If You Want A Celebration To Remember, Have A San Francisco City Hall Wedding

By Andrew Snyder


Most couples have a ceremony of some kind when they get married. It can be an elaborate affair with hundreds of guests, an orchestra, and an expensive reception. Others opt for the most economical service they can manage with just a handful of friends and family. If you want a great, affordable experience, and trick your guests at the same time, you can invite everyone to join you at your San Francisco city hall wedding.

This building is one of the most iconic and photographed monuments in San Francisco. You can actually be married there for as little as a thousand dollars. This amount will get you a one hour ceremony conducted on the fourth floor gallery or on the Mayor's Balcony. There is seating for sixty guests. Since you only have one hour, the reception will have to be held elsewhere.

If you need more room for guests and want a more elaborate affair, you can have a two hour service for around five thousand dollars. These ceremonies take place in the Rotunda on the Grand Staircase. There is room for two hundred guests. Your package includes insurance, basic services, and chairs. You will have to set up and break down the equipment within the two hour window.

A really great option, and one that is extremely popular, is the evening ceremony. Vows are taken on the Grand Staircase. Your guests can enjoy a cocktail reception in the North Light Court, and then dine and dance in style in the nineteenth century Rotunda. Services are held on weekends and all throughout the week. You will be able to set up beginning at two in the afternoon and must have everything out of the building by two the next morning.

The event coordinator will meet with you to discuss which package works best for your situation. You will probably find that you need to hire an independent vendor to handle the details. This venue is limited in what it can offer you in the way of seating and equipment. You will be billed separately for everything the staff provides that is outside the basic package.

Your package will not include the marriage license or certificate. These are obtained through the Clerk of the Court's office. Packages do not include individuals to officiate the ceremony. If you don't have a preferred official, you may contact the Clerk's office or the city for more information.

When you discuss packages with the event coordinator, you will probably receive a list of rules and regulations. Items that are not allowed will be high on the list. These include fireworks, snow and smoke machines, confetti, helium balloons, and smoking. If you want to raise a sign or banner, or install lighting, on the building's exterior, the city engineer must supervise it.

San Francisco is a beautiful place, and city hall is one of its most beautiful buildings. It is considered an excellent example of American Renaissance architecture. Getting married there will be an experience you can relate to generations to come.




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