I might do a deep dive on why City Hall weddings are so rad one day. I mean they are both affordable and wonderfully intimate but also allow you to do things in a totally unique way compared to traditional wedding plans. However for now I’d like to focus on the last wedding I photographed; Tamar and Jake’s Chicago City Hall wedding on February 15th, 2020.
Tamar and Jake decided that they’re not the type to have a traditional wedding and opted for a City Hall ceremony and an intimate dinner later that evening. Both events were celebrated with their immediate family and closest friends and colleagues.
Part of the magic of getting married at City Hall is all of the people. Especially the day after Valentine’s Day turned out to be a busy one but it’s so fun to see all the other couple’s excitedly awaiting their own ceremony along with you. I loved being able to capture the buzz of energy while Tamar and Jake’s friends and family all meet up together at City Hall.
Once the friends and family were all gathered up we headed downstairs to wait our turn for their ceremony to take place. Again, near Valentine’s Day is a popular date, so we did have to wait in line for a while but you know I love capturing candids so it was no problem with me!
A real wedding day success story: Jake, our dapper groom here, was drinking coffee while we waited in line. He spilt some black coffee on his white dress shirt (the kind of thing that somehow ends up happening to all of us). Instead of panicking his friend was able to get the stain out with a tide to go stick. So pro tip - always pack a tide to go stick! (This post is not sponsored by Tide).
The wait gave us just enough time for Jake’s stain to dry up and disappear. By the time it was gone the group was ushered into the final waiting room and then into the Judge’s chambers where the official ceremony takes place. City Hall ceremonies always take less than 15 minutes so they are perfect for any couples dreading a long drawn out ceremony.
And just like that they’re married!
Now I will say that the interior of City Hall is not always the easiest place to get posed group photos. I’ve tried sneaking into the hallways before but if you have a larger group like Tamar and Jake did, the security guards will usually catch you and kick you out. Normally I would suggest outdoors, except when it’s February and barely 10 degrees out. So we settled for some quick group portraits right in the main hallway. Here’s a few:
So like I said, it was a typical February day in Chicago but these two still braved the cold to get some great portraits downtown! That’s the thing about City Hall weddings, some people might think won’t be able to get as many great photos but honestly you almost get more time to take portraits with such a relaxed schedule for the day.
We were lucky enough to be able to sneak inside somewhere that was both warm and one of my favorite places in the entire city! Luckily these two are both Art Historians so we were able to pop inside The Art Institute for a few photos.
That’s a wrap! I left these two to go off to meet their loved ones to warm up over afternoon celebratory cocktails and I headed home. You can get a lot of bang for your buck for just a few hours of coverage with me. City Hall ceremonies with a portrait session after are one of my most favorite non-traditional wedding celebrations. Maybe I’ll share more past City Hall weddings with you another time!
Xoxo, Jordan
