first house here. The whole thing.

It also just made sense logistically. My husband is South African, with a big chunk of my family flying in from Asia and Europe, and we didn’t love the idea of asking everyone to make their way to some random wedding venue elsewhere. We ultimately decided that bringing everyone to us was the easier call, because most of our guests were already staring down 12+ hour flights.

And as long as everyone was here anyway, why not show our closest friends and family our favorite places on earth? Aka a day trip to Napa, lunch in Marin, and the most important agenda item of all: meeting Bagel the beagle.

Unfortunately, with no wedding planner generously funded by my parents (a girl can dream), I planned this entire 2-day event myself. So this guide is going to walk you through everything you need to know to plan your own San Francisco city hall wedding.

I’ll basically be giving you the exact playbook for how to get married at San Francisco city hall without losing your mind in the process.

I’ll be walking you through all of it including the actual logistics of booking the ceremony, the tips and tricks I wish I’d known going in, how we hosted cocktail hour at the Fairmont San Francisco, our reception dinner at Original Joe’s, the afterparty at Left Door, and a full guide for hosting out-of-town guests in the city.

Now I know a San Francisco courthouse wedding isn’t your typical winery or beachfront in Mexico wedding but if you do it right, it’s hands down one of the most beautiful, grand, romantic, unexpectedly elegant ways you can possibly get married. So let’s get into it👇

Ps. all photos below were taken by our incredible wedding photographer @yourgirlmark – i go deep later on how we found her and why she’s worth every penny.

Read more on San Francisco 🌁

• The Perfect 3 Day San Francisco Travel Guide (w/ sample itinerary)
• A Local’s Guide to Where to Stay in San Francisco: Best Boutique Hotels
• 12 Easy Day Trips from San Francisco
• The Essential Guide to San Francisco’s Polk Street

This site contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through them (which will likely go towards overpriced airport wine or buying my dog more unnecessary toys). However, none of that impacts the integrity of my reviews. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Why We Chose San Francisco City Hall for Our Wedding

I touched on some of the reasoning behind our San Francisco wedding earlier, and while logistics drove the majority of the decision, I also want to call out that the aesthetic and overall vibe of San Francisco city hall played a massive role too.

Unlike a lot of brides, I didn’t want an outdoor wedding. I always wanted something intimate, small, and mostly just for family and close friends. I also didn’t want a beach or oceanfront wedding which I know is pretty popular. I just couldn’t fathom putting on a full face of makeup just to sweat it off before the ceremony even started.

The words I kept coming back to for my wedding (and Pinterest board) were Vogue, editorial, elegant, and above all else: timeless.

And anyone who’s seen photos of a San Francisco courthouse wedding (which I assume is probably everyone reading this) knows the venue nails all of the above, despite technically being a very public government building.

So while convenience and travel logistics for family were the top reason, the actual beauty of the space made the decision a no-brainer.

I’d even go as far to argue that San Francisco city hall is one of the most magnificent beautiful public buildings in the country to get married in.

Our Wedding Morning at The Fairmont San Francisco

How many brides do you know who stayed at a hotel on their wedding day that’s a 2-block walk from their actual apartment? Probably not many! But that was me 😂

We literally live in Nob Hill, down the street from the Fairmont San Francisco, which made the night before and morning of our San Francisco city hall wedding a lot easier logistically.

Are you starting to sense that logistics (and efficiency) are really important to me?

Ps. Nob Hill is hands down one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city to explore (which is why it gets so much love in my 3-day San Francisco itinerary) so if your guests are staying here, they’ll have plenty to do between events.

In case you’re not familiar, the Fairmont San Francisco is an absolutely iconic 5-star luxury hotel, which is very on-brand for me. And exactly the kind of hotel I write about constantly on this blog.

If you’ve been down the rabbit hole of my local’s guide to where to stay in San Francisco, you already know the Fairmont sits at the top of my list for a reason.

So naturally, this is where we’d spend the night before AND the night of the biggest day of our lives. I mean, let’s be real. Was there ever really another option? I’m thinking no.

Since we were also hosting cocktail hour there after the ceremony, we booked the Buckingham Suite for 2 nights (the night before and the night of) so we’d have plenty of time to set everything up. Plus, my husband and I wanted to sleep separately the night before too, so my best girlfriends and Bagel the beagle came to keep me company.

We ordered room service, did a couple face masks, and went to bed at a reasonable hour in anticipation of the big day!

Keep reading for why we picked the Fairmont, what the Buckingham Suite is actually like, and how getting ready at the Fairmont went 👇

Why the Fairmont San Francisco

So aside from our apartment being very conveniently located two blocks away from the Fairmont…you’re probably wondering why we actually chose the Fairmont for our San Francisco wedding?

Well, there were really 3 main reasons:

One: I’m a boutique luxury 5-star hotel gal at heart, but I also have a real soft spot for hotels with historical significance (which is why The Francis House in Calistoga and the Marriott Mena House in Cairo are forever favorites of mine). And the Fairmont San Francisco, which opened in 1907, is full of history.

It was actually destroyed by a fire before it ever opened, then rebuilt by Julia Morgan (the first licensed female architect in California, and became the first major business to reopen after the disaster. Basically becoming a symbol of the city’s rebirth.

Two: I wanted the whole day to feel elegant, editorial, and quintessentially San Francisco. And what better place to do that than the iconic Fairmont hotel? I mean…this hotel is literally where the president stays when he visits. Not sure it can get more royal than that. I’m pretty sure a lot of celebrities (and the entire Golden State Warriors roster) stay here too, because the hotel is often blocked off when I’m walking Bagel near Huntington Park.

And then three: The Buckingham Suite. Holy moly. My husband and I reached out to the GM to go take a tour before booking and once we peeked inside, it was game over. The entire suite was total Mad Men vibes with classic wood paneling, built-in bookcases, a dry bar, and an outdoor terrace overlooking the whole city. Keep reading for more details on the epic suite itself!

Inside the Buckingham Suite

Yay! It’s finally time to take you INSIDE the magnificent Buckingham Suite. Like I said earlier, once I saw this suite I could immediately picture all of the fun wedding photos we’d be taking here. Including the champagne tower shots that I set up myself with store-bought Ikea glasses.

If you’re local, you might know that the presidential suite at the Fairmont gets a lot of attention but I’m here to showcase the Buckingham suite. Also, this might be a controversial take but I think the Buckingham suite is way better than the presidential suite. They’re both amazing but they just have completely different vibes.

Annnnd let’s be real. I’m pretty sure the presidential suite is like $20,000 a night so I couldn’t even showcase that if I wanted to.

Located on the 5th floor of the Fairmont San Francisco’s main building, the Buckingham Balcony Suite spans 800 square feet and features a king bed, a dry bar, built-in bookcases, and a decorative fireplace.

