Nicole Caldwell Photo

How a 35mm Courthouse Wedding in Black & White Feels Like 1955

A couple embracing on a stairway inside a building with a door labeled 'MEN' in the background old county courthouse santa ana wedding 35mm film nicole caldwell

This was a small wedding at the Old County Courthouse in Santa Ana. Just the couple, a few people, and the building.

I photographed it on 35mm black and white film with an on-camera strobe beyond that, the building did most of the work. Black and white kept everything straightforward.

The grain is contrast. It looks like a courthouse wedding from another decade because that’s how the place already feels.

Highly recommend.

Two people standing at computer terminals in the Orange County Clerk-Recorder Department old county courthouse santa ana wedding 35mm film nicole caldwell
Smiling couple seated together on a wooden bench at awedding 35mm film santa ana courthouse nicole caldwell ##
A couple standing in a hallway, smiling with chandeliers hanging above and people in the background old county courthouse santa ana wedding 35mm film nicole caldwell
People socializing in a historic building lobby with ornate columns, chandeliers, and a tiled floor old county courthouse santa ana wedding 35mm film nicole caldwell
Couple standing on an ornate staircase beneath framed artwork and wall sconces 35mm film weding nicole caldwell snata ana courthouse
A man in a suit and a woman in a white dress standing on either side of a wooden door labeled 'COURT REPORTER' in a formal interior setting old county courthouse santa ana wedding 35mm film nicole caldwell
A man in a suit and a woman in a white dress standing and looking at each other on an indoor balcony with vintage wall lamps and wooden doors old county courthouse santa ana wedding 35mm film nicole caldwell
A couple walking down ornately decorated stairs with patterned tile flooring old county courthouse santa ana wedding 35mm film nicole caldwell
Bride and groom embrace beneath a flower-covered wedding arch as guests applaud 35mm film sanat ana courthouse wedding nicole caldwell
Couple walking hand in hand past a historic stone building 35mm film santa ana courthouse wedding nicole caldwell