It has been well over 3 years now since San Francisco City hall reopened for weddings after being closed for the Pandemic. The building was closed for 15 long months. It took a while for things to get back to normal at this very popular wedding venue, but it seems now they mostly have. When this historic building began to once again welcome engaged couples in mid-June of 2021, it quickly became evident that things had changed.
As SF city hall wedding photographers, we were told that that many things would be different this time around. Less crowding, more rules and the mandatory wearing of masks. Of course, at this point, masks are no longer required, though a few (not many) city hall wedding officiants still wear masks to this day. These are just some of the changes that have occurred with the reopening of San Francisco city hall. Let’s talk about some of the more important things that are now different for brides and grooms after San Francisco city hall reopened. We will also go into some details about the recent easing of restrictions in late 2024.
No Wedding Photographers in the County Clerk’s Office
On the surface, this doesn’t seem like such a big deal. So what? Wedding photographers are no longer allowed to take pictures of the license signing in the County Clerk’s office. Well, to be honest, at first I didn’t really give this a second thought. All we did before was take pictures of the couple’s check-in at the front desk and then record the license signing. However, there was one thing I forgot… With wedding photographers no longer going back to record the license signing, we now never meet the officiants.
They call these officiants Marriage Commissioners and before Covid-19 we knew them all really well. Over the years, the long term and well experienced city hall wedding photographers among us developed a nice rapport with each other. Does this really matter to the bride and groom? In most cases, no. It doesn’t really affect their city hall experience in most cases. However, often times unexpected things can come up and in the past we were able to provide assistance to the couple. One example of this happened at a recent city hall wedding. The Bride had forgotten her ID and the County Clerk informed the couple that they were not going to be allowed to get married. You absolutely need both a marriage license and Current ID to get married in California. Check out this link to learn more about the requirements for a California marriage.
To come back to our example, in this case, the bride and groom were on a somewhat tight schedule. The groom rushed home to obtain the missing Identification and we worked with the officiant who we knew quite well to make arrangements to do their wedding later. Everything worked out and the situation was made much smoother because of the rapport we had developed with this Marriage Commissioner. I would also add that it was nice on a personal level to get to know these volunteer commissioners and now it doesn’t happen as much anymore. Undoubtedly, this situation would probably have still been resolved without us involved, but it was definitely made easier and less stressful for the couple.
Masks or No Masks at SF City Hall?
It seems that for the most part, people are not wearing masks at San Francisco city hall. This is as of November, 2024. There are still signs throughout the building recommending wearing masks and pretty much all of the Marriage Commissioners wear them. I also notice that most of the people working in the County Clerks office continue to wear them. My recommendation at this point is that when you are waiting in the County Clerk Hallway for your ceremony number to be called, I would wear a mask. It is small confined area with lots of people waiting around. We are definitely wearing masks in the hallway during your wedding day. Once we get into the open areas of San Francisco city hall, it seems to be unnecessary. It is not that crowded and the super high ceilings and expansive areas help disburse any potential problems with getting infected. We have, however, recently heard the Covid infections are on the rise, so you never know.
SF City Hall Events no Longer an Issue
For the time being, we have not had to worry about the disruption to our weddings when San Francisco city hall schedules special events during the day. In the past, this could be an issue as the entire Grand Staircase could sometimes be closed down due to an event occurring in that area. When this happened, city hall wedding photographers such as myself would frequently be told not to take pictures on or near the Staircase.
For those that complain, city hall officials would tell you that you were only promised a wedding ceremony and not pictures throughout the building. We all know, however, that there is an expectation of being able to take some wonderful photos after the civil ceremony is complete. The architecture throughout this building is spectacular and makes for gorgeous wedding photos. So at least for now, because of Covid-19, there are limited events being scheduled and we like that! I would not be surprised if this changes soon with all of San Francisco opening up more. We have recently seen a few small events, but they were not too disruptive and the staircase was not closed down.
Weddings More Spaced Out
Another welcome change was the County Clerk making the decision to only do 4 weddings per hour instead of 6. This has definitely made a difference with less brides and grooms milling about at one time. Before the Covid-19 closure, you would see as many as 6 or 7 couples at any one time walking through the building having their pictures done. This no longer happens and it really benefits everyone. Some of the more popular backdrops throughout the building can still be somewhat busy, but it is definitely more manageable.
In most cases, we just have to wait our turn to obtain some of the amazing pictures that are possible at San Francisco city hall. The downside of this is that it has become increasingly difficult to obtain reservations for civil ceremonies at City Hall. The calendar tends to fill up quickly and so it is important to make your reservations as close to the 90 day window as possible. This past Christmas, they actually added few more available wedding reservation slots because of the demand. One no too well known solution is to have a private ceremony at San Francisco city hall. For more information about that option, click the link.
6 Person City Hall Guest Limit Now Enforced (mostly)
Since the very first wedding I ever photographed at San Francisco city hall back in 2011, I was told that Civil Ceremonies were limited to 6 guests. Of course there was little evidence to support this because we would constantly see couples roaming around the building with as many as 20 guests accompanying them. It was not uncommon for these guests to crowd their way into the Hallway by the County Clerk’s office making it nearly impossible for couples to even walk through.
In 2019, this all changed when there were some disruptions caused by wedding guests near the Mayor’s Office. There were also some noise issues that interrupted a San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting. These problems quickly led to the County Clerk strictly enforcing the 6 guest limit for all Civil Ceremonies. However, as time went by, some Marriage Commissioners were starting to be more lenient and allowing a few more guests. Then Covid-19 hit and everything changed! When city hall reopened, the guest limit began to be enforced once again, but this time it was for the safety of all. UPDATE: It does seem like there is some leniency when it comes to the 6 person guest limit. Especially for those couples who do not go way over the limit. My advice is to not go too far over the limit and you should be fine.
Tourist Traffic Way Down At San Francisco City Hall
The other big change that has come with the reopening of San Francisco city hall after the pandemic is tourist traffic. Before Covid-19 hit tourism was very much a part of the landscape at City Hall. It was not unusual to have huge bus loads of tourists from China come into the building all at once. When they did this, it would become very difficult to get around, much less take wedding pictures. On any given day, you could expect 100’s or tourists entering and exiting the building throughout the day. This type of tourist traffic is non-existent to this day. I have seen no signs of this changing, but some of this could also be related to the worsening relations between certain countries and the USA. I personally do not see the old level of tourism (pre-pandemic) returning to San Francisco city hall anytime soon. At this point, I mostly just see a scattering individual tourists here and there.
The Overall Feel at SF City Hall is Better Post-Pandemic
I realize that this final thought is pretty subjective, but I wanted to mention it anyway. I have been photographing weddings at San Francisco city hall for over 12 years and have a pretty good idea of what to expect on a day-to-day basis. I remember telling my photography shooting partner prior to the Pandemic that things seemed pretty crazy at city hall. Too many people, tourists and weddings and tons of events being scheduled. With the new guidelines in place along with a lighter wedding schedule, San Francisco city hall has a better feel to it and that benefits all.
The reopening of San Francisco city hall was welcomed by everyone. Weddings could start up again and tourists were allowed back in the building to marvel at all of the amazing history present in this beautiful building. Even Marilyn Monroe and Joe Di Maggio were married here!