Its standout feature is a glass-enclosed balcony with views of the city skyline and the hotel’s rooftop garden.

We hosted cocktail hour after the ceremony in our suite and I just knew the balcony would be epic. More details and photos on this below!

In-room amenities included Le Labo bath products, plush terry robes, a smart HD television, and a dedicated VIP guest relations contact.

Getting ready at the Fairmont San Francisco

Since my husband and I weren’t staying together the night before, we also woke up separately on the morning of our San Francisco wedding. He got ready with his mom and best friend at our apartment while I got ready with my two best girlfriends and Bagel the beagle.

We ordered room service, had morning mimosas, played music, while hair and makeup came directly to the Fairmont.

My photographer (@yourgirlmark) and content creator (@mybigdaybestie) also showed up with plenty of time to spare so they could capture detail shots and some fun photos of Bagel and I before heading downstairs for our first look in the garden!

Where to Stay in San Francisco for a City Hall Wedding

Before I dive into the specifics of booking a city hall ceremony, you might be wondering where or how you’re going to host non-local guests. Choosing a hotel for a San Francisco wedding feels different than booking for a normal SF trip because suddenly you’re juggling photos, getting-ready space, vendor logistics, and a million out-of-town guests who keep asking “wait, is this neighborhood safe??”

The good news? City hall is in a kinda awkward spot (Civic Center, which is adjacent to areas I’d absolutely steer you away from in any other guide), but the upside is that almost all of the city’s most iconic luxury hotels are a 5-10 minute drive away in Nob Hill, Union Square, or along Market Street.

Below, I’m breaking down exactly where my husband and I stayed (and where we put our guests), plus a few backup picks depending on your vibe and budget 👇

The Fairmont San Francisco (our pick)

If you’ve read any of my previous SF content (or anything from earlier in this blog post), then you already know I’m obsessed with The Fairmont San Francisco and why we chose it.

For a courthouse wedding specifically though, the Fairmont San Francisco is the dream. It’s a 7-minute drive down the hill to your ceremony, the lobby looks like a wedding photo set before you even point a camera at it, and the suites are massive.

If you book early enough (which you will likely need to because you’ll have to secure your San Francisco city hall ceremony date well in advance), standard rooms tend to start around $280-$330/night, which is honestly a steal for a 5-star Nob Hill stay. Check prices via Booking.com Check prices via Expedia

I get into exactly why Nob Hill always wins for me in my full breakdown of where to stay in San Francisco, but the short version is that it’s central, charming, and way safer than most areas downtown.

And call me biased because I live here but I also think Nob Hill is one of the best neighborhoods to stay in if you want the full SF experience. You’ll have cable cars rolling past your hotel, Grace Cathedral around the corner, and some of my favorite hidden Italian spots a short walk away.

Ps. If your guests want to wander, my full San Francisco hotel guide breaks down everything to do in Nob Hill, plus my 3-day San Francisco itinerary has all my favorite restaurants and hidden gems within walking distance.

Other iconic luxury hotels near San Francisco city hall

If the Fairmont is booked (it happens, especially during peak wedding season) or you just want options, the good news is Nob Hill and Union Square are stacked with iconic luxury stays that are all a short drive or rideshare from city hall.

I’ve personally stayed at or toured most of these and I go way deeper on each one in my guide to the best boutique hotels in San Francisco, so check that out if you want the full pros and cons before booking.

But these are the ones that our friends, family, and photographer actually ended up staying in:

• InterContinental Mark Hopkins, for classic Nob Hill sophistication with unbeatable city views, plus Top of the Mark which is the iconic rooftop lounge for sunset cocktails. This is where my photographer and her husband stayed for 4 nights and had no complaints!
  Book via Booking.com Book via Expedia
• The Huntington Hotel, for a completely renovated and absolutely stunning stay with sweeping views of Grace Cathedral and oversized suites that are perfect for getting ready. This hotel was actually closed during the pandemic and used to have one of the most iconic spas in the city so staying here for a San Francisco city hall wedding is a must if you prioritize wellness.Book via Booking.com Book via Expedia
• Beacon Grand, for a glamorous Art Deco stay (formerly the Sir Francis Drake) right on Union Square with a rooftop bar that has epic 360° views of the city. Great for a more central, walkable home base if your guests want to shop and eat between events.
  Book via Booking.com Book via Expedia
• Westin St. Francis, for a historic Union Square classic with the Chateau Montelena Tasting Room tucked directly inside (literally one of my favorite Napa wineries) with massive rooms and easy access to everything. A great choice for a low-key San Francisco city hall weddingBook via Booking.com Book via Expedia

Best boutique hotels for out-of-town guests

I get that luxury isn’t every guest’s vibe, and luckily there’s no shortage of hotels in San Francisco at every price range (which I break down in full detail in my other guide on where to stay in SF).

But here are a few of my top boutique picks that worked perfectly for our wedding weekend, again based on where our actual friends and family stayed. Most of them were within walking distance to The Fairmont and no more than a 10-minute Uber from city hall and North Beach area, where we had our reception:

• Nob Hill Hotel, for a budget-friendly, no-frills boutique stay literally around the corner from The Fairmont (and our apartment). This is actually where my frugal Asian dad stayed and he had zero complaints, which if you know Asian dads, is basically a five-star review. The rooms are clean and modern, there’s a delicious restaurant on the ground floor that only locals know about, and you’re right in the heart of Nob Hill without the luxury price tag. Book via Booking.com Book via Expedia
• Palihotel, for one of my all-time favorite boutique brands. Quirky, cozy, full of charm, and located right in Union Square. Great for guests who want something hip and design-forward without breaking the bank. Bonus: their new bar Bar Maritime is super cute for drinks before the ceremony!Book via Booking.com Book via Expedia
• Stanford Court, for a modern boutique pick atop Nob Hill with sleek design, easy cable-car access, and great city views. A few of my husbands friends stayed here and it was perfect because it was less than 1 block away from the Fairmont!Book via Booking.com Book via Expedia
• Hotel Kabuki, for a gorgeous, minimalist Japanese-inspired stay slightly further out in Japantown with spacious rooms. There’s also a fantastic bar and fun photobooth in the lobby which is honestly perfect for a San Francisco city hall wedding weekend. And Daeho, a famous Korean restaurant known for blow-torching melted mozzarella cheese right in front of you, is located right across the street!Book via Booking.com Book via Expedia

How to choose the right hotel block for your San Francisco city hall wedding

I’ll be honest, most San Francisco courthouse weddings are too small for a traditional hotel block (you typically need 10+ rooms per night to even qualify for a group rate). But I figured I might as well include some information about hotel blocks in San Francisco, especially if you have out-of-town guests.

Under 10 rooms needed: Skip the block. Ask the hotel for a “discounted link” or “group rate code” instead. No contract, no minimums, no financial liability if guests don’t book. The Fairmont, Mark Hopkins, and Westin St. Francis all do this. This is what I’d recommend for 99% of San Francisco city hall weddings.

~10-20 rooms needed: Ask for a courtesy block. Same deal but slightly better discount (usually 10-20% off), rooms are held for your group, and unbooked rooms release ~30 days out with zero penalty to you. This is the sweet spot.

20+ rooms needed: Now you’re in contracted block territory, where you commit to a minimum and pay for rooms your guests don’t fill. I personally wouldn’t do this for a San Francisco courthouse wedding because you’ll often have guests with a wide variety of budgets/taste. But if you’re hosting a bigger weekend, the discounts can be worth it.

My biggest tip though?

Pick hotels based on neighborhood, not just price.

Seriously, I cannot stress this enough, and if you want a no-nonsense neighborhood-by-neighborhood rundown, my San Francisco hotel guide walks through which areas are actually worth your guests’ money.

Nob Hill and Union Square are your best bets because they’re close to city hall, walkable to good restaurants, and your guests won’t be navigating sketchy areas at 11pm. I break down my favorite boutique stays in each of these neighborhoods in my full where to stay in San Francisco guide if you want specific picks. Skip anything in SOMA or Civic Center no matter how good the deal looks.

Trust me on this one 🙏

Best San Francisco City Hall Wedding Photo Locations

So I think most brides or couples will usually do a few getting-ready photos in the morning, maybe a first look, and then they’ll do the ceremony, followed by photos during cocktail hour. Or at least that’s what I’m pretty sure I’ve seen when I’ve gone to weddings?

My husband and I knew that we wanted to get the majority of photos out of the way, so that it didn’t take away from time with our guests.

We basically just had a really early start in the morning, did our first look downstairs in the garden of the Fairmont, and then left to go run around San Francisco and take photos for about three hours before getting to city hall a little bit earlier.

Keep reading for more details on how we actually chose our photographer (it was an agonizing process) and content creator, and the local spots that we went to for iconic San Francisco photos.

Choosing our San Francisco city hall wedding photographer

Ok so as I’ve mentioned roughly 47 times in this post, I’m a photographer myself, which means I was extremely picky about how I wanted the day to look. I literally AGONIZED over trying to find a photographer for our San Francisco city hall wedding.

I even posted on r/SanFranciscoWeddings to try and find an editorial/documentary photographer, and I’m pretty sure I interviewed and met with over 25 different photographers before landing on @yourgirlmark.

There are obviously so many great photographers in the Bay Area, but I kept running into the same two problems.

One: a lot of them were already booked, which felt crazy because it was a full year out (but I get it, it makes sense).

Two: a lot of their styles were a little bit too documentary for what I was going for. I know candid moments are really popular right now, but I wanted an editorial vibe more than anything. Which typically means relatively staged and posed, with a mix of candid and documentary sprinkled in.

And then there was the added challenge of finding someone who could actually shoot film the way I had it envisioned in my head.

I also originally put down a deposit on another girl, but then came to find out her entire portfolio was a styled photo shoot. She didn’t disclose any of this until I went deeper on her Instagram. Just be warned that some photographers will do styled shoots, which is pretty common in the industry, but they should ALWAYS disclose that it was a styled shoot and not a real wedding they photographed. Huge red flag if they don’t.

A friend eventually suggested I start looking at photographers who actually lived outside of San Francisco, and that’s how I stumbled onto @yourgirlmark. And honestly? She was everything we were looking for. Reasonably priced too imo, especially considering we had a ~$10,000 photo budget to work with, and she ended up shooting both day one and day two for us.

Another thing I did was hire a wedding content creator, which is a relatively new wedding vendor category. It feels like they’re becoming more common these days! For our small San Francisco microwedding, I just didn’t feel like I needed a full videography team and production, so a content creator just made sense.

I found @mybigdaybestie through Instagram and she captured beautiful iPhone photos/videos and delivered everything to us via Dropbox within 48 hours after the event.

I’m pretty active on social (duh), so it felt like a great way to get iPhone content that I could chop up and turn into Instagram and TikTok format too. Even if you’re not a content creator, I highly recommend hiring one because it’s a great way to capture speeches, little moments you might’ve missed, your wedding from a different perspective, and instant content delivered to you after the big day.

The best places to take wedding portraits in San Francisco

There’s a ton of resources online already about the best places to take photos in San Francisco so I won’t go too in-depth here. I actually used to host a photography experience on Airbnb though so I’m pretty familiar with all the best spots (and at what time to visit them).

I already knew I wanted to take photos at Legion of Honor, which is a famous art museum inside of Golden Gate Park. It feels like a mini Louvre with the iconic columns in front and the mini pyramid skylight made of glass. I mean… if we couldn’t have our wedding in Paris, why not bring Paris to us?

After Legion of Honor, we drove over to Fort Point National Historic Site, another one of my favorite locations that has the Golden Gate Bridge directly in the background. Then our last photo location was back at the Fairmont because we forgot something in the hotel and wanted to wait for the cable car on California Street.

Ps. both Legion of Honor and Fort Point are stops I always squeeze into my 3-day San Francisco itinerary for first-time visitors, so they double as great sightseeing spots even if you’re not getting married.

Huge shout out to our driver who was an absolute G. He literally held up traffic for us for a couple minutes so we could hop on the cable car and take some photos. Also a huge shout out to @yourgirlmark for her photoshop work because it was definitely not an empty train, I’ll tell you that much.

As you can see, we only went to a few locations in San Francisco but those were the ones that matched my specific vibe. If I had to recommend more San Francisco wedding photography spots, these would be my top three picks based on personal experience and having shot at all of these destinations before as a photographer myself:

1. Golden Gate Overlook – you can come here for a more over-the-top view of the Golden Gate Bridge, where people often shoot couples in between the trees to get a really pretty view of the bridge behind you.
2. Sutro Baths(especially at sunset)– one of my absolute favorite places to shoot in San Francisco. You just kind of have to time it well with golden hour, and it’s all the way at the very edge of the city. If you’ve read my 3-day San Francisco itinerary, you already know Sutro Baths at sunset is one of those views I’d send literally anyone visiting the city to go see. Unfortunately, we didn’t do it because we were shooting in the morning, and it would have been too far to get back to city hall on time.
3. Battery Spencer – another one of my all-time favorite locations, but again, factoring in time to get across the bridge and then parking can be really tough. You would definitely want to hire a driver for this one so they could drop you and your photographer off and then come back around. Also just keep in mind that this part is a little dusty, and there’s the concern of getting your dress dirty before the actual ceremony, which is why we ultimately decided to forego it.

