For this Indian wedding at San Francisco City Hall, Sandhya the bride took inspiration from her originally Indian heritage (via the Fiji Islands!). The Bay Area native wanted to honor her roots at the more formal City Hall ceremony ahead of a relaxed shindig the following weekend.

They had a fun picnic for their reception at Roberts Regional Park in Oakland!

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Formal ceremony vibes

For their wedding ceremony itself however, they wanted to inject a little more formality and pomp to the occasion. It was a very small ceremony with just immediate family & close friends present, numbering around 10. As it was a second marriage for both of them, the intimate & informal nature of their celebrations suited them down to the ground.

Sean wore a very dashing black tux, while Sandhya opted for a GORGEOUS blue imported Indian lengha in honor of her Indo-Fijian heritage. Against the pinkish hues of the San Francisco City Hall’s Tennessee marble, it really popped. I would LOVE to see more brides wearing blue!

I also encourage couples breaking with tradition or following traditions that honor their culture of origin. White dresses sure are pretty but there are actually endless options. If a white dress doesn’t suit your vibe, get inspiration from elsewhere!

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

Candid photography

Sandhya first reached out because she was drawn to my candid imagery and unobtrusive style. She reached out a full year before her Indian City Hall wedding – she’s uber organized! She emphasized the importance of unposed shots of the interactions between the guests, which I was happy to oblige as it’s my specialty!

With a group as fun as this there were so many opportunities for great interaction shots which can be taken unobtrusively. There was a good mix of ages, from Sandhya’s mom and stepdad, Sean’s mom, and Sandhya’s 15-year old, plus friends who injected a lot of lively fun to proceedings.

Although I don’t show the formal, posed portraits in my blog posts or anywhere else online, they are an integral part of wedding photography and something you and your guests will treasure for years to come. Some things may have changed, but formal posed pics of all your loved ones remain the same!

With everyone in their finery for this Indian City Hall wedding, it’s sure an occasion you’ll want to capture formally!

couple celebrating outside doors of city hall after wedding

After the ceremony

Rest assured that right after ceremony we will have time put aside to capture all the family/ friend groupings you’d like. I’ll ask for a list of all the groupings so we can bang out those pictures efficiently and effortlessly.

I love City Hall weddings so much! Even though the format is essentially the same for every 5-minute civil ceremony, it is quite astounding how much personality couples inject into the details. Everything from their outfits, to their accessories, their vibe and expectations and what the guests bring.

Indian and cultural ceremonies

Couples often dress way more boldly (none more so than for an Indian City Hall wedding). They often seek to express their personalities way more fully. And the stress level is very low – because there is nothing to worry about! You have just a couple of vendors and everything else is done for you!

The fast pace of the City Hall wedding is something I really enjoy, too. We have just 4 – 5 minutes to capture the I Do’s, ring exchange, tears, laughs, first kiss etc.

My favorite thing though about City Hall weddings is that we can go ANYWHERE in SAN FRANCISCO to capture you and your boo in creative portraits!

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!

Be sure to pin this graphic to your San Francisco City Hall wedding planning board!