downtown

Meghan And Brian's Elegant Black And White Downtown Saint Paul MN Wedding At The Lowlands / January 17, 2024 by Bradley Hanson

I’m caught up with 2023, my busiest year in a decade, and finally able to share one of the best weddings of the year. The groom, Brian, is a well-known photographer in Atlanta, specializing in head shots. The bride, Meghan, is a talented makeup artist in Atlanta. We met for coffee before the wedding while they were in the Minneapolis area and clicked immediately, no pun intended.

Their wedding was unique in a number of ways, but most notably, all of the decor, from the tables to the walls, invites, clothing and details, was black and white. Normally wearing one of my many blue suits, I got a black suit specific to this wedding so I could remain as inconspicuous as a 6’2” photographer can be.

Coordination and design was done by the talented Heidi Almendinger of Jenna Culley Events, and hair was by the always stellar Hair By Sitha, who I’ve had the good fortune of working with probably a dozen times over the past couple years alone.

Everything took place at a new, modern and minimalist wedding venue right on the Mississippi River on the outskirts of downtown Saint Paul, MN. I really loved the venue and can’t wait to photograph there again. The only bump in the road was torrential rain akin to what one might expect in Florida that scuttled my grandