Cecilia & Victor

Backyard wedding have become a norm for many couples in 2020 and early 2021. And there are many pluses. Couples save money by not having to rent a venue. Specifc catering companies that work with the venues are not needed and the couple has a choice to bring in any food they’d like. As you know alcohol bill(especially for an open bar) can be quite large.Number of guests is limited to pretty much closest family members. So if you don’t feel like inviting someone, there’s a great excuse not to do so now. In general there’s a lot of complexities and timnig when you have a large wedding in a specific venue. There are minuses as well for backyard wedding - preparation is done by you or someone close to you. You have to worry about cleaning up. There are friends you’d really like to invite and see but unable to do so.

At the end Cecilia & Victor decided not to wait for uncertancy of 2021 and got married in January. Their friend performed the duties of the officiant and did a nice job for the first time in his life. I could tell he was nervous and he rushed through some of the parts quickly, but none the less we got the first kiss, wine ceremony and a lot of laughs.

It was a lovely, quiet ceremony and reception at the couple’s house - mostly backyard as they tried to make sure everything happens outdoors.

Before the ceremony we met at Sharon Park in Menlo Park to take some pre-wedding photos. I took advantage of the sun being high up for some of the backlit shots as well as allowing for a lot of light to come through and lit up my couple. While it’s easy to simply hide in the shade and use flash for some of the photos, I really like to take advantage of the natural light even if it’s midday. My goal was to create real, more candid photos even if they were posed and guided and i wanted to focus on their relationship with their kids since both have kids from their previous marriage. And of course we timeboxed this wedding placing it in the middle of the pandemic with a matching mask - Queen and King.

Boris PolisskyJanuary 20, 2021backyardwedding, wedding photographer, weddingphotography, weddingguide, weddingpgotogaphy, wedding, weddingphotos, weddingphoto, wedding2021, covidweddingComment

Maria & Jacob

How much can a photographer do when most of San Francisco City Hall is locked for in preparation for an events - the Rotunda is closed off to a point that the ceremonies are done in the private room, the Grand Stairwell is off limits, the 2nd floor is completely blocked off, the lights are being setup on the 3rd floor. In addition to that both North and South side of the 4th floor are reserved for private ceremonies. You get a little creative

Luckily Maria, Jacob and their family were so flexible, fun and easy to work. They completed trusted me and followed along with whatever we did. We spent about an hour plus to get all the shots we needed and we could under the circumstances. But i couldn’t have been happier. We did break a few rules but without causing any issues or endangering anyone in the process.

Maria and Jacob brought so much energy and emotions to every shot that I honestly could’ve gone the whole day with them if they didn’t have a dinner waiting for them.

Tiffany & Bernard

One of the main reasons I enjoy shooting City Hall weddings is because majority of the time they are very intimate. There’s a small number of guests, often it’s the just the couple only. Don’t get me wrong, large, elaborate weddings are interesting, but they just aren’t as private. Often times they are about the guests more than about the couple getting married.

In the case of Tiffany and Bernard it was just them and their parents. Having 2 plus hours to spend with such a small group creates a sort of intimacy and an atmosphere where the couple gets to know you and I get to know the couple. To me they are not some people i just met. We have a moment to talk and get to know each other a little. I get to understand what they like, what they are into, how they met, etc… And the end result is we had time to do preparation photos at the hotel, first look, the ceremony, group photos, a very good variety of portrait photos as well as some individual shots.

We partnered with IqVideography to get a very cool highlights video - https://vimeo.com/379934906/85fc9e368c

Irem & Berti by SF City Hall Photo

When your family is not in the same country when you decide to get married, you bring your close friends and Skype.

I have photographed large wedding, very large weddings. I do enjoy that, but a smaller wedding is more relaxing for bride and groom as well as their guests. Everyone gets time to talk to them, joke around, take photos and it ends up being more personal and emotional to capture.

That’s how it turned out when Irem & Berti got married. Once we shot the ceremony, group photos and most of Irem & Berti photos that i wanted to do, I did a few portrait solo photos. As you talk to your couple while shooting and behind the scenes, you learn a lot more. Like the fact that Berti was studying to be a photographer and does some great aerial photos - i checked out his instagram later on.

The best part about my job is that I get to meet people i normally wouldn’t meet. I get to hear stories, learn about their lives, what they like, what they do and at the same time be part of one of their most memorable day.

Boris PolisskyApril 23, 2019sf city hall photo, sfchwedding, sfwedding, sfcityhallphoto, san francisco, san francisco wedding photographer, sanfranciscocityhall, city hall, city hall photo, weddingguide, weddingphoto, weddingphotography, photography, photographer, photoalbumComment

Xinwei & Minmeng - Valentine's day by SF City Hall Photo

Valentine’s day is a special kind of day at the San Francisco City Hall. It’s also one of the busiest day a year when it comes to weddings. On days like that we are always prepared to take advantage of the open areas as soon as we see them.

Now Xinwei & Minmeng got very lucky on that day in so many ways. They got one of my favorite City Hall officiant, their ceremony was moved up to the 4th floor. In addition to that we timed it right so they could get a clean shot of the Grand Stairwell. For those who have come to the City Hall on regular days, they would know that people are constantly going up and down the stairwell and standing on the 2nd floor. So the grand stairwell shots .. clean grand stairwell shots.. are not always possible. However it all was doable on February 14th for this awesome couple.

This is just a small sample of variety of photos the couple received . Both natural and flash light used.

Boris PolisskyFebruary 19, 2019sf city hall photo, sfweddingphotography, sfcityhallphoto, sf, san francisco city hall, san francisco, weddingguide, wedding photographer, weddingpgotogaphy, weddingphotography, weddingphoto, Weddings, weddingtipsComment

Andrea & Kevin by SF City Hall Photo

Andrea and Kevin are getting married in Aruba in 2019, but wanted to do a session at the City Hall as they were getting their license. They came in on Friday afternoon and although City Hall got filled up with occasional tour groups, it was relatively quiet as the last ceremonies were finished at 3.30. That allowed us room to maneuver around the City Hall and actually achieve a "clean", crowd-less shot of the Grand Stairwell. I have to admit it's quite a rare occasion and even then i had to polite ask a few people to move for just a split second.

It was a gorgeous day and i wanted to take advantage of the outdoors and the sun creating glares and fun shadows. The end result is quite a good collection of photos done within a very short period of time.

Boris PolisskyJuly 18, 2018sfweddingphotography, sf, sfcityhall, sfweddingphotographer, sfchphoto, sfcityhallphoto, wedding photographer, weddingpgotogaphy, weddingguide, photojournalism, photohrapher, professional photography, weddingphotoComment

Aislinn & Philip by SF City Hall Photo

Ailsinn and Philip came all the way from Chicago to get married in the City Hall. No guests, no large parties... just the 2 of them. I served as their witness, photographer and guide around the City Hall for about an hour. Aislinn mentioned to me earlier that her parents got married in the City Hall, so it was a special location for her. She even showed me a photo of her parents on the steps of the City Hall and asked if we could do a similar photo. We did, minus the pigeons that seemed to have made their habitat on the steps years back. Nowdays you don't get to see that. All though it would make for some good photos.