Our Afternoon San Francisco City Hall Wedding Ceremony

Okay now the moment you’ve all been waiting for…all the details from our San Francisco city hall ceremony itself. Crazy how just writing this post alone is bringing me back to one of the most incredible days of our lives!

While there were definitely a few parts of the day I wasn’t crazy about (more on that later), I don’t regret a single thing.

Keep reading for all the details on our ceremony, my tips and tricks for getting married at San Francisco city hall, and what to keep in mind if you’re considering tying the knot here.

If you’ve been wondering how to get married at San Francisco city hall, the next few sections are basically going to answer every question you have.

Why San Francisco city hall is the most beautiful wedding venue

Anyone that’s seen photos of San Francisco city hall (which I’m guessing is you by this point) will automatically know how beautiful the inside is. Like I said earlier, I feel like indoor weddings are rare these days so if you’re on the fence about having an indoor ceremony, I’m hoping these photos will help you make up your mind.

Hopefully seeing a real San Francisco city hall wedding example like ours helps you visualize what your own day could look like.

San Francisco city hall opened in December 1915 and was designed by architect Arthur Brown Jr. in the Beaux-Arts style. Grand, ornate, and heavily inspired by classical French architecture. Its iconic dome was modeled after Paris’s Les Invalides and rises over 300 feet, making it 42 feet taller than the dome of the U.S. Capitol.

Once you step inside (which you’ll need to before the ceremony to get your marriage license anyway), you’re immediately greeted by the sweeping marble staircase, gilded details, and soaring rotunda. Which makes it immediately apparent why San Francisco city hall is one of the most stunning (and most photographed) wedding venues in the country.

San Francisco city hall wedding permits, costs & timing

While there’s a million positives to getting married at San Francisco city hall…you also need to keep in mind that it’s a government building at the end of the day. Which means they’re pretty strict on certain things, specifically around the application process and using outside vendors.

The biggest thing to know about how to get married at San Francisco city hall is that the booking process moves a lot faster than people expect.

You don’t really have the option to be wishy-washy on your decision here because if you want a specific wedding date, you’ll need to act fast. Or say goodbye to your deposit forever.

City hall offers a few different wedding packages depending on your budget, guest count, and how much of the building you want to yourself which I break down in more detail below.

Your San Francisco city hall wedding cost is going to depend heavily on which package you choose, so it’s worth understanding all of your options upfront.

We had a pretty long engagement (about ~18 months) but we actually decided on the wedding date shortly after getting engaged because we knew how competitive it would be to get married in the following September. So I think it was around June or July of 2025 that we submitted a reservation request for September 2026 and opted for the one-hour wedding on a Friday from 3-4pm.

The San Francisco city hall one hour wedding slots tend to be the most competitive because they’re the most affordable, so I’d recommend deciding fast if that’s the route you want.

The whole process was kinda stressful ngl. So you basically submit a request and then someone else can actually challenge you for the time/day. And if they do that (which happened to us), you then get 48 business hours to get a money order and pay a 75% deposit ($750) to city hall. Otherwise you forfeit your original reservation.

This was literally the email I received on June 3rd. I remember getting it while at work being like what in the actual fuck.

Our proposed wedding date was our 5-year anniversary so I was pretty adamant on that particular date. I just never thought in a million years that someone would challenge us for the date with more than 14 months to go. So I immediately drove to Chase bank after work to get a money order and then stopped by city hall the next day.

It all worked out in the end but what I’m trying to say is to be prepared to put down a deposit and nail down a time/day as early as possible if you’re set on getting married at city hall.

Here’s a quick breakdown of each San Francisco courthouse wedding option:

The San Francisco city hall one hour wedding option is by far the most popular, but it’s worth seeing all three packages laid out side by side.

One-Hour Wedding ($1,200) – The most affordable and popular option for small ceremonies. This is what we chose! Available Monday through Friday only, with the earliest ceremony at 9:00 am and the latest at 3:00 pm. You’ll get private use of either the Mayor’s Balcony (seats up to 40) or a Fourth Floor Gallery (seats up to 60), with capacity for up to 100 guests total (additional guests stand for the ceremony). At least 4 weeks lead time is required to reserve. Check availability and book through the One-Hour Wedding page.

The San Francisco city hall wedding cost for this option is the lowest of the three packages, which is exactly why it’s the most popular choice for couples doing a small ceremony.

Two-Hour Wedding ($6,000) – For couples who want to exchange vows on the iconic Grand Staircase of the Rotunda. Offered on Saturdays only, with the earliest ceremony starting at 9:00 am and the latest at 12:00 noon. The package accommodates up to 200 guests and includes Natural Wood Folding chairs, insurance, and basic building services. The two-hour window includes load-in and load-out, and at least 3 months lead time is required. Check availability and book through the Two-Hour Wedding page.

Evening Wedding (custom pricing) – The full City Hall takeover for couples who want a ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception all in one place. Available on weekdays and weekends, though not on Tuesdays due to Board of Supervisors meetings. Load-in for the North Light Court begins at 2:00 pm, and 4:00 pm for all other areas. Your event must conclude by midnight, with load-out wrapping by 2:00 am. For pricing and to book, contact the events office directly.

How to book: Start by checking the wedding availability calendar for open dates. Once you find one that works, you can submit a reservation request through the same booking page to place a complimentary hold (30 days for one-hour weddings, 90 days for two-hour). To officially confirm your date, you’ll need to sign a contract and submit a 75% deposit on the rental fee.

That’s basically the high-level overview of how to get married at San Francisco city hall, but the real magic is in the smaller logistical decisions you make along the way.

What our San Francisco city hall wedding looked like

Our wedding actually spanned two days (more on that later in this post), but our main wedding day, which included the ceremony, cocktail hour, and dinner reception, was just for family and our closest friends. We ended up with ~22 people total, which made the logistics soooo much easier since I basically planned the whole thing myself.

If you’re looking for a San Francisco city hall wedding example that involves a small guest count and a tightly planned day, this is pretty much exactly that.

We booked the 3pm Friday ceremony on the 4th floor and showed up to city hall around 1pm. Like I mentioned earlier, we wanted to knock out all of the photos beforehand, so we shot for a couple of hours, especially since certain spots like the grand staircase tend to have a wait.

If you’re reading this San Francisco city hall wedding recap to figure out the timing for your own day, I’d genuinely recommend showing up earlier than you think you need to.

We got lucky and only had to wait for one couple before we had the staircase to ourselves.

For the one-hour ceremony slot, city hall is pretty strict about certain things like music. We chose a violinist and cellist from Corelli Strings which was on their approved vendor list, and I walked down the aisle to a violin rendition of “Closer” by The Chainsmokers, which was honestly so sick.

