Posts tagged sanfrancisco

Monica & Scott

Monica and Scott got married in San Jose City Hall. It was just the 2 of them formalizing their 7 year old relationship. But they wanted to take photos at San Francisco City Hall.

We started shooting a bit later at the City Hall so there wasn’t so many people. After that we continued to the area near Crissy Fields. Since they came just for the photoshoot it gave me more freedom to experiment and try something new. It’s not that I always shoot the same. I don’t. But remember there are no guests, there’s no ceremony… and that allows for more time to simply spend time with the couple, to get to know them and to play around with some new ideas. At the same time I knew they wanted to get the stairwell shots. At the end of the day the City Hall wasn’t crowded so we were able to get these nice wide shots of them walking down the stairwell.

At the end we got some classic, experimental and personal photos of 3 of them… oh yeah Olly joined us and was our only guests in those photos. She behaved very well

Boris PolisskyNovember 22, 2022sfcityhallphoto, sfcityhallweddingphotography, sfcityhallphotographer, sfcityhallphotoraphy, sfcityhall, goldengatebridge, crissyfields, sanfrancisco, sanfranciscocityhall, cityhallsf, cityhallComment

Bella & Joseph

I love January. Not just because it’s when my birthday is but because it often feels like a fresh start. Maybe it’s because of the vacation and holidays and maybe because in our minds new year is a sort of reset when we start anew.

First wedding of January after holiday and a long deserved vacation and I loved being back at the City Hall. The light at the City Hall in winter time is one of a kind. It’s low and it hits the windows on the north side, bouncing off the walls, creating this ethereal feel.

I love backlighting my couple, often times using another light on them as I like to have more light on the faces. Other times I’ll just ask my couple to be directly in the sunlight and pose them in such a way that it works. With Bella and Joseph I was able to experiment and try what I don’t usually do. And that’s the best part of what I do and makes me excited. It’s never the same and it’s not going to be the same for my couples. It’s not this pose with this spot - a template shot. No it will always vary and will be adjusted to the couple, to the feel, the mood, the light. So many little components go into the shoot and it’s not something we think about in order. All those things go through our head at once. Often times it’s not even a thought, it’s a feel.

You can compare it to a jam band. A great jam band just go for it. They aren’t thinking of the guitar solo.. they are in the moment enjoying what they do. I feel wedding photography is similar to that. While I can plan some shots, more often there’s just no time to do so within 1 hour session. And within that time I try to get to know the couple, observe their behavior with each other, get them relaxed, get them feel comfortable and to not think of me as a photographer but as a friend who’s going to take their photos.

And at the end I feel i had a good session when I have a good mix of images - from candid moments to real emotions to a few artsy shots that make sense and aren’t done for the sake of doing it.

city hall wedding, sf weddingsBoris PolisskyJanuary 21, 2022weddingphotography, weddingphotos, sfphotography, sfcityhallwedding, sfweddingphotography, sfcityhallceremony, sfcityhallweddingphotography, cityhallsf, cityhall, cityhallphoto, cityhallwedding, sanfranciscocityhallphotographer, sanfranciscoComment

Lana & Tom Sutro Baths Wedding

I love when couples called me because I was recommended to them by their friends. To me that’s the biggest compliment one can get. So when Lana contacted me about a wedding they were planning in November I was excited. After talking with Lana and Tom over the phone i felt that this is my kind of couple. And it’s hard to explain exactly what that is but generally there’s a connection. And to me having that connection is extremely important. It allows for complete trust in each other. It also allows the couple to be a lot more relaxed with me. And from the start there was no tension. We didn’t need 5-10 minutes to get to know each other and overcome meeting new people sort of deal. As i said we just connected and as a result we were able to get some really cool images.

Lana and Tom contemplated a few locations for their ceremony till they settled down on the Sutro Baths in San Francisco and we agreed that “the golden hour” and sunset would be the best time for what we wanted. The ceremony was very intimate. Just them, an officiant and myself. They day was just perfect. The sky especially was gorgeous and my eyes were drawn to it. As a result i wanted to make sure we have the beautiful sky in the background on a lot of the shots.

sf weddingsBoris PolisskyNovember 18, 2020SF City Hall Photophotography, sutrobathsphotography, sutrobathswedding, sanfranciscowedding, sanfrancisco, weddingsf, sutrobathssf, goldengatebridgeComment

Elopement - what to do when San Francisco City Hall is closed for wedding

San Francisco City Hall has closed its doors on March 17 and hasn’t reopened since. Unfortunately there’s no sign of it reopening to host numerous weddings. On average 30-40 weddings were officiated in San Francisco City Hall. I was told around 90 weddings were held on popular dates like Valentines day or 7-7-2017, If we do the math a large number of weddings got cancelled this year.

In case you didn’t know all San Francisco City Hall officiants are volunteers. Even when City Hall reopens for wedding I imagine the number of these weddings per day will be a lot smaller.

So what do you do?! The beauty of the SF City Hall is that it provided an intimate, budget wedding in a one of a kind location. Add a photographer who knows the City Hall in and out, and you get memories and photos preserved for the rest of your life. But let’s not divert. This is in no way about me :)

It’s about couples that would like to get married, planned on getting married in San Francisco City Hall but got their wedding canceled or unable to book in the near time future. What do you do!?

While i love San Francisco City Hall, there are options.

