You have made all of your plans, booked the dates and informed your guests, but are you really ready for the big day? Here are some helpful tips to ensure you are properly prepared to have your wedding at Historic San Francisco City Hall. For more helpful tips check our City Hall Wedding Photography Website.
Do Your Homework Before your City Hall Wedding
Like any wedding, it is a good idea to make sure you know in advance what some of the challenges might be on your wedding day. With San Francisco city hall there is a specific list of things that need to be anticipated to make sure things go smoothly. I have listed some of the more important ones below:
- Plan your driving route to SF City Hall making sure there are no constructions sites on your path.
- Make a folder to put all of the necessary documents to get married ( Marriage License and IDs)
- Pack a “safety kit” which should include water, snacks, safety pins, hair bands, masks, etc.
- Important: Allow sufficient time to deal with unexpected traffic and to get through security.
- If driving, make sure you know where you are parking. I Recommend Civic Center Garage
- If you have time, do a pre-wedding walk through at city hall to familiarize yourself with the venue
Contact All of your SF City Hall Wedding Vendors
We suggest that brides and grooms contact all of their city hall vendors around 5 days before the wedding to confirm that they are showing up and to ask if there are any items they are expecting from you. For example, your San Francisco city hall wedding photographer may want you to provide a list of your family photos needed. If you are planning a reception in San Francisco (or anywhere), contact the wedding coordinator for that venue or restaurant and confirm all of your starting times and the schedule for the day. Again, make sure that they are not expecting anything from you that you are unaware of. the best question to ask all of your San Francisco wedding vendors is: “What do you need from us?”
Florists should definitely be contacted to reconfirm your flower choices and quantity needed. Be sure they they will supply enough pins for corsage and boutonnieres pinning. Ask for some extras, they can break! I like 2 pins for each boutonniere. The same goes for videographers, music vendors and officiants, check with them a few days before just to confirm everything. I am always surprised at how frequently my brides and grooms get caught off-guard by unexpected services (or lack thereof) from their wedding vendors. This is also a good time to check with vendors on any balances due for their services. It is best to get these out of the way before the wedding to ensure everyone has been paid. Also, if you plan on tipping any of your vendors, now is the time to make envelopes and put cash in them. Aside from tips, I think it is better to not worry about paying vendors on the actual wedding day. It just adds a potentially negative aspect to your very important day. You do not want to be worrying about money on your city hall wedding day.
Practice Makes Perfect on your Wedding Day
There are many things you can do to “practice” for your wedding day. The first and most obvious one is to practice reciting your vows. For San Francisco city hall weddings, this would only be needed for reserved weddings. The Civil Ceremonies do not give the bride and groom the opportunity to say their own vows. NOTE: City Hall Marriage Commissioners will allow you to recite your own vows if you ask nicely and keep it short.
I also think it is a good idea to practice your photography smile in the mirror. Not the easiest thing to do, but it can pay dividends and avoid a negative surprise when you see your wedding photos. Lastly, if you are unfamiliar with San Francisco, I would make a practice run to City Hall to make sure you know where to park and to find other places like the County Clerk’s office. There is nothing worse then getting lost on your wedding day. Especially at San Francisco city hall. It will also relieve some potential stress prior to your ceremony. The confidence you gain by having already gone through the process will pay dividends.
Personal Readiness for your San Francisco City Hall Wedding
Some of these things may seem obvious, but they are worth listing anyway. With all of the stress leading up to a wedding it can be easy to forget to do the little things. Here is my suggested list of things to do the day before your San Francisco city hall wedding to prepare from a personal standpoint.
- Try to stay off of your feet as much as possible, this especially applies to Brides with those shoes!
- Make sure you hydrate fully the day before the wedding
- Get plenty of rest the day before and also get to bed early
- Lay out all of your personal items you will need for the wedding including rings, invitations, etc.
- Load the car with any personal things you plan to bring (like the previous mentioned Safety Kit.)
- Manicures, pedicures or massages can all be done either that day or a couple of days before.
- Make sure you know where your wallet, keys and other important things before the big day