The San Francisco city hall one hour wedding does come with a bunch of small restrictions, so it’s worth reading through the fine print of your contract carefully.

One of my favorite moments though was my best friend walking Bagel the beagle down the aisle. We forced her into a cute little pink dress from Amazon and it was the most adorable thing ever.

Ps. I don’t actually think city hall technically allows dogs, but we were allowed to bring her in, so from what I’ve heard it just depends on who’s working that day.

The whole ceremony lasted less than 30 minutes (exactly what we wanted), and afterward we took group and family photos in that gorgeous afternoon light on the 4th floor. Then we handed out Uber vouchers to send everyone back to the Fairmont for cocktail hour.

Best photo spots inside San Francisco city hall

One of the best things about getting married at San Francisco city hall is that it doubles as one of the most iconic photo venues in the city. The grand architecture, marble columns, and dreamy natural light make it a photographer’s playground.

Almost every San Francisco city hall wedding example I saw online featured the same handful of photo spots, but there are honestly so many more angles to play with.

And as a photographer myself, I have some pretty high standards.

You definitely need to know where to go though to get all of the best photos so here are the top San Francisco city hall photo spots I’d recommend:

• Grand Staircase: The most iconic shot in the building, but expect a wait. Shoot it from the Mayor’s Balcony (if open) or angled from the 3rd floor for the best perspective.
• Third Floor Windows: Perfect for stunning silhouettes, bridal portraits, and a moodier, more dramatic feel.
• Inside the Elevators: A fun, playful spot that breaks up all the grandeur with something a little more unexpected.
• 4th Floor Balcony: Where our ceremony took place, and the afternoon light here is absolutely unreal. If you’re getting married in winter, you’re in luck because the last ceremony of the day tends to fall right at golden hour.

Tips for a San Francisco city hall wedding

I’m not gonna pretend planning a San Francisco city hall wedding is some massive undertaking (it’s not, which is literally why we chose to go this route) but there are definitely a few things I genuinely wish someone had told me before our big day.

Figuring out how to get married at San Francisco city hall is honestly the easy part, but the little details around the day are what trip most couples up.

So here are my biggest tips after planning and living through the day myself:

1. Don’t let the permit process stress you out. Try to stay flexible on your date and time, since slots open up all the time when people cancel. That said, plan as early as you can to give yourself the best shot at your ideal slot.

Flexibility is especially important if you’re set on a San Francisco city hall one hour wedding because those time slots fill up the fastest of any package.

2. Remember, it’s a government building. Our ceremony was actually SO LOUD. Kids screaming, people walking through, the whole thing. Our guests could barely hear our vows and my Type A self was screaming inside, but it was fine in the end. My husband and I could hear each other and that’s all that really mattered. But I really wish someone had told us just hoooow badly sound travels inside.

I actually think the Mayor’s Balcony is 10x worse so I personally would never get married there. You don’t really have a choice when you sign up for a time slot though, I’m pretty sure you just get what you get but totally worth asking anyway.

If noise is a dealbreaker for you, aim for an earlier ceremony.

3. Don’t forget your marriage license. You’ll need to make an appointment in advance to get it, and once you do, you have 90 days to get married in California. The best part? Right after your ceremony, you can walk straight back downstairs and turn it in though which is what we did!

My last tip: don’t stress. Things will go wrong. Something probably won’t be perfect. Just roll with the punches and enjoy the day. Easier said than done I know!

Hosting Cocktail Hour at the Fairmont San Francisco

After the ceremony, we got everyone Ubers back to the Fairmont San Francisco where we had drinks and light bites waiting.

My husband and I? We actually took a Waymo with my dad and mother in law because neither of them had ever seen or ridden in a robot car before. Riding a Waymo is honestly one of those quintessentially SF things to do that I’m always telling visitors to try (it even made it into my 3-day San Francisco itinerary as a must-do). Literally so San Francisco of us. My dad had the time of his life filming the whole ride lol.

Why the Buckingham Suite is perfect for cocktail hour

Ok so I know I already talked a lot about why I chose the Buckingham suite, and it was mostly because I knew I wanted the photos to be a certain way. But after thinking it through and actually seeing the place, we were like, “Oh my God, should we just have our cocktail hour here?”

I mean, we were only going to have about 20 people, so the question was, could we even fit everyone in this suite?

Turns out we definitely could, and we knew it was going to be the right choice for us because our wedding was pretty low key anyway.

And so we ended up DIY’ing the whole thing in the Buckingham suite, and it turned out perfect.

How we set it up (our DIY approach)

The way we set it up was basically this: my girlfriends and I spent the night in the suite the night before the wedding, and I had hauled over a lot of stuff from the apartment. Decor, champagne bottles, champagne glasses (I even did an Ikea run because I knew I wanted to do a champagne tower in the suite), a bunch of alcohol from BevMo, plus sooooooo much wine from all our Napa trips.

We also brought over a ton of white claws, high noons, aperol, whiskey, and anything else that was just lying around the house.

I also ordered some cute dog napkins off Etsy, picked up floral paper plates and cutlery, and grabbed a few other custom decor pieces to dress up the suite for cocktail hour. My best friend’s mom was also bringing over some flowers she had picked up from Trader Joe’s.

For food, I pre-ordered a 6 ft grazing board from Brie’s Grazing Boards so guests could snack between the ceremony and dinner. Honestly though? I’m not sure I would recommend her as a vendor.

She was really hard to communicate with and just hard to work with overall, which was a bummer because the grazing board itself was beautiful and genuinely delicious. It looked super aesthetic, we had way more than enough food, and her team coordinated with the Fairmont to come set up in the suite while we were having the ceremony.

But the upfront communication was just not it, and I didn’t enjoy the experience.

Overall, the setup felt pretty minimal, which is exactly what we wanted. We kept the decor light, DIY’d all of the alcohol, and used the dry bar that was already in the hotel. All we asked the Fairmont for was bags of ice and some glassware, which they happily brought up.

All of our guests and us ended up hanging out in the suite for about two to three hours before heading out to dinner!

How many guests the Buckingham Suite comfortably fits

I’ll be honest. I actually have no idea how many people can realistically fit in the Buckingham Suite, but I do know that we had 22 guests total on our wedding day.

Because the suite is essentially three big spaces (the main bedroom, the living area, and the outdoor patio), it felt really spacious. It definitely felt like we could have squeezed in more people if we wanted to, and there was more than enough seating both inside and outside.

My parents and a lot of the older guests sat throughout cocktail hour, while most of our friends were up and moving around, either out on the terrace, hanging by the bar, or just mingling in the general area.

