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New York City Hall Elopements: A Photographer’s Guide

Newlyweds walk arm in arm through a lobby after their New York City Hall wedding, photographed by Jenny Fu.

A New York City Hall elopement takes about half an hour inside and a little planning outside. You book your appointments online, arrive on time with a small party, and walk out married.

They are still some of my favorite days to photograph. Here is how a city hall wedding works now, and what has changed.

A bride and groom stand in the bronze doorway of the Thurgood Marshall courthouse in Lower Manhattan, photographed by Jenny Fu.
A bride in a birdcage veil holds calla lilies beside her groom on a waiting room bench before their New York City Hall wedding, photographed by Jenny Fu.

Where do you get married at New York City Hall?

Couples marry at the Office of the City Clerk, at 141 Worth Street in Lower Manhattan. Everyone calls it City Hall.

How do you book a city hall wedding?

Everything is by appointment through Project Cupid, the City Clerk’s booking site. There are no walk-ins.

You need two appointments: one for the marriage license and one for the ceremony. The license comes first. You can marry 24 hours after it is issued, and it stays valid for 60 days. The license appointment can be in person or virtual. Fees, ID requirements and the latest rules are on the City Clerk’s website.

A bride and groom laugh beside the Office of the City Clerk sign on Worth Street in Manhattan, photographed by Jenny Fu.
A couple sits close on a green bench inside the City Clerk office in New York, photographed by Jenny Fu.

How many people can you bring?

Your party can be six people in total, and your photographer counts as one of the six. Children do not count toward the six. At a recent city hall wedding, we were six adults and four children. It was a joyful room.

City Hall is strict about that number, and just as strict about time.

If it is only the two of you, your photographer can be your witness.

Four children in their wedding best sit together on a bench below LOVE letter blocks at New York City Hall, photographed by Jenny Fu.
The bride and groom walk out with family and children after their city hall wedding in New York, photographed by Jenny Fu.

When should you arrive?

Arrive up to 30 minutes before your appointment, and not earlier. They will not let you in before then.

Give yourself extra time to get downtown. By car, traffic around City Hall can be heavy.

You can only wait outside the building while your party is incomplete, even in the rain. It helps to meet your guests nearby and walk in together.

A bride in a birdcage veil smiles at a service window, calla lilies in hand, photographed by Jenny Fu.
A bride and groom stand at the check-in counter at New York City Hall, photographed by Jenny Fu.

What happens inside?

You check in, wait for your number to be called, and step into the ceremony room. From the moment you walk in to the moment you walk out is about half an hour. The ceremony itself is short.

Then comes the exit. Your guests can wait by the door with petals or confetti.

Guests cheer as the newlyweds appear in the doorway after the ceremony, photographed by Jenny Fu.

What has changed at City Hall?

The yellow exit doors that framed so many city hall photographs have been replaced. The new ones are plainer.

There is still scaffolding and construction outside the building. So for portraits, we take a short walk.

Newlyweds walk hand in hand down the courthouse steps in Lower Manhattan, photographed by Jenny Fu.

Where can you take portraits nearby?

A few minutes on foot opens up some of the best of Lower Manhattan.

  • The steps and columns of the Supreme Court building, around the corner.
  • The arches and vintage signs of the Brooklyn Bridge City Hall subway station.
  • With more time, the Brooklyn Bridge, Tribeca, SoHo, Chinatown or the Lower East Side.
A bride and groom walk hand in hand down Staple Street beneath the skybridge in Tribeca, photographed by Jenny Fu.
A couple stands close in the middle of Staple Street under the Tribeca skybridge, photographed by Jenny Fu.

How much time should you plan?

Two hours covers the ceremony and portraits close by. A third hour leaves room for one place that means something to you.

For one recent elopement, we spent three hours together: the ceremony and exit, portraits on the Supreme Court steps, then Jefferson Market Garden and cake at Dante in the West Village.

The green corner exterior of Dante in the West Village, a short walk from Jefferson Market Garden, photographed by Jenny Fu.
Newlyweds stand among the flowers in Jefferson Market Garden with Greenwich Village buildings behind them, shot on medium format film, photographed by Jenny Fu.

Can a city hall wedding stay a secret?

Some couples tell no one until it is done. If that is you, I can be your witness, and the photographs stay private until you are ready to share them.

A bride lifts one heel as she kisses her groom beside tall green bronze doors in New York, a red bouquet in hand, photographed by Jenny Fu.

If you are planning your own city hall wedding in New York, I would love to hear about it.

Planning something of your own? I would love to hear about it. Begin your inquiry