This wedding was especially significant because it was our last wedding of the comeback year for San Francisco city hall weddings. As many readers know, civil ceremonies were cancelled and not held for over a year at this historic building. The Covid-19 pandemic closed the entire building in late March of 2020 until finally reopening in June of 2021. Well over a year with no weddings at SF City Hall. When the first few weddings were cancelled, we figured it would just be for a couple of weeks. Little did we know what was to come! So this wedding marks the end of a very happy last half of 2021 for all of the many San Francisco city hall weddings photographers. It was fun to see all of our fellow professional photographers, but even better to be back taking pictures of happy couples again! Everyone was so glad to have things mostly back to normal, even if we were all wearing masks! The masks didn't last too long, however, and soon things were completely back to normal.
I know that I say this a lot about our city hall wedding couples, but it really is true so often. Christine and Ken were so much fun to photograph. As you look through this gallery, note how frequently they are laughing and having a great time in the pictures. To be honest, I could have filled this entire gallery of the couple cracking up and making each other laugh. This is what makes my job so rewarding. When our couples are having a great time and laughing, it is very contagious. You cannot help but be drawn into their positive attitude. As the time went on, we all became a little bit silly and that just added to the fun of their wedding day.
As their city hall wedding photographer, I wish I could take full credit for their happy demeanor, but they were fully ready to enjoy their wedding date before we even became involved. The only thing I did was to keep the happy vibes going and capture as much as possible with my camera. As you can see from the gallery, it was Christmas time at San Francisco city hall and the beautiful tree was back up after a 1 year absence. As I walked into the building in early December, I was quite happy to see it there again. It has always been the focal point of Christmas weddings at city hall and many couples were able to enjoy it this year. The past years have been so predictable, but with Covid-19 still looming large, we didn't know what to expect. I think everyone was relieved because it was a sign that things were back to normal again after the long pandemic. It seems that so many places have used the Pandemic as an excuse to not return to normal so were very happy to see the Christmas tree again. So were our newlyweds!
Christine and Ken booked our very popular City Hall PLUS package which provided them with 1.5 hours of photographic coverage with enough additional time for Family and Friend pictures. We offer many packages for our couples and try to help them select the most appropriate one for their needs. In this case, Ken and Christine had a substantial amount of guests in attendance, so we recommended the PLUS package to allow for those extra people and pictures. This package also provides them with more time to talk with and enjoy their family and friends. We offer 2 packages that are for City Hall only coverage. The remaining packages involve heading to other locations throughout San Francisco. For a more detailed explanation of our various packages and how to choose the best one, please click City Hall Prices and Packages. Check out the DETAIL section of each package by clicking that link. This will provide you more information about each wedding photography package.
When it came time to photograph the family, we took photographs of various combinations of people with the bride and groom. Then we took the whole group to the Grand Staircase for a few fun pictures. Shortly after this, we began our SF City Hall photo tour where we escorted our happy newlyweds throughout the 4 floors of the building, taking many pictures along the way. Our shoot ended with the iconic photo by the City Hall entrance and then we brought the family back in for a few more celebratory pictures. With the PLUS package, we try to involve the family as much as possible while we are capturing wedding photos, but we always remember that our focus is on the newlyweds.
As we mentioned earlier, it wasn't all that hard to keep this couple happy and having fun. They did most of it on their own. But, what if they didn't? What is a San Francisco city hall wedding photographer supposed to do when their couple is not fully engaged during the photo session? You might be thinking that this should be impossible because it is their wedding day. The truth is, even if the couple is absolutely delighted on their wedding day with things going perfectly, it doesn't mean that the photo shoot will proceed in the same manner. Some couples might be shy or feel that they are not "photogenic". This happens more often then you would imagine. So what kinds of things do we do to help these kind of couples have great wedding photos? Here is a summary of some of the things we try to do to keep things upbeat and fun:
What we should NOT do during the Photoshoot:
Follow these simple guidelines and every wedding photography session will come out great!
Fun Celebration pose by our City Hall Wedding couple