{"id":136,"date":"2026-01-16T01:45:28","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T01:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/?p=136"},"modified":"2026-01-16T01:45:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T01:45:30","slug":"italian-weddings-in-san-francisco-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/italian-weddings-in-san-francisco-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian Weddings in San Francisco &#8211; Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I will admit to having a soft spot for big Italian weddings, especially in San Francisco.\u00a0 As an Italian myself who grew up attending large Italian parties, I have experienced the amazing food and fun traditions with my family.\u00a0 Plus, I certainly have attended (as a guest) many Italian wedding in San Francisco over the years for people I know. Through the years we have also photographed quite a few Italian weddings in San Francisco and have enjoyed every one of them. Some of these have come from friend and family connections and some just by referral.\u00a0 The events we have covered have largely\u00a0 been in North Beach with a Catholic Ceremony at Saints Peter and Paul Church followed by a reception at the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfiac.org\/\">Italian Athletic club<\/a><\/strong>. Quite a few other ceremony locations have also be part of our San Francisco wedding photography background.\u00a0 This includes many catholic churches and other types of venues, including San Francisco city hall.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>San Francisco Wedding Receptions and Churches<\/h2>\n<p>There are also many other popular spots in the city to have the wedding reception party including <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.originaljoes.com\/north-beach\">Original Joe&#8217;s<\/a><\/strong> and the North Beach Restaurant (recently under new ownership).\u00a0 We have covered wedding receptions at both of those locations and many more.\u00a0 As mentioned above, there are also many other churches throughout San Francisco where weddings are held and we have probably been to all of the big ones.\u00a0 Old Catholic San Francisco\u00a0 churches take a bit more skill because they tend to be darker and of course you cannot use flash during the ceremony. For the most part, these older churches WILL allow us to use lighting equipment for other parts of the celebration, just not during the active ceremony.\u00a0 Thankfully, we can use flash when the everyone walks in and walks out!\u00a0 The processional and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/recessional\">recessional<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 Although with today&#8217;s low light camera technology it is possible to shoot in these conditions, having some sort of light is definitely beneficial. We do what we can, but make sure we are always unobtrusive and follow the rules of the church or reception hall.<\/p>\n<p>A more recent wedding that we really enjoyed being a part of was Jayne and Bobby&#8217;s wedding, which I have pictured here.\u00a0 One of the most fun couples we have photographed and we are still in touch with them today.\u00a0 They had a very typical Italian wedding with a big feast for their reception.\u00a0 Lots of Italian dishes and pasta, but so much more.\u00a0 If you love Italian food, try to get an invitation to a wedding like this one.\u00a0 Many of the other typical wedding events took place at their reception including The First Dance, Father-Daughter Dance and cutting the cake.\u00a0 As the night grew later, the dancing started in full swing and the party really got going.\u00a0 Check out part 2 of this blog post to read about more details of their wedding reception. This entire wedding and ceremony took place in North Beach, but then we took them to the Marina for some photos.\u00a0 Here are a few sample shots from this great wedding in San Francisco.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_138\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-138\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-138\" src=\"https:\/\/www.weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Italian-wedding-bridal-prep-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Jayne Bridal Prep \" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Italian-wedding-bridal-prep-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Italian-wedding-bridal-prep.jpg 667w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-138\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jayne Bridal Prep<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_139\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-139\" style=\"width: 240px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-139\" src=\"https:\/\/www.weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/bride-dad-limo-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"Dad helping the bride into the limo\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/bride-dad-limo-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/bride-dad-limo.jpg 740w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-139\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dad helping the bride into the limo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_140\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-140\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-140\" src=\"https:\/\/www.weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/catholic-ceremony-san-francisco-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Catholic Wedding Ceremony in San Francisco\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/catholic-ceremony-san-francisco-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/catholic-ceremony-san-francisco.jpg 666w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-140\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Catholic Wedding Ceremony in San Francisco fun moment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>San Francisco Marina District Wedding Photography<\/h2>\n<p>Once they completed their ceremony at San Francisco&#8217;s famed North Beach Church, we headed off to the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marina_District,_San_Francisco\">Marina district<\/a><\/strong> to capture some nice photos of the newlyweds in some of their favorite spots.\u00a0 We also brought the entire wedding party with us so we could include them in some of the photos.\u00a0 \u00a0It was a hazy day, but we were still able to catch faint glimpses of the Golden Gate Bridge in some of the backgrounds. The groom was slightly disappointed that we were not able to take photos at an old baseball field that he has played at for years, but this did not dampen anyone&#8217;s spirits. There was a big game going on at the time! We thought briefly about going out there anyway to grab a few quick shots, but our time was running short to get back to the reception. We were fighting Marina traffic to some extent and the newlyweds were eager to get to their party!<\/p>\n<p>After photographing the wedding party and best man and maid of honor, we focused on the bride and groom only.\u00a0 Here are a few shots from this section of the wedding.\u00a0 Even the limo ride going through the Marina district was fun. San Francisco residents have a history of loudly congratulating newlyweds.\u00a0 To add to this, both the bride and groom spend lots of time in San Francisco and tend to know people in their neighborhood so that people recognized them and applauded.\u00a0 Definitely a fun wedding and a great couple to work with. I was surprised during the limo ride how many people recognized them like they were celebrities or something.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_142\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-142\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-142\" src=\"https:\/\/www.weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/limo-ride-marina-300x240.jpg\" alt=\"Bride and groom toasting in the Limo on the way to the Marina District in San Francisco\" width=\"300\" height=\"240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/limo-ride-marina-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/limo-ride-marina-768x614.jpg 768w, https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/limo-ride-marina.jpg 925w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-142\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bride and groom toasting in the Limo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_143\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-143\" style=\"width: 240px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-143\" src=\"https:\/\/www.weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/wedding-kiss-golden-gate-bridge-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"Wedding Kiss at the San Francisco Marina with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/wedding-kiss-golden-gate-bridge-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/wedding-kiss-golden-gate-bridge.jpg 740w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-143\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wedding Kiss at the San Francisco Marina<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_144\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-144\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-144\" src=\"https:\/\/www.weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/bride-groom-sf-marina-300x240.jpg\" alt=\"Bride and Groom hanging out enjoying the Marina\" width=\"300\" height=\"240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/bride-groom-sf-marina-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/bride-groom-sf-marina-768x614.jpg 768w, https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/bride-groom-sf-marina.jpg 925w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-144\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bride and Groom hanging out enjoying the Marina<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/italian-weddings-in-san-francisco-part-2\/\">Part 2 &#8211; The Wedding Reception<\/a><\/strong> and big Italian wedding party!<\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I will admit to having a soft spot for big Italian weddings, especially in San Francisco.\u00a0 As an Italian myself who grew up attending large Italian parties, I have experienced the amazing food and fun traditions with my family.\u00a0 Plus, I certainly have attended (as a guest) many Italian wedding in San Francisco over the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1532,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,25,5],"tags":[267,329,255,328,56,239,54,55],"class_list":["post-136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-photography","category-san-francisco","category-weddings","tag-cityhall","tag-italianwedding","tag-northbeach","tag-northbeachweddings","tag-sanfrancisco","tag-sanfranciscoweddingphotographer","tag-weddingphotographer","tag-weddingphotography"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3657,"href":"https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136\/revisions\/3657"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingphotographersanfranciscocityhall.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}