So if I had to guess, I’d say anything over 30 would probably start to feel a little cramped? But with 22 people, there was more than enough room to spread out, have a real conversation, and not feel like you were on top of each other at all.

And bagel the beagle also had plenty of space to roam around and eat food off the floor before she tucked herself into the king-sized bed!

Our Evening Dinner Reception at Original Joe’s

After about 2-3 hours of drinking, snacking on the grazing board, and taking more photos than we could count, we finally made our way to North Beach for our dinner reception at Original Joe’s!

Picking the right spot for our San Francisco city hall wedding reception was honestly one of my favorite parts of the entire planning process.

Obviously, we wanted to keep the theme of iconic San Francisco locations going throughout the entire day, and Original Joe’s is definitely one of those. It originally opened in 1937 and has been serving up classic Italian-American dishes ever since.

It’s actually one of my Top 3 restaurants in the entire city (yes, it made the cut in my 3-day San Francisco itinerary too) so it felt like the most fitting place to celebrate with our closest people.

And I am absolutely obsessed with their spicy rigatoni pasta, so I just knew we had to have it on our wedding day. 🍝

Why Original Joe’s is perfect for a small wedding reception

Okay so out of all the restaurants in San Francisco, you’re probably wondering why we chose Original Joe’s for our wedding reception?

If you’re trying to plan a small, intimate San Francisco city hall wedding reception, an iconic local restaurant is honestly such an underrated move.

Well, if you’re a local, you’ll already know that Original Joe’s is an absolutely iconic San Francisco dinner spot. It’s a common go-to for out-of-town visitors or family visiting who want a real SF experience and some really great Italian food.

And for private dining options, there’s actually three different rooms to choose from:

1. The Salesian room, which fits about 30 seated, and this is actually where we held our reception because of the dark green tufted walls, the neon Joe’s sign, and the seating capacity. I just had this photo in my head of how the photos would look from this room, and I knew I was going to absolutely love it.
2. The Tony Bennett room, which has aqua tiles and deco mermaids, which is really pretty, just not the vibe I was going for, and that one fits up to 32 seated.
3. The Parkside room, which is the biggest room that they have and it overlooks Washington Square Park and fits up to about 50 seated.

For the Salesian room specifically, I loved the “boardroom” style table. You could also rearrange it into 3 circular tables of 10, but with only 22 guests – I felt like having one long table was more aesthetically pleasing.

I really wanted our San Francisco city hall wedding reception to feel like an extension of the ceremony, not a totally separate event with different energy.

The room was big enough anyways for everyone to get up and walk around which is what we all did!

Our private dining setup at Original Joe’s

Now onto our specific San Francisco wedding dinner setup!

For the decor, we actually DIY’d every bit of it. Or, my best friend and her mom did at least. They both left cocktail hour early to set the whole thing up and I genuinely can’t describe how grateful I was for this. It was the sweetest thing ever and I basically started crying once we actually saw the room for the first time.

The long boardroom style table was lined with tiny amber bud vases from Amazon, filled with fresh flowers pulled straight from my bridal bouquet by Bloom Gallery and peonies from Trader Joe’s.

My best friend and her mom honestly nailed the exact color scheme I had in my head: just the right pop of color from orange and pink blooms.

We also added the cutest little vintage touch lamps from Amazon and some nude table runners to tie it all together. Basically, if you need it for a wedding, Amazon has it.

Every guest also had a handwritten card waiting at their seat when they walked in, each one hand-painted by me with little watercolor oranges.

And then for the food!

The Original Joe’s private dining menu comes in three formats: Classic, Exclusive, and Family Style, and within each, you get to hand-pick your appetizers, first course, mains, and dessert. We went with the Exclusive package and honestly had so much fun building it out.

We started guests off with prosciutto & burrata and mini crab cake bites, then a first course of either caesar salad or New England clam chowder. Mains were the 8oz filet mignon, pan roasted half chicken, seafood risotto, or the famous spicy rigatoni pasta!

The filet and the pasta were BY FAR the most popular picks. I actually don’t think a single person ordered the chicken haha.

And the dessert? INCREDIBLE. Especially after starving myself all week leading up to the big day. The mini warm butter cake and house made tiramisu were the perfect ending to the meal.

We also had cocktails and wine being poured all night and Moët flowing throughout, which obviously made everything more festive.

Our San Francisco Wedding After-Party at Left Door

After dinner wrapped up, my husband and I headed back to the Fairmont and went straight to bed. We still had a second wedding event on Saturday, so we wanted to try and get a decent night’s sleep, knowing that we would have to basically do this all over again for our “celebration of marriage” party happening the next night!

Why we hosted an after-party the next night

I don’t really know what to call it, because technically our wedding day was small, intimate, and already over. But we still wanted to celebrate with our friends, and a lot of them were local, so we wanted to throw something without calling it a full-blown wedding.

We went through a ton of different iterations of:

• “Why don’t we just rent a bar?“
• “Should we actually rent out a venue?“
• “Should we maybe do something else in the city?“
• “Maybe host a trip up to Napa with our friends?“

In the end, we decided to basically just rent out a space and have one big party. It was three hours, and people could come and go as they please, and then people wouldn’t feel pressure to travel from out of town to attend a “not-real” wedding.

We ended up having a lot more friends and family show up than expected, but it made things that much more fun!

And most people don’t think to add a second day to their San Francisco city hall wedding example, but it ended up being one of the best decisions we made all weekend.

Why we chose Left Door for our after-party

I’m not sure if you can tell by now, but the photos from our wedding weekend were super important to me. I kept joking that this wasn’t actually our wedding day and it was more just a “staged photo shoot, and there just happens to be a wedding happening”.

People thought I was kidding, but if you know me, you’ll definitely know that I wasn’t kidding at all 😂

And before you come at me, I don’t really care. As a photographer myself, and as someone who had a very specific vision of what they wanted their day to be like, I was pretty adamant on finding locations and venues for this weekend that all felt cohesive and really matched my editorial, elegant, vogue-esque vibe.

And so that’s how we landed on Left Door as the final venue!

Why Left Door? Well, continuing on the list of historic locations and venues in San Francisco, you’d actually be surprised to find out that there is a bar called Bus Stop Bar that’s really well known in the city. It’s located in my favorite neighborhood – the Marina District and has been open for over a hundred years. 124 years to be exact. The Marina is one of those neighborhoods I always tell people to wander through if they want a more local feel, and it’s a big reason it has its own section in my 3-day San Francisco itinerary.

And I actually used to manage a girl on my sales team whose parents met at this exact bar. And surprisingly, also have another friend who met her now husband at this bar during COVID, when the world was supposed to be shut down.

So yeah, Bus Stop is a pretty iconic bar in SF.

