October 2021

thomas fogarty wedding silhouetted bride and groom with a colorful sunset around them

11 Best San Francisco Wedding Venues

Venues

11 Best San Francisco Wedding Venues The Ultimate Guide to the 11 Best San Francisco Wedding Venues (with pricing and photos)  Interested in learning what the best San Francisco wedding venues are? I have rounded up some of my favorite wedding venues of all types to give you some insight into planning your big day. Whether you are wanting an elegant location or something more casual, the choices below will outline some of the best San Francisco wedding venues to help you decide! San Francisco City Hall Marriage License: $110 Ceremony: $90 Different Locations (optional): $1,000 – $5,000 The most popular wedding venue in San Francisco, San Francisco City Hall is used most every day for weddings and elopements. They hold over 30 weddings every weekday, but you can rent it out on the weekends for just you and your party. It is arguably a more stunning building than actual wedding venues, making it my favorite choice for best San Francisco wedding venues to choose from. Take a look at my San Francisco Weddings page for more information. The Olympic Club City Clubhouse: $2,000 – $3,300 Lakeside Clubhouse: $1,500 – $3,300 An Olympic Club is one of the best San Francisco wedding venues and one of my personal favorites because I love the naturally lit interior with floor to ceiling windows that grace the ceremony area. Having photographed here several times, I have come to realize why it is where Barack Obama has golfed while visiting San Francisco, as the venue itself is so well maintained, the staff is on point, and the location of it by the ocean affords it some stunning views especially during sunset. This post is talking about the Lakeside Clubhouse specifically, since there is also another Olympic Club location (the City Clubhouse) in the heart of San Francisco.  Check out my Olympic Club Wedding Walkthrough. Shelldance Orchid Gardens (Pacifica) Rental Fee: $1,400 for a full day With a setting seemingly straight from a movie, Shelldance Orchid Gardens is truly a one of a kind elopement setting and one of the best San Francisco wedding venues just outside the City, technically. Simply looking around, there is little doubt why this is one of the most gorgeous and best places to have a smaller wedding. Read more about Shelldance Orchid Gardens with my walkthrough  The Conservatory of Flowers Packages: $3,500-$20,000 (depends on spaces reserved) Located in Golden Gate Park, The Conservatory of Flowers is the perfect Golden Gate Park wedding venue for those who want to be surrounded by rare and unique plants. Located in Golden Gate Park, the Conservatory of Flowers offers outdoor seating, allowing your guests to enjoy dining under the stars even! This offers one of the more unique experiences, making it an easy addition to the best San Francisco wedding venues for me. California Academy of Sciences Rental Fee: $15,000 – $45,000 Having a California Academy of Sciences wedding is definitely one of those weddings that will offer your guests a truly unique experience, and be one that they will never forget. No entertainment is needed since the entertainment is literally all around you, for 4 floors! Your California Academy of Sciences wedding can be held in an all-in-one aquarium, planetarium, and history museum. Who else can say they have wedding photos under a tank full of sea creatures or around a T-Rex? This is the most unique best San Francisco wedding venues throughout the Bay Area.   Check out my California Academy of Sciences Wedding Walkthrough Asian Art Museum Rental Fee: $2,000 – $13,000 Nonrefundable deposit: $5,000 Located across San Francisco City Hall, choosing an Asian Art Museum wedding provides a central location for you and your guests. One of the more elegant wedding venues in San Francisco, this location can hold several hundred guests and will easily provide a chic backdrop for your wedding photos.  Muir Woods (Marin) Permit Fee : $60 for up to 30 guests Muir Woods is a popular elopement destination offering the perfect escape to nature by surrounding you with redwood groves all around. It is centrally located between San Francisco and Napa, allowing your out of town guests options in how they explore northern California. In addition, it is one of the best San Francisco wedding venues outdoors and caters to nature lovers of all types. Check out my Ultimate Guide to Planning a Wedding in Muir Woods for more details! Palace of Fine Arts Reservation Fee: $506 Hourly Rate (2 hour minimum): $144 Refundable deposit: $500 The Palace of Fine Arts is one of the most surprisingly affordable and grand venues for weddings in San Francisco. Run by the San Francisco Park and Recreation office, you can have a Palace of Fine Arts wedding cheaper than you expect! With such grand architecture and natural photo appeal, The Palace of Fine Arts is perfect for small elopements and larger weddings equally. Having your ceremony under the historic Dome makes it easy to choose this as one of the best San Francisco wedding venues. Check out my Palace of Fine Arts wedding walkthrough Julia Morgan Ballroom Rental Fee: $6,500 – $12,500| Located in the heart of San Francisco’s financial district, Julia Morgan Ballroom weddings appeal to those Couples that strive for elegance and class for their wedding venue. With the name of Julia Morgan attached to it, you know that this top floor wedding venue in San Francisco will be impressive in layout and design.  The Palace Hotel Packages: $195 – $245 / person When I think of a Palace Hotel wedding, I can imagine an elegant black-tie affair with one of the most impressive and expensive foyers in the world. You know this hotel will check all the marks for a stress-free wedding. This is one of the most upscale hotels in the City and I have even gone here for a Mother’s Day brunch because I love it so much! Hornblower Cruises Rental Fee : $118 / person For one of the more unique venues for weddings in San Francisco, why not sail around the San Francisco

