Relaxed San Francisco City Hall wedding – swirl couple

zoelarkinphoto

5 years ago

japanese bride and nigerian groom just married leaving City Hall san Francisco through iconic doors

Excited to bring you this fun and relaxed San Francisco City Hall wedding that took place around Christmas time! I love a good Christmas wedding while the tree is set up in the rotunda. The Rainbow World Fund Tree of Hope is a staple in the rotunda every year! You can read about it here.

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About this City Hall wedding couple

Yumi and Dayo are an AMAZING couple – so gentle, full of heart, good-humored, loving and giving.

They came to visit me back when I lived in Oakland a good few months before their wedding. Yup, they’re super organized types that wanted to get a head start on planning!

We talked about Redwood City where they live, banana bread, work/life balance and their story – over homebaked goods, of course!

At the end of the meeting I gave Yumi one of my little branded book bags – and she had it with her on her City Hall wedding day, which warmed my heart.

They had first reached out to me 5 months before their San Francisco City Hall wedding with excitement but in a relaxed way. They would also be having a wedding at Cornerstone Sonoma later in 2019!

The relaxed Christmas wedding at City Hall

Their wedding took place on 12/21 – no excuse for forgetting that wedding anniversary!

They tied the knot in the rotunda area of City Hall, the most popular spot for the short five minute civil ceremonies.

After ceremonies, I normally take couples and their guests to one of the available areas on the third or 4^th floors for formal posed family photos.

They kept the guest list deliberately small and very low key, with just one sibling + their chosen family.

It’s hard when your family is spread out all over the world, Nigeria and Japan mostly, but they decided a larger reception at a later date would be SO worth it!

And the only time everyone would ever be in the same country at the same time!

Knowing that they’d have a big, crazy wedding reception at a later date, it was even more important to slow down and pare down.

Yumi and Dayo really wanted a relaxed day! They decided to take their time with their creative couple’s portrait session and not overstretch themselves with complex logistics & locations.

I do love an itinerary that pushes us and gets the couple maximum bang for their buck, it’s just not for everybody to be rushing around.

The coverage always suits the couples’ needs and sensibilities, including the pace they want to go. Relaxed is good by me – an easier day for sure!!

Relaxed locations behind SF City Hall (Van Ness side)

We kept it sweet and simple for a handful of portraits outdoors.

Outdoor portraits are something I insist on for every City Hall wedding couple, even if it’s just literally 5 minutes of walking out of the iconic ‘City Hall’ door on Polk.

It’s really worth spending the time doing some portraits in natural light to avoid a) higher levels of photographic grain due to the darker atmosphere and b) the color cast of artificial light – very yellow/ orange!

To finish up, we had a few pictures at my favorite City Hall outdoor portrait location – the back of the building at Van Ness.

The light was fading and we worked efficiently to get a wide variety of shots!

The Van Ness side is normally better for the morning in terms of the light that I shoot in. But the sun was low in the sky!

We showed the grandeur of the building in the background plus the beautiful last light of the December day.

As you can see, there were loads of relaxed smiles and unapologetic goofiness at this sweet San Francisco City Hall wedding! Plus a simple, understated elegance that I love so much.

Congrats, Yumi & Dayo!

Always up to date, my guide takes you through it step by step and is the planning resource you’ve been looking for.

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

Looking for a San Francisco City Hall wedding photographer? Look no further! I have an extensive blog library of detailed City Hall wedding planning articles, and I’m ready and waiting to create your customized wedding plan for your unique City Hall wedding!

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