But it’s actually a dive bar, where the owners own the entire building. They spent a couple years renovating the upstairs of it and turned it into this glamorous speakeasy-esque bar and lounge that sits right above Bus Stop Bar, now called Left Door.

Once you walk in, you’ll immediately know why I chose this place. There’s floral wallpaper everywhere, vintage decor, large tufted couches, velvet chairs, different themed rooms, and more. The place just oozed a vibe of elegance and charm with a menu that serves caviar, wagyu bites, oysters, and more.

Their capacity was also around 80 people, which was perfect, and it allowed for enough seating and standing space to accommodate a few of our more elderly family members.

I am going to talk about in the next section why I wouldn’t necessarily recommend Left Door as a venue, but I want to shout out Jay and the entire hospitality team, before I do so. We were extremely well taken care of on the night of the event, and Jay went above and beyond to make sure that all of our guests had drinks in their hands at all times and there was plenty of food on the table.

She single-handedly made the experience really memorable and really fantastic for us!

Why I wouldn’t recommend Left Door as a venue

While everything mostly went well, there were definitely a few things that I did not enjoy as someone that was communicating with the events team (specifically) at Left Door. Honestly, I would probably not recommend you host an event here unless they fix some of these things.

And again, I think this is completely separate from the actual staff and bartenders working in the bar vs behind the scenes.

First, communication was just extremely poor overall. It was like pulling teeth getting a hold of the events lead. I had to DM them on Instagram several times and follow up via email just to get a response on pretty urgent or critical matters.

I honestly probably would have chosen a different venue, but like I said before, I knew I wanted photos in Left Door specifically. It’s hard to find a place in San Francisco that has the level of decor and specifically wallpaper that I was looking for, so I felt like I was kind of stuck.

The second thing was the failed DJ situation. I had booked the DJ and this venue probably nine months in advance. We had already made a deposit of half of the minimum fee, which was around $18,000, so we had already paid about $9,000.

They told us that the DJ would be included in that and that we could use their house DJ, which was totally fine because we basically just had a playlist that we wanted to have played and then do a couple of speeches.

Well, with about a month out from the actual day, they told us that the DJ fee had randomly increased to about double, which was ridiculous because we literally made the deposit and signed everything well in advance.

And then they also told us that the DJ had his own vibe and wanted to play his own thing and wouldn’t accommodate really any requests of ours.

So we went out and found a different DJ (@djduaaaa) who, like I said, was fantastic. He was amazing to work with, and he was relatively affordable too, but again this just put a really bad taste in our mouth, especially as we were spending close to $20,000 for basically three hours of rental.

The last thing was the lack of communication around the minimum spend. We were totally fine with paying the minimum, especially at a markup, because we knew it was a Saturday night during prime hours and they had to make the money back in food and drink fees.

The most annoying thing was that, towards the end of the night, we asked multiple times, “How close are we to hitting the minimum?” No one could tell us.

We obviously wanted to know if we were over or under. If we were over, we wanted to know for obvious reasons. But if we were under, we wanted to know so that we could try to make it up by ordering rounds of shots or bringing some bottles of wine to take home with us. Because again, we basically paid for this.

But of course no one could tell us, whether it was my husband, myself, or my mom that asked. They were just being super cagey about pricing the whole entire time and just said, “We can’t really check right now, but you can follow up with the events team after.”

They basically just felt really unorganized, and it was kind of sketchy that no one could tell us how much money we had spent up until that point.

About a week later, while we’re on our honeymoon in Bora Bora, we end up getting the final invoice and it looks like we were actually $3,000 under our minimum. Which was just super frustrating and annoying, because again, had we known this, we would’ve tried to make this up with the remaining time, right?

I understand being over but to be $3,000 under your minimum and to not have anyone tell you is pretty sketchy to me.

So I reached back out to them via email and asked if there was anything they could do to make this right. They basically said, “Yeah, we’ll host you for a free meal and some drinks.”

We went back to Left Door when we got back, and they basically gave us a free round of food/drinks and a nice bottle of Dom Perignon to take home, which all in all was probably like $500 total?

So yeah, not exactly full compensation or really doing right by the customer, in my opinion.

I think it’s a beautiful venue and totally great for photos, but definitely would not recommend throwing a party here or dealing with their events team in any way until they get their shit together.

The Ultimate San Francisco Weekend Guide for Out-of-Town Wedding Guests

I’ll keep this section brief because I have a ton of travel guides on San Francisco already but it’s still worth hi-lighting here because if you’re planning a San Francisco wedding, chances are you’ll have at least a few guests flying in early or staying the weekend.

And since you’ll already be neck-deep in your own wedding logistics, the last thing you want is to play tour guide on top of everything else.

So just send them my 3-day San Francisco itinerary, which has all my non-touristy favorites and a sample itinerary that’s been personally tested and approved (by me) 🌁

And if anyone needs help figuring out where to actually book a room, point them to my local’s guide to where to stay in San Francisco so you don’t end up answering “is this neighborhood okay?” texts at midnight.

The best San Francisco neighborhoods to explore

One of the best parts about San Francisco is that the whole city is only 7×7 miles, which means your guests can hop between neighborhoods without much effort.

But every neighborhood has its own personality, so it’s worth knowing where to send them.

I break it all down in my local’s guide to where to stay in San Francisco, and if anyone is curious about my personal favorite stretch of Russian Hill, my essential guide to Polk Street has all my favorite restaurants, wine bars, and hidden gems within walking distance.

Iconic things to do in San Francisco

Look, I love this city, but you do NOT need to drag your guests to Alcatraz or Pier 39. (Okay actually, the night tour at Alcatraz is worth doing but Pier 39 definitely is not).

So instead, send them to my local-approved list of must-dos like biking across the Golden Gate Bridge to Battery Spencer, climbing Coit Tower, hunting for the heart rock at Sutro Baths during sunset, and having a picnic at Alamo Square. The full list (plus my sample 3-day itinerary) is over in my 3-day San Francisco itinerary.

Day trips from San Francisco worth taking

One of the best things about San Francisco is how easy it is to leave it. Whether your guests want to do a wine tasting in Napa, a day trip to Bodega Bay, or a hike up Mount Tam, I’ve put together a full guide on the 12 easiest day trips from San Francisco, sorted by distance so they can pick based on how far they’re willing to drive.

Our Real San Francisco City Hall Wedding Cost: Full Budget Breakdown

I’m honestly impressed if you’ve made it this far. Thanks for continuing to relive my wedding day with me. Now you’re probably wondering what it actually costs to have a San Francisco city hall wedding like we did?

No San Francisco city hall wedding recap is really complete without breaking down what the whole thing actually cost you in the end.

“Courthouse wedding” might sound like a low-cost kind of vibe (which is totally possible btw), but that’s not really what we were optimizing for.

