She Came from Hong Kong.He Came from Miami.

San Francisco City Hall
City Hall Elopement

The newlyweds walking down the grand staircase at San Francisco City Hall

THE STORY

She came from Hong Kong. He came from Miami. They came to San Francisco to get married at City Hall.

She was one of those rare clients whose taste felt instantly familiar to me. She didn’t want a traditional wedding dress. Perfect. I had wanted to photograph a woman getting married in a suit for years, and she finally gave me the chance.

The couple standing beneath green trees in the Japanese Tea Garden

A close portrait of the couple in the Japanese Tea Garden

A close view of the couple holding hands

The bride looking back through the garden

A black-and-white portrait beneath the garden trees

ONE DAY, MANY WAYS OF SEEING

We shot digital, 35mm, Instax, Polaroid, and even 120 medium format. I could have kept going.

We began at the Japanese Tea Garden, made our way to City Hall, then kept walking through Chinatown and Little Italy. Nothing felt rushed. They trusted me, encouraged every idea, and left so much room for the day to become its own thing.

The couple leaning toward one another inside City Hall

The couple framed by a tall window inside San Francisco City Hall

The couple beneath the City Hall rotunda

The couple walking along a City Hall staircase

An overhead view of the couple walking through City Hall

The couple seated together on the City Hall stairs

The bride in a white suit and hat peeking through a red curtain

The couple kissing beside a brass elevator

The couple embracing on an upper level of City Hall

A soft black-and-white portrait inside City Hall

The newlyweds outside the ornate City Hall entrance

AFTER CITY HALL

Everything went the way we had hoped. Somehow, it was better than that.

We walked a long way, changed cameras constantly, and kept finding moments that had never been part of the plan. Those are the photographs I keep coming back to.

The newlyweds crossing a San Francisco street

The couple standing together in a red Chinatown doorway

The newlyweds seated together in warm afternoon light

The couple walking together through Chinatown

A quiet sunlit portrait of the newlyweds

The newlyweds kissing on a Chinatown street