A city hall ceremony is always a wonderful idea, did you know sometimes civil ceremony slots are booked out for 2+ months, and the other option to rent an area costs $1,000+ and also books out months in advance? Is there a middle ground between the rental of an area and the typical 5-minute rotunda civil ceremony, that you could theoretically pull together much quicker than the realistic timeframes involved when going the official route?

A recent couple made me aware of an option to get married at San Francisco City Hall without booking an area or making a civil ceremony booking through the website.

The method I’m about to go into is little guerrilla-style, but it is technically permitted! I’ll do my best to explain it in depth this article. 

You have a friend/ family member marrying you and can take your pick of places to have your ceremony.

It’s a bit of a blend of the regular 5-minute ceremonies and the area rentals, without actually renting the area directly with City Hall. 

What are the most common ceremony types?

A ceremony taking place in the rotunda of San Francisco City Hall

Regular ceremony

Around 95% of couples marrying at San Francisco City Hall choose the regular civil ceremony which takes place in the rotunda. 

The ceremony lasts just 4 minutes and the costs associated are very minimal (under $200 at the current time). There is no personalization possible in the vows or much else. 

A deputy marriage commissioner will marry you. They are retired City judges and they perform ceremonies on a voluntary basis. They all have their different quirks and ways of performing ceremonies but they essentially follow a script. Some take a strict approach to matters such as your guest count and others are more relaxed.

A ceremony taking place on the Mayor’s Balcony of SF City Hall

Area rental

Booking a dedicated area costs $1,000. You can choose from the Mayor’s Balcony or one of the 4th Floor Galleries. These can be booked up to a year in advance, as opposed to only 90 days for regular ceremonies. 

You’ll have the option to have chairs set up how you like and a velvet rope keeping out the general public. 

When you go down this route you will not have a City-appointed judge included. You would book your own officiant or alternatively you may have a friend/ family member ordained to perform the marriage ceremony. 

However, this other option which I will explain in this article, presents another choice which combines elements of both. 

If you’re interested in finding out everything you could possibly need to know about going the private route, check out my dedicated guide linked below, available in both blog post and video format:

Benefits & features of this type of guerilla-style City Hall ceremony

• Choose your own spot in City Hall 
• No checking in at room 168 
• You won’t need a regular ceremony appointment 
• There isn’t a strict start time 
• Deputized friend performing the ceremony 
• Personal vows 
• Submit paperwork to room 162 immediately after ceremony
• Prepare to be flexible 
• Uncertain maximum guest count but advise to keep it fewer than 6 
• Uncertain maximum length of time for ceremony

A friend performing a wedding ceremony in San Francisco City Hall

There are two different ways of approaching officiant duties.

Your chosen officiant will become ‘Deputy Marriage Commissioner For A Day’

The City calls it ‘deputy marriage commissioner for a day’ and has a web page about it here. There are specific times deputizing takes place. The couple must have their marriage license first. It does take some time so plan accordingly. 

Make sure your officiant pal is aware of what they’ll need to commit to. There is work they’ll need to undertake before the wedding day probably without you present. 

It costs $177 and will rise over time. In addition, you’ll need your marriage license.

For regular ceremonies you can pick up a license anywhere in CA. However, this is not the case if you are being married by a Deputy Marriage Commissioner for the Day. Then, it can only be issued by San Francisco City Hall.

They agree to adhere to certain strict rules that they’ll be made aware of when they visit the office. They must appear in person in room 168 of San Francisco City Hall’s County Clerk’s Office. 

Your chosen officiant will need to be sworn in (take an oath) in advance of the wedding. The deputization must take place anytime between when the license is issued and the wedding itself.  

The deputization is for just one ceremony for one couple at just one location at a specific time. ​

Your chosen officiant will simply get ordained through an online ordination service

Simply put, your chosen friend will become an ordained officiant through an inexpensive online service such as Universal Life Church or American Marriage Ministries. The ordination happens officially and legally in the state of California but completely outside of any of City Hall’s processes.

Then, you simply use City Hall as a backdrop for your ceremony. This is only possible because City Hall is a public building, and is open to anyone. 

Where these ceremonies take place is up to you

An amazing feature of these kinds of unique City Hall ceremonies is that you can in theory get married wherever you like within City Hall, being a public building.

Apart from if it obstructs a wedding that is already taken place or is scheduled to, it seems as if the entire public area of the building is fair game. So, that rules out the rotunda of course which is where the regular ceremonies will be taking place. 

