Why Acme Floral?

San Francisco City Hall is one of the most popular wedding venues in the country, and the process is actually simple once you know which door to walk through. Here's the real breakdown — straight from the source, no fluff.

On average, Twenty-seven couples get married at San Francisco City Hall every day! We've been part of a few thousand of those days — enough to know exactly what works, what doesn't, and how to make the whole thing feel effortless instead of stressful - even fun!

(((We're a queer couple producing your wedding. We're not going to make a speech about it — if you're getting married at San Francisco City Hall, we're guessing our politics prolly over lap about as well as our taste does. That's really all that needs saying and we never need to make things about us. That said - carry, wear the floral that make you the most happiest. Lots of boys carry a bouquets, and yes, many weddings have 2 brides!)))

Our prices sit right in the middle of San Francisco's prices. Not the cheapest and definitely not the most expensive — just honest, beautiful work at a fair price. We think luxury shouldn't mean overpaying, and it definitely shouldn't mean cutting corners either.

We would love to be your florist!

Kirk and Jeremiah 

Small Ceremony? Go Through the County Clerk.

If you've got 6 guests or fewer, you can have a civil marriage or domestic partnership ceremony performed by a Commissioner from the Office of the County Clerk.

👉 Book your small ceremony here

Bigger Guest List, Weekend, or Holiday? That's City Hall Events.

Once you're over 6 guests, or you want a weekend or holiday wedding, you're booking through City Hall Events instead of the County Clerk.

👉 Book through City Hall Events

One-Hour Weddings

Private use of the Mayor's Balcony or a Fourth Floor Gallery for up to an hour, weekdays only.

👉 Full rules · Availability calendar

Two-Hour Weddings

The big one — the Rotunda and Grand Staircase, up to 200 guests, Saturdays only.

City Hall Events also has a genuinely excellent FAQ that answers almost everything you'd want to know before booking:

👉 Wedding FAQs

One we get asked constantly, straight from their FAQ: Will City Hall be open to the public during my event? Yes — City Hall stays open to the public Monday through Friday, 8am–8pm, even during private weekday weddings. Your ceremony space gets privatized, but the building itself doesn't close. Worth knowing before you picture having the whole place to yourselves.

The Flower Part Nobody Explains

Here's something specific to City Hall that most couples don't find out until they're standing there: the balconies have real, enforced height restrictions, tied to the same fire-safety rules that keep freestanding chuppahs off the Mayor's Balcony. Anything installed has to respect the ledge line — you can't just build tall and dramatic the way you might at a hotel ballroom.

That's exactly why every balcony wedding photo you've ever seen has that same look — wide and low instead of tall and vertical. It's not a style choice. It's the building's rules. Once you know that, you can actually design with it instead of fighting it.

Smaller Weddings (One-Hour and Two-Hour, Balcony & Gallery)

For the One-Hour and Two-Hour formats, couples generally need three things: flowers to hold, flowers to wear, and flowers to frame the ceremony scene. That's it. You're not decorating a building for a full evening — you're designing for one tight, beautiful window of time.

• Bridal bouquet (s) — the piece you're actually holding and walking with
• Boutonnieres (s) — for the groom, dads, and officiant
• Corsages or a small posey — for moms
• Focal ceremony arrangements — the low, wide piece that frames the ceremony spot without breaking the balcony's height rule
• Brunch table flowers — for the celebration afterward at your favorite restaurant. Wherever you're heading post-ceremony, we can make sure the table looks just as good as the ceremony did

The part most couples don't think about until it's happening: these ceremonies run one to two hours, start to finish, inside a working government building. That means navigating security with your flowers in hand, timing the elevators, and finding your way through what is honestly a bit of a maze of floors and hallways — all without losing a single minute of your reserved window. We've walked that exact route enough times to know precisely where to be, when, and how to get your florals placed in the right spot the moment you arrive, so nothing eats into your ceremony time.

You can pick everything up from us directly, or we'll deliver. One thing worth planning for either way: if you're picking up the ceremony scene arrangement yourself, don't hand that job to the bride or groom. Recruit an able-bodied best friend or uncle for it — someone who can actually carry it through security, into an elevator, and down a hallway without it becoming its own event.

Larger Weddings, usually in the rotunda or multiple spots

Once you're renting the building for a full evening or weekend event, the floral list opens up considerably — this is where it becomes a real production, not just a ceremony:

• Bridal bouquet and bridal party flowers — the bouquet for the bride to hold, plus bouquets or bouts for the full bridal party
• Centerpieces for the dining area
• Cocktail hour flowers — for the cocktail reception space
• Bar arrangements — for the beverage bars
• Cake flowers — the finishing detail on the cake table
• Welcome table flowers — the first thing your guests see when they walk in
• Low "meadow style" florals along the stairwell or ceremony area
• Bar and bathroom florals — the small details that make the whole day feel finished

We've designed for every one of these spaces enough times to know exactly what works and what fights the room. Tell us which ceremony type you've booked and your guest count, and we'll take it from there.

We would love to be your florist!

Frequently Asked Questions

Wait, can I actually bring my own flowers into City Hall?

Yes! City Hall doesn't sell flowers, so bringing your own (or having us deliver) is normal and expected. The only catch is where you can have them — more on that below.

Do I need a permit just to carry a bouquet?

No — a bouquet, boutonniere, or hand-held arrangement is always fine, no questions asked. Permits only come into play if you want something freestanding: an arch, a floor arrangement, anything that has to stand on its own. If you booked through City Hall Events, that's already handled. If you're going the County Clerk route for a small ceremony, freestanding pieces usually aren't allowed at all — which is the thing nobody tells you until you're standing there with an arch and nowhere to put it.

Why can't I have a big arch on the fourth-floor Rotunda balcony?

Because the building is 111 years old, gorgeous, and very protective of its marble. The balconies have height and weight restrictions — nothing that leans on the railing, nothing tall enough to interfere with sightlines from the floor below. It's not a florist being precious about design; it's the building's rules, and they enforce them. This is the single most common "wait, what?" moment we see, which is exactly why we ask about your ceremony location before we design anything.

What actually works instead of an arch?

Honestly? Something better. A hand-tied cascade bouquet against that marble and gold light does more work than an arch ever could — you're not fighting the architecture, you're using it. Loose petals for a flower girl, a floral hoop the couple carries in together, or a compact standing arrangement that meets the height limit all photograph beautifully without anyone from Building Services walking over.

Can we throw petals or confetti?

Petals, generally yes, in designated spots — not tossed loosely down the Grand Staircase (as tempting as that shot is). No confetti, no rice, no glitter, ever. If a petal toss is important to your photos, tell us where your ceremony and photos are happening and we'll tell you exactly where it's allowed.

How far ahead should we order?

For a small County Clerk ceremony, a week's notice is usually fine — sometimes even a few days. For a City Hall Events wedding on a weekend or holiday, we'd love 3–4 weeks, especially if you want anything beyond a bouquet and boutonniere, since those larger pieces take real design time.

What if it's foggy or pouring rain on our date?

Doesn't matter — you're indoors. That's half the reason people choose City Hall. Your flowers will look exactly the same whether it's 65 and sunny or classic SF gray outside; the Rotunda light does the work either way.

What does it actually cost?

Depends entirely on scope — a simple bouquet-and-boutonniere pairing for a County Clerk ceremony is a very different order than florals for a 100-person City Hall Events wedding. Email us at orders@acmefloral.com or call 415-735-5265 and we'll give you a real number, not a "starting at" that never applies to anyone.