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baker beach rainbow couple holding hands and walking along Baker Beach with a rainbow over the Golden Gate Bridge in the background in San Francisco

11 Best Places Where to View the Golden Gate Bridge

Informational

11 Best Places Where to View the Golden Gate Bridge With so many options to choose from, it could be pretty difficult figuring out the best places where to view the Golden Gate Bridge. This San Francisco icon is easily seen from many vantage points throughout the City, so knowing which ones are best and why can potentially save you a lot of time. Whether you are visiting with family or coming solo, read below to find out the best locations where to view the Golden Gate Bridge from a San Francisco native photographer! Baker Beach Baker Beach is the most popular and best place where to view the Golden Gate Bridge and is the most chosen location from my Clients regardless of genre (proposal, family, engagement). With the unique potential of seeing the Golden Gate Bridge reflected in the water during low tide, it offers a memorable view for multiple reasons (it is clothing optional closer to the Bridge FYI!). In addition to having one of the best views of the Golden Gate Bridge, it has ample free parking divided over two parking lots. If I was asked where to get the best view of Golden Gate Bridge, Baker Beach is my recommendation given all of the above. Battery Spencer Located on the northern end of the Bridge, Battery Spencer is what I call the most Instagramed view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Battery Spencer is one of the more popular spaces of where to view the Golden Gate Bridge and is the most Instagrammed locations on social media. Located in the Marin Headlands, you are greeted with panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay, giving you views ranging from Alcatraz to Ocean Beach and a 180 degree view of the City. With a such a higher vantage point, you can see the Bridge in its full glory and seemingly the closes view of where to see the Golden Gate Bridge out there. The only negative to choosing this location to view the Golden Gate Bridge is that parking in front is very limited although there is a small parking lot down the hill 15 minutes away walking. In addition, a short and easy walk from the street level. 5 minute easy walk from the road is needed to actually get to this vantage point. This entire area is called the Marin Headlands which also includes Hawk Hill and Kirby Cove which you can scroll down to read at the bottom of this page. Crissy Field Located on the eastern side of the Golden Gate Bridge, Crissy Field offers great location of where to view the Golden Gate Bridge during sunset. With the sun seemingly setting behind the Golden Gate Bridge, this is an open area to allow kids to potentially run around as well. Crissy Field and the Palace of Fine Arts in a 3.9 mile round trip loop trail that offers a variety of views of the Golden Gate Bridge with settings ranging from wonderful beach views to open fields of grass. Personally, I prefer other places where to view the Golden Gate Bridge but if you are going here, you also have surrounding areas to visit such as house of air, which is a fun jump house venue. Lands End Labyrinth Lands End is actually a 3.4 mile long area, so for the purpose of this post, I will focus on the western tip located near the Legion of Honor Museum that is Lands End Labyrinth. While the recent vandalism of this area (10/13/21) has left the “labyrinth” non existent, this location still offers a more uncommon and unobtrusive view of the Golden Gate Bridge. It does require a 15 minute hike from the Legion of Honor Museum, but once you arrive to this secluded overlook you will know it is worth it! If you want to hike more and see other SF locations, Sutro Baths is within a few miles away as well. Golden Gate Overlook The Golden Gate Overlook is the simplest and most obvious location to view the Golden Gate Bridge since it is located at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. Designed as an educational center revealing all things historical significant to the Bridge, this spot is not the most unique but caters to the majority of most views of the Bridge. Best thing about this location is that it is the only location on this list that allows you to walk across the Bridge. If you want to check out the best places to take pictures in San Francisco, not just including the Golden Gate Bridge, take a look at the Best Places to take Pics in San Francisco. Fort Point Fort Point offers one of the most unique spots. Fort Point offers one of the most vantage points where to view the Golden Gate Bridge because you are literally viewing it from sea level! Open on weekends and free to the public, Fort Point allows you to visit this historic location and imagine. Gives you up close views of the underside of the Bridge. If you would like to see the Bridge in its entirety, a short walk away from Fort Point leads you to Torpedo Wharf aka Fort Point Pier. Here you can go shoulder to shoulder with fishermen and tourists alike taking in this grand view of the Golden Gate Bridge Fort Scott Fort Scott is one of the lesser-known views of where to view the Golden Gate Bridge for whatever reason. While these other vantage points listed on this post showcase the Golden Gate Bridge as a profile, showcasing the twin towers to the left and right, Fort Scott showcases the Golden Gate Bridge Towers right in front of you with such a unique and unexpected view of the Golden Gate Bridge, I’ve always wondered why this view is not showcased more. Because this location is lesser known, you are able to get more unique images and more easy free parking compared to other locations

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