The first couple I worked with that tried this used 4th Floor North Gallery. 

There were a few people milling around up there as of course, this isn’t a rented space. However, it was the couple’s top choice which worked beautifully for pictures, though a City-appointed judge with another wedding group was at one point trying to intervene. 

It really depends on the luck of the draw whether you manage to secure your preferred spot on the day. The only way to guarantee it is to book and pay the $1,000 fee. 

My previous client happened to have a friend that was familiar with this route. I have it on good authority from him that as long as you’re not in the way of city business and following other rules (crowd size, noise, etc.) you have free reign of areas. 

My next couple that went this route had a friend ordained online and we used the 3rd Floor North, an area that is not used for ceremonies so is essentially completely open to the public. Though there were other wedding groups and a quinceanera breathing down our necks the whole time, we didn’t let it bother us. The couple barely noticed. 

Looking for other ideas for getting married anywhere you like in City Hall? Valentine’s Day has some unique options!

You’ll enjoy much less waiting time at your San Francisco City Hall wedding

Another huge benefit is that there’s less waiting time. 

For regular ceremonies it’s common to have to check in 15 minutes before the time on your paperwork, then more after you’ve checked in.

That totals 30 minutes of waiting time on average, which really eats into your booked photography time. 

With the type City Hall ceremony outlined in this article, performed by a friend/ family member or paid officiant, there is no check-in process at room 168 because you’re not in need of a City-appointed judge. 

This couple chose the 4th Floor of their ceremony conducted by their friend

The ceremony itself 

“The City does not [otherwise] control the content of marriage ceremonies they perform”. 

However I have heard it said that religious wording is not allowed during the ceremony, though this is not confirmed. 

You are not in such a time crunch because there’s nobody else waiting for your officiant’s services or your spot! 

The couple I photographed kept things to about 10 minutes but from what I understand you could in theory have a longer ceremony with personal vows and even readings. 

Due to the way things are at City Hall, don’t be surprised if you get moved along though! You will be operating somewhat guerilla-style and have to be OK with that to go down this route 😉 

After the ceremony

You need to carve out some time to visit the Assessor’s Office in room 190, not to be confused with room 160 and 168, part of the County Clerk’s Office. 

This area is not overrun with other marriers, so it’s a very simple process when you’re there. 

You simply take a seat and fill out the paperwork, then take a number and wait to be called. Soon you’ll be presenting yourself at the clerk’s desk and finishing the process. The finished certificate is mailed to you some days or weeks later. 

Bear in mind, to date I have only ever photographed this one couple who chose to deputize a friend as a marriage commissioner for a day. I do not know if submitting the marriage license to room 190 is required, or something this couple chose to do, or was done at this time only and no longer; or they had to do this process on the wedding day because they were an out-of-state couple. 

For another couple I photographed in late 2024, they also had to go to Room 190 to turn in the paperwork. It was a little time-consuming and confusing actually, as they kept getting shunted from Room 160 to Room 190, with seemingly no-one at City Hall knowing what to do about the couple’s paperwork. This ended up taking around 30 minutes of our time anyway, but I gifted them with extra time anyway. 

I encourage you to ensure the friend is given information about this and that you check directly with City Hall if in doubt. 

Friend acting as deputy marriage commissioner for a day signing papers on 3rd floor

Who will this type of ceremony suit? 

This is a good middle ground for those who want something more than the 5-minute scripted rotunda ceremony, but perhaps don’t want the pomp and expense of the full rental of a space. 

It would suit couples who are pretty casual in their approach and can be flexible with last-minute changes. There is a reasonable possibility that you won’t get the area that you may have in mind.

It’s even a possibility that you’ll get moved along halfway through if there happens to be something going on, like almost happened at one of these I shot. 

This type of ceremony would be a great fit for you if the day you had your heart set on is in fact fully booked. If City Hall’s booking calendar is totally full. Sometimes the next available date is 2.5 months out for ceremonies. Just leave plenty of lead time as it will still require planning. 

You need to allow time for the process of getting your friend ordained as ‘Deputy Marriage Commissioner for a Day’, and yes, there will be hoops to jump through.

Please be aware!

I would be happy to answer any other questions that prospective clients may have on the topic, though as a disclaimer the source of my information is not City Hall itself, I’m not affiliated with them in any way. Don’t forget to get more information by going through the official City Hall page and process starting here.

In room 190 of SF City Hall presenting finished paperwork to officials

Find out more about my San Francisco City Hall wedding photography services here.

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