San Francisco City Hall Elopement | Dakota & Dom
One of the underrated highlights of being a wedding photographer is befriending our couples’ closest friends.
This is how Dakota & Dom came into our life last spring, and how we ended up photographing their very own marriage this spring. Dakota was a bridesmaid and long time childhood friend of our Higuera Ranch bride Montana, and so we got to spend a day with her too last spring when we photographed Montana & Sam’s wedding. I was floored when Dakota reached out to me in January about photographing her elopement to her (then) fiance Dom, and became even more excited when she told me their plans. Unbeknownst to her, Dakota & Dom’s vision for their elopement day included two bucket list destinations of mine I honestly believed I wouldn’t have the chance to photograph before we left California— San Francisco City Hall and Marin County’s Mount Tamalpais.
The following week we chatted through how she and Dom envisioned their wedding day— exchanging vows on a Friday morning at the palatial SF City Hall before heading across the Golden Gate to the Pacific side of Mount Tam for a little sunset session. To add to the dream locations, Dakota and Dom are the most kind and thoughtful people (we are very very lucky and honored to be working our way through photographing this friend group!!!!), and saying yes to spending one of the most special days of their lives with them was so easy.
Fast forward to an unusually sunny morning in late March. We’d done our research and arrived at San Francisco City Hall for the couple’s elopement photos bright and early (pro tip: plan to take photos right when City Hall opens to mitigate crowds!!). We only ran into one other couple the entire hour we were taking photos in City Hall (I understand this is a bit unheard of for this popular location in San Francisco!), and the early morning sunlight coming through the giant windows lit up the whole place so magically. I immediately understood why everyone and their mother flocks to SF City Hall for elopement photos!
This was our first time photographing in an urban landscape (we are so country, haha), and I fell in love with this unique opportunity to use all the angles, architecture, and bending light to frame Dakota and Dom in their photos. City Hall is truly one of those places you can see a million photos of, have your breath taken away, and then arrive in person and still have your jaw hit the floor. This really was such a unique experience, and I am so grateful for Dakota and Dom bringing us up to San Francisco to photograph their elopement in such a special place!
Later that evening we met back up with Dakota and Dom at Mount Tamalpais. We were absolutely expecting fog, but the whole day ended up being completely sunny and straight up gorgeous. Since we took more formal elopement photos at San Francisco City Hall, Dakota and Dom’s vision for the Mt. Tam portion of the day was more of an “engagement session” style. They brought a picnic blanket and pizza with them to enjoy the sunset, hoping to have some very real life photos of a typical date night in their relationship. These two love the outdoors, and escape downtown San Francisco to go hiking or simply be in nature every chance they get, often ending up in Marin on one of the many miles of trails throughout the area. Sunset picnics cap off these days, and we loved having the opportunity to photograph Dakota and Dom in their element.
Overall, this day was a dream come true with an equally dream couple whose love for each other is so dang tangible (you’ll have to scroll through their photos to see what I mean!!). Dakota and Dom, we are so grateful for you and are honored to have captured this milestone in your life together :’)
Hey y’all! We’re Katie & Joseph, a husband & wife team, and Scottsdale wedding photographers.
YES, if you’ve been following along for a while, you’ll notice a difference ;). We are relocating to Arizona in 2024 and will be booking weddings in the Southwest beginning NOW!
We are big fans of documenting wedding days in an unposed, raw, genuine, and honest way that allows our couples to maximize their experience on their day while also receiving a gallery full of stunning images that communicate how it felt to be there.
Though we’ll be based in Phoenix, we’ll travel anywhere for a good love story (and dance party). We invite you to follow the links below to learn more about us and our services, and to get in contact with us!
Featured Weddings ~
Hannah and Tom have spent much of their relationship living in an RV and travelling the country, and so it felt almost natural to have a national park themed wedding in one of their favorite destinations, Arizona.