San Francisco City Hall Elopement

Katy & Alicja first contacted me about their plan to elope in San Francisco a few months before the actual day. After dating for a few years, they were madly in love and ready to take the next step. They know they didn’t want a big wedding, but wanted more of an intimate celebration with family close by and to keep a lot of the moments just for them. They were full of excitement, romance and passion and they were planning their days completely their dream. With a strong visions and a ton of inspo, we got the ball rolling on plans, timelines and how we would turn their elopement dreams into reality!

On the first day, we met at San Francisco City Hall to take their bridal portraits. They were tall, beautiful and impeccably dressed. I could tell they were in love by the constant smiles and catching of eyes, giggles and how often they held hands. I was so excited to photograph them together in one of my favorite buildings, not only in San Francisco, but the whole country! The architecture at the San Francisco City Hall stands out really like no other building does in the U.S. There is so much detail, every level has light flooding in, painting each interior detail in beautiful soft, ambient light. We also got lucky as it was a sunny day outside, providing ample natural light inside. We took photos around the rotunda, on all of the balconies and of course the famous main staircase. On our way out of the building, I captured Katy & Alicja exiting out of the city hall hand in hand, all smiles and then we proceeded to walk across the street in the iconic crosswalk, sun shining through veils/smiles/architecture. It all culminated into an incredible close to the first day of our shoot together. 

The second day, we met bright and early in the morning as they planned to elope on Baker Beach at sunrise. When I arrived, they were setting up white roses in the sand as a sweet little altar where they would stand with Katy’s brother officiating the ceremony. There was a beautiful log on the beach we used as a bench for grandma and other family members to sit during the ceremony which just added to the sweetness of the moment. It was a little cold that morning, so Katy & Alicja has planned on cashmere sweaters and shawls to keep warm over their dresses. The ceremony started by them walking down the aisle together, arm in arm, already teary eyed, very much smiling from ear to ear. Their ceremony was sweet, they read heartfelt vows about their journey as a couple and there wasn’t a dry eye in sight. The exchanged rings and shared a kiss that seemed to be celebrated by the nature around them. At the very moment they embraced, the wind blew and a flock of birds passed right behind them for the sweetest first kiss photo I think I’ve ever been so lucky to capture. It just felt like a perfect, cinematic moment. After they shared hugs with family and ran over to the phone which had been recording the ceremony for family who couldn’t be present, the two newlyweds walked off toward the Golden Gate Bridge together admiring what they had just done. Some of my favorite shots are of them turning back to see the view of their family behind them waving them on. We proceeded to take some photos on the beach as the sun came up, ran around the waves a little before picking up the roses off the beach (leave no trace <3 ) and then we all headed up to the parking lot where the two newly weds had rented an incredibly beautiful vintage green mustang convertible. And you bed we had planned something special for this part of the day to celebrate their union! Katy’s brother who was also their officiant, had brought his jeep which we naturally decided to take the roof off after I naturally suggested that I should film from the roof as we took a little drive on the coast and across the Golden Gate Bridge. 

I had documented both days on Super 8 and my digital camera, adding nostalgia and digital coverage to tell their beautiful elopement story in San Francisco