It’s no secret by now that San Francisco City Hall is gorgeous. And today we’re featuring Tyler and April’s tiny wedding that was held there in the Rotunda.
They knew they wanted something small and intimate and had visited SF city hall the year before from Texas. So when the time came it seemed like the perfect option for them. They included their siblings in the ceremony and spread the news with everyone shortly after!
Scroll down for gorgeous photos and some Q&A with the couple.
Photography: Shannon May Brown Photography
Flowers: Farm Girl Flowers
Hair and Makeup: Beauty in SF
Headband: Emma Katzka
Ring Box: The Mrs. Box
How did you two meet?
We met in middle school. We had secret crushes on each other that only our close mutual friends knew about. They told us, and we finally started dating at the beginning of high school. We dated throughout high school and college then long distance since we graduated at different times.
We got engaged in April 2019 in Austin, Texas and got married in February 2020.
How did you decide to elope? Did you face any challenges along the way?
That’s more of our style. We love our friends and family, but we wanted to keep it simple and really focus on what we wanted. We did have a small group (siblings) join us during the ceremony.
Our biggest challenge was definitely planning from another state. We didn’t apply for our marriage license until the day before the ceremony. On the wedding day, everything was perfect, but we think we would have preferred to meet our vendors in-person before our special day. Shoutout to Shannon May Brown for being amazing to work with and taking fantastic photos.
How did you decide on the location?
We wanted the best looking city hall, so we started to look online. In our first search, San Francisco City Hall really caught our attention. The architecture is beautiful, and we knew immediately that we wanted to get married there.
Did you tell anyone ahead of time or truly elope? How did you break the news to everyone who wasn’t there the day of?
Shortly after we got engaged we made the decision to have a really small ceremony. We told our close friends and family shortly after we made our decision. They were all very understanding and supportive of our decision.
We included our siblings in the ceremony and called parents and a few others after.
What was your favorite part of the wedding day and why?
Finally getting married. We dated for 10 years and we were ready to be husband and wife. Having Shannon there, capturing the entire morning in San Francisco City Hall, was fantastic. We have never had professional pictures taken of us, and our wedding day pictures turned out amazing.
What advice do you have for other couples planning their elopements?
Create a checklist of things you have to do. Whether it’s legal documents or flowers, write it down to track. Don’t hesitate to call or email your vendors if you have questions or concerns.
Make sure you choose a great photographer. Those photos are going to be cherished for many, many years by you and others as well.
