Taking photographs isn’t a new business. Getting married isn’t new either. Getting married in San Francisco, having a small SF City Hall wedding isn’t new. But it doesn’t make it less special when you are the ones getting married.

It’s a great privilege to not just be part of one of the biggest event in a people’s lives, but to be trusted as a photographer during their San Francisco courthouse wedding. I never take it for granted and every single wedding try to be the best i possibly can as a photographer. Through the years I met people from all over the world. Couples come from the UK, Canada, New Zealand and other US tates specifically to get married in beautiful San Francisco City Hall. Other people come from all over the world and meet in the US, then decide to get married in San Francisco Courthouse. Every story is unique and I have to admit I enjoy these stories. Maybe it’s the History major (and Bachelors degree) or maybe I’m very interested in people.. how they met, what they thought of each other, how they get along. And of course not everyone is a extrovert and will tell me their whole life story. That’s totally ok. It’s really none of my business you can say. At the same time it doesn’t only satisfy my interest, but it brings more in couples when we take photos. It brings fun memories of how they met, fun or maybe serious moments. And as we talk, we walk around the City Hall and take photos. Sometimes there’s more time, sometimes there’s less.

My path to being San Francisco City Hall wedding photographer was in some ways accidental, but then i don’t really believe in accidents. Neither do i believe in preordained destiny. I think it’s somewhere in between where we decide how our life goes. But I’m grateful that over the few years as an owner and photographer of SF City Hall Photo i met such amazing people, became part of their life (even if for a moment) and was able to leave them with some of the greatest memories they will have.

city hall wedding, sf weddingsBoris PolisskyJuly 6, 2019SF City Hall Photosf city hall photo, sfchwedding, sfweddingphotographer, sf, sanfranciscoweddingphotographer, sanfranciscoweddingphotography, san francisco city hall wedding, sanfranciscocityhall, weddingguide, wedding guide, wedding photography, wedding photographerComment

Brittany & Dustin by SF City Hall Photo

We all know that City Hall gets busy and even when officiants try their best to be on time, things can run a bit late. But that wasn’t the case for Brittany & Dustin. Everything went smooth from the moment they checked in to the Clerk’s office. No wait time.

As we were coming up the Grand Stairwell for the ceremony, the stairwell was practically empty. I politely asked a few people to hide behind the columns so i can take a nice wide shot of the couple on the Grand Stairwell. I personally love clean stairwell shots, when the attention is drawn to the couple with the stairwell going up.

After the ceremony we headed to the 4th floor which was clear for us. Even though we can take group shots in various area, I really enjoy doing group shots on the 4th floor due to all that natural light that comes through the windows.

And of course as I always once we are done with the serious and fun shots I wanted to experiment a little - the couple had their own little pose/sign they wanted to do and I decided to take it next level.

guide, sf weddings, city hall weddingBoris PolisskyJune 26, 2019SF City Hall Photosf city hall photo, sf city hall, city hall, photography, photographer, wedding guide, weddingpgotogaphy, weddings, sanfranciscocityhall, sanfranciscoweddingphotographer, sanfranciscocityhallweddingphotographer, sanfranciscocityhallweddingphotographyComment

Phykun and Jonathan by SF City Hall Photo

Not everything goes according to plan. And no… everyone who comes to get married to the City Hall gets married. Phykun and Jonathan had some issues during the check in, but we worked out through them together. At the end we found our own officiant who was on fire and did the ceremony better than any officiant could. I laughed while taking photos.

We spent some time around the City Hall covering all 4 floors, happily coming outside for some fresh air and last few photos.

Boris PolisskyJune 19, 2019SF City Hall Photosan francisco city hall, san francisco, city hall, sf city hall photo, sfcityhallphoto, sanfranciscocityhallweddingphotographer, san francisco city hall wedding photographer, san francisco city hall wedding photography, san francisco city hall wedding, san francisco wedding, weddingguide, weddingphotography, wedding photographyComment

Pufan & Jessica by SF City Hall Photo

I am very grateful to my clients that have complete trust in me and go along with whatever ideas I have. In this case i really wanted to play around with more contrast and color as it seemed to be very fitting to Pufan & Jessica. Of course I always, always want to make sure I get more classic, traditional photos. Then I get different canvas and try something new. Pufan & Jessica simply went along with whatever i suggested and within an hour or so we had a great variety of photos.

sf weddingsBoris PolisskyJune 19, 2019SF City Hall Photosan francisco city hall, san francisco city hall wedding, sanfranciscocityhallweddingphotography, sfchphoto sf SF San Francisco weddingguide wedding photographer wedding photography weddings marriage photography professional photography photographer photojournalism city hall sf city hall san francisco city hall, sf city hall photo, sfchwedding, sfwedding, sfcityhall, sfcityhallphotoComment

Carleigh & Adam by SF City Hall Photo

Who says you can’t have a small wedding ceremony in the City Hall without your bridesmaids and groomsmen? Carleigh and Adam definitely didn’t think so.

Yes, it was small.. yes it was intimate.. and it was perfect! We got great emotional ceremony photos, lots of group photo variations and of course a good variety of photos with just the couple. Couldn’t help it but take extra photos of just the lovely bride by herself.

sf weddings, city hall weddingBoris PolisskyMay 21, 2019SF City Hall Photosf city hall photo, san francisco, san francisco city hall, wedding photographer, weddingguide, weddingphotography, photographer, photo, photography, photojournalism, photoalbum, professional photography, City HallComment

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

Kristine & John by SF City Hall Photo

Our first wedding on 2019 was Kristine and John tying the knot in beautiful San Francisco City Hall. It was pretty quiet after the holiday rush. Kristine and John brought their 7 months old son Al and it was just the 4 of us wandering around the City Hall.

The wedding session turned more into a family session and I wanted to make sure I leave them with a great collection of photos with the 3 of them. The more i do this, the more I realized it’s not the fancy, artistic shots that matter to a lot of couples. It’s these true moments where the family is captured our this special day. I feel we accomplished it quiet well.

sf weddings, guideBoris PolisskyJanuary 9, 2019sf city hall photo, weddingpgotogaphy, wedding, sfcityhall, san francisco city hall, city hall, weddings tips, san francisco wedding photographer, wedding photography, wedding photographerComment

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.

Boris PolisskyMay 29, 2018weddings tips, weddingphoto, weddingguide, weddingpgotogaphy, weddings, photography, photojournalism, photoshoot, photographer, sf city hall photo, sfcityhallphoto, sf city hall, sfchphoto, sfweddingphotographer, sfchwedding, sf, cityhallsfComment

Anh & Paul 1 year later

Anh and Paul married in June 2017 and one of the first weddings i did when i took over SF City Hall Photo. The was lots of natural chemistry and they were a fun and easy couple to work with for a few hours we had together. I approached them a few weeks ago and offered to go for a walk in San Antonio Rancho around the sunset and take some photos. They agreed and let me tell them what to do once again. As a result we got a nice collection of photos ourdoors.

Boris PolisskyMay 3, 2018sfweddingphotography, sf, sf city hall photo, sfcityhallphoto, sfchwedding, engagement, san antonio rancho, happycouple, coupleComment

Kayla and Chris

Parents from both sides, bride's grand parents and bride and groom came together on a Friday afternoon. Kayla and Chris have been together for a few years but this is the 1st time their parents meet. One side is coming from Boston while another from San Diego for a wedding that brings the family together. The grand parents served as witness.