Intimate and Breezy Buffalo Courthouse Wedding with Rose Garden Photos

A courthouse wedding has a swept away romance that’s hard to create any other way. Buffalo’s City Hall is especially ideal for elopements and courthouse weddings. Remi and Griffin’s Buffalo courthouse wedding was a dreamy mix of private moments and photos in Buffalo’s iconic spots.

A bride and groom pose in front of a colorful mural after their Buffalo courthouse wedding.

A Buffalo Courthouse Wedding

A Buffalo courthouse wedding is so romantic and intimate. City Hall itself is an iconic part of Buffalo’s cityscape. It was built in the 1930s in the Art Deco style. The building sits on Niagara Square. It’s lined by trees, and in the middle, a large monument sits.

A bride holds a bouquet in Niagara Square Buffalo.

A bride and groom smile at each other during their first look at their Buffalo elopement.

City Council Chambers, where ceremonies take place, are stunning. The stadium seating and stained glass windows give your ceremony an elegance that is hard to find at your average wedding venue. I love taking portraits in here.

A bride and groom hold hands in front of Buffalo City Hall.

Prepping for Your Courthouse Elopement

1. Get your marriage license.

The first step to planning your Buffalo courthouse wedding is applying for your marriage license. It’s pretty straightforward. You fill out the NYS Marriage License Worksheet. Then get these documents together for each partner:

A current state-issued ID
A certified birth certificate
If previously married, divorce papers

A bride and groom pose with family members for portraits before their wedding at Buffalo City Hall.

Bring everything to the City Clerk’s office along with $40 for the fee. Keep in mind that the license is only valid for 60 days after being issued.

You can get more information on applying for your New York State marriage license here.

A bride and groom leads their wedding party across a street in Downtown Buffalo.

2. Book your appointment.

To make an appointment to get married at City Hall, you can speak with the staff in the City Clerk’s office. Alternatively, you can call 716-851-5274 and book your slot.

A bride and groom hold hands during their Buffalo courthouse wedding.

3. Book your photographer.

Your Buffalo courthouse wedding deserves to be commemorated with beautiful photos. As soon as you know your wedding date, reach out to your preferred photographer. They can work with you on figuring out the best package to preserve your wedding.

A bride and groom laugh during their wedding ceremony in Buffalo City Hall.

A bride and groom kiss at the end of their wedding ceremony in Buffalo City Hall.

Remi and Griffin’s Intimate Celebration

Remi and Griffin met in college. By the time they got married, they’d known each other for 10 years and had been together for 7. They went the distance in that time, moving to three different cities together. From Buffalo, they went to Charlotte then Washington D.C. Along the way, they adopted their beloved pup. When they started planning their wedding, Remi and Griffin knew they wanted to come back to Buffalo for the celebration.

A bride and groom laugh in Buffalo City Council Chambers.

A bride and groom pose in a hallway after their Buffalo courthouse wedding.

You probably won’t be surprised to hear that Remi and Griffin love to travel. Griffin proposed to Remi in the Gardens of Augustus on a trip to Capri, Italy. He even hired a local photographer to document the moment.

A bride and groom pose for wedding photos in front of Shea's Buffalo.

A bride and groom sit on a bench downtown after their Buffalo elopement.

On the day of Remi and Griffin’s Buffalo courthouse wedding, they invited family and close friends to join them. They were the last public wedding in the Chambers, so we were very lucky. They could take time in the room to soak up the amazing architecture and intimate romantic atmosphere.

Wedding rings sit beside a white bridal bouquet at a Buffalo elopement.

Afterward we explored Buffalo. We headed to Main Street to get the classic Buffalo vibe. Then we headed down the street to the apartment building Remi and Griffin lived in for many years. Even after three years of them living out of state, the doorbell still had their names on it.

A bride and groom hold hands and walk along trolley tracks in Buffalo.

A groom points up at a Buffalo apartment building.

The location really is one of the best things about a Buffalo courthouse wedding. Remi, Griffin, and I explored some of the cutest spots downtown then headed to Delaware Park. They chose to read romantic private vows in the Rose Gardens. When they lived in Buffalo, they’d spent hours there with their dog. It made exchanging vows there all the more meaningful.

A bride and groom read private vows at the Rose Garden at Delaware Park.

A groom leans toward a bride reading vows from a notebook.

Relaxed Buffalo Elopement Photos

As a Buffalo wedding photographer, I document celebrations from huge parties to tiny elopements. They’re all exciting to me! Remi and Griffin’s courthouse wedding is a perfect example of how any wedding can connect me to the most amazing people.

A bride and groom sit on a bench in the Rose Garden at Delaware Park.

When they first reached out to me, Remi and Griffin told me this. “We really appreciate your vibe. Our goal for these pictures is to capture us having fun, lots of candids, and to not look so stiff. Your editing style of the pictures jumped out at us and seemed to have a lot of versatility.”

A bride and groom kiss on a park bench after their Buffalo courthouse wedding.

I loved bringing a relaxed, joyful energy to Remi and Griffin’s wedding day. Their photos are candid and sweet, and you can see that they were able to be in the moment throughout the day.