While San Francisco County offers “deputy commissioner for the day” program where you can marry specific couple, it needs to be obtained in the City Hall which is currently closed. So unfortunately this is not an option at this time
You can hire a officiant. Formal officiant cost varies, but typically is around $300-$500
Anyone can be an officiant. The process is relatively simple and you can have your friend or family member officiate your wedding. It has to be someone you trust to take care of the paperwork and not lose it while celebrating your wedding. As a matter of fact i often recommend this option because it ends up being more personal. I have officiated several weddings for close friend. While it’s nerve wrecking (oh that pressure) it makes your wedding even more special in my opinion.

Here are few resources to consider to become an ordained minister:

https://www.ulc.org/
https://theamm.org/

There are several other institutions that provide these services but it’s basically the same concept. Make sure all your paperwork submitted in timely fashion after the wedding is officiated.

Now that you have an officiant, you need a place. That is the easy part if your wedding party is small. Remember San Francisco City Hall enforced rules of having 6 guests only at the Rotunda. If you were looking for Rotunda wedding, you probably had handful of guests. You can get married on the beach - San Francisco, beaches like Bakers beach, Half Moon Bay, Stinson Beach are all great places to tie the knot.

There are plenty of other locations to consider including doing it in your own back. The point that if you’d like to get married nothing should stop! No viruses or lockdowns. Of course you have be safe and smart when planning your wedding Make sue you stick with current restrictions and regulations.

And of course we would love to photograph your wedding. A few photos from non City Hall locations that we shot recently

San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge Elopement Photo

Boris PolisskyJuly 28, 2020sfcityhallphotography, sfcityhallphotographer, sanfrancisco, sanfranciscogoldengatebridge, goldengatebridge, palaceoffinearts, sanfranciscowedding, sanfranciscoelopement, elopement, elopementsf, sfwedding, sfcityhallwedding, sfcityhallphotoComment

Tala & Jad

On March 17 for the first time since reopening in 1999, San Francisco City Hall closed down for all wedding ceremonies. As counties in San Francisco Bay Area became the first in the US to mandate “shelter to place” order, all wedding ceremonies got cancelled through April 17..

While coronavirus was taking hold on Europe and various parts of the world, it was still relatively on a low radar in the US. The toilet paper panic hasn’t started. Beans, pasta and rice were still available on the shelves at the stores. But couples started cancelling their wedding as they were concerned already. All that changed in a few days when more and more cases of COVID 19 were being reported in the US, particularly in SF Bay Area.

Tala & Jad didn’t want to cancel. They were determined to get married. They didn’t have a large party. It was just them, Tala’s brother with his wife and daughter. And they were lots of fun! You could tell from the start when they are just “good fun people”. They laughed, joked … and then even danced extremely well.

While this was one of my last sessions at the City Hall before the lockdown, I have no doubt life will go back to normal. Engaged couples will once again walk into the City Hall and leave it happily married… with great memories and photos.

Robyn & Mason

While i love shooting at San Francisco City Hall i often wish i had more time with my couples. Robyn’s mom booked me last minute and wanted to do some more photos at the Fairmont hotel. Unfortunately i was already booked. So we just had 1 hour session at the City Hall right before Christmas.

Robyn and Mason had tons of personality, emotions and passion. Being around couples like that energizes me and reminds me why i I do this.

Kaonta & Terry

Remember that old movie with Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock - Forces of Nature, where they are both trying to make it home no matter what natural disasters stand on their way.

The difference with Kaonta and Terry is that they were heading to San Francisco from Houston when Hurricane Imelda threatened their plans. They were lucky to leave Houston area. George Bush Houston airport got shot down when they had their flight. So they drove to Austin to leave from there and that wasn’t a direct flight. So they arrived late night or more like 2 AM to their hotel room, barely got any sleep and started to prepare for the wedding at San Francisco City Hall. They were lucky to at least have made it to San Francisco. One of their guests got stuck in Houston and couldn’t leave. Kaonta’s family were lucky to make it from Houston and arrive on time to San Francisco. Return back home wasn’t without misfortunes either with emergency rooms and car flooding.

But for the evening of September 20 it wasn’t important. What mattered is 2 people got married in San Francisco City Hall in the presence of their close family. The officiant was local SF judge who happens to be Kaonta’s cousin. A small reception that followed in The Chambers (5 minute walk from the City Hall) was intimate, person and very tasty. I was treated as part of the family and dined with them.

Even though it was a long and tiring day for the bride and the groom, they held it together very well. At the end these are the images that will tell the story for them. All the disasters pass and life continuyes

city hall video, city hall wedding, sf weddingsBoris PolisskyOctober 5, 2019san francisco city hall, sanfranciscocityhallweddingphotography, sanfranciscoweddingphotography, sanfranciscocityhall, sanfrancisco, sfcityhallweddingphotography, sfcityhall, sfcityhallphotographer, sfcityhallphotography, sfcityhallwedding, cityhallsf, cityhallwedding, sanfranciscowedding, sanfranciscoweddingphotographerComment

Indra & Derek

San Francisco City Hall is the place that attract couples from all over the world who want to get married. But of course some don’t have to travel too far to do their ceremony at the famous SF Courthouse.

Indra & Derek had a very intimate ceremony with just their family and few close friends attending. Since their wedding was on Tuesday afternoon, the City Hall wasn’t very crowded. So we had time to move around and take some nice shots in different areas of the City Hall. They also got lucky having their ceremony at the Mayor’s balcony.