Also the words “low-cost” and “San Francisco” don’t exactly go hand-in-hand with each other.

As you know, we got married at San Francisco city hall on September 26, 2025 with about ~22 guests, and below is every single line item from the weekend, with vendor names, dollar amounts, and personal commentary from me.

So if you’re planning a San Francisco city hall wedding and trying to figure out what to budget, this is the receipts-included version 👇

I’m sharing the full San Francisco city hall wedding cost breakdown because I genuinely couldn’t find this level of transparency anywhere when I was planning.

San Francisco city hall wedding ceremony cost: ~$1,580

The actual ceremony cost was pretty straightforward: $1,150 for the city hall permit (one-hour ceremony, 4th Floor North Gallery) and ~$430 for a black SUV Escalade to handle transportation for the day. I wanted a limo but my husband said that he didn’t want it to feel like senior prom 😂

The escalade took us from the Fairmont in the morning to the Golden Gate Bridge and Legion of Honor for photos, then dropped us at city hall for the ceremony.

Hotel & accommodations cost: ~$5,170

Our biggest accommodations expense was the Buckingham Suite at the Fairmont San Francisco for 2 nights at $3,500. We chose the suite specifically because we wanted enough space to get ready, take photos, and host cocktail hour all in one place.

Brie Grazing Boards also delivered an incredible spread of meats, cheeses, and fruit to the room for ~$670, and we put another ~$1,000 toward decor (candles, linens, little touches) to dress the space up (which we also used for the dinner set up).

Photography cost for a San Francisco city hall wedding: ~$9,175

Photography was the biggest non-venue spend, and I have no regrets about either of these.

@yourgirlmark was our wedding photographer for ~$7,500 and covered everything from getting ready at the Fairmont, to Golden Gate Bridge photos, to the ceremony, to dinner at Original Joe’s, and a few hours of the after-party the next day.

I also hired @mybigdaybestie as our wedding content creator for ~$1,175, who captured 10+ hours of iphone video content across both days.

Photography was the one area I refused to cut my budget on, and I’m so glad I found both of these girls – they made both days effortless, and I walked away with digital, film, and so much content.

San Francisco wedding reception cost at Original Joe’s: ~$4,385

We hosted our wedding-night dinner at Original Joe’s North Beach in their private Salesian Room upstairs, and the total for about 20 guests came out to roughly $4,385 (including a 30% deposit paid upfront).

Honestly, for a San Francisco city hall wedding reception with this kind of vibe and food quality, that price point felt totally reasonable.

The minimum spend was technically only $3,000 but we went over primarily due to alcohol costs.

It was a 4-course menu which is exactly what you want after a long ceremony day. If you’re doing a small city hall wedding, this is one of the best-value private dining rooms in San Francisco.

After-party cost at Left Door: ~$18,435

Left Door was easily our biggest line item at ~$17,934 for a full private buyout on Saturday night from 7 to 10 pm, which covered food, drinks, and the space. We also paid $500 for our own DJ (@djduaaaa) who absolutely delivered the bangersssz. Doing the wedding as two events (an intimate Friday dinner plus a Saturday party) let us keep the actual ceremony small without sacrificing getting to rage on day two.

If you can swing it, I really recommend this format.

After after-party karaoke at Pandora: ~$4,700

My husband and I both love karaoke (mostly my husband), so we originally planned for 10-15 close friends to join us at Pandora Karaoke after Left Door wrapped.

Instead, nearly everyone wanted to come, so we ended up with around ~30 people piled into the biggest room Pandora had. There were drinks flowing the entire night and we stayed singing at the top of our lungs until closing.

Highly recommend Pandora if you want a karaoke spot in SF that can actually fit a wedding-sized group.

Our real San Francisco city hall wedding cost: ~$54,700

In total, our San Francisco city hall wedding weekend cost around ~$54,700. That includes everything from the venues and vendors to my bridal attire ($1,500 Jenny Yoo dress, $1,000 alterations, $1,200 Alexandra Grecco veil, $300 vintage Miu Miu shoes from a shop in Vienna), our $2,000 custom Glanta wedding rings from Japan, plus another ~$1,245 for hair, makeup, and lashes from @houseofglampro.

Obviously your San Francisco city hall wedding cost is going to look totally different depending on the vendors you choose and how big you want to go with the rest of the weekend.

What’s crazy is that this is still a “small wedding” by SF standards and the total came in well below what a traditional 100+ person wedding would have cost. Overall, we were genuinely happy with how almost everything turned out (Left Door situation aside), and we managed to pull it off without going into debt over a one-day celebration.

If you want to slash your San Francisco city hall wedding cost further, you could easily skip the after-party or downsize the reception and still walk away with an incredible day.

If I had to do anything differently, I’d probably pick a different after-party venue…but honestly, the photos came out incredible, the food was amazing, and our DJ was so good that it more than made up for the rougher moments.

So it’s hard to say I’d actually change much. The best part? Everything was local, so we got to crash in our own bed at the end of the night.

Our Real San Francisco City Hall Wedding: Final Thoughts

And that’s a wrap on our real San Francisco city hall wedding recap! If you made it all the way to the end, thank you so much for letting me relive one of the best weekends of my life with you 🥹

Having our entire family in one place (we had people fly in from Taiwan, South Africa, Italy, and more) was the moment that still gives me chills, especially because Bagel got to be there for most of it too.

@yourgirlmark exceeded every single expectation I had, my bridal bouquet from Bloom Gallery was honestly perfect down to the last petal, and my best friend and her mom setting up our entire dinner reception at Original Joe’s was hands down the sweetest thing anyone could’ve done for us.

Was everything perfect? Of course not. The ceremony itself was actually my least favorite part, mostly because of how LOUD it was inside city hall. It’s a public government building at the end of the day, so kids were screaming, tourists were walking through, and you genuinely can’t hear much.

But my husband could hear me, I could hear him, and at the end of the day that’s all that really mattered.

We also gave everyone Uber vouchers to get between venues, and a few of them randomly stopped working which caused some minor confusion. Not a huge deal with only 22 guests, but definitely something I’d flag for anyone considering doing the same.

My biggest piece of advice for any bride trying to figure out how to get married at San Francisco city hall? Decide on a date as early as possible and remember that this is still a public government building, so time of day and day of week matters way more than you’d think.

If you came to this post trying to figure out how to get married at San Francisco city hall, I hope this gave you a real, unfiltered look at what the day actually looks like (and what the real San Francisco city hall wedding cost ends up being).

It’s not the “traditional” wedding route, but if you do it right, it’s honestly one of the most beautiful, intimate, and quintessentially SF ways you can possibly tie the knot.

Did you end up getting married at San Francisco city hall? Let me know in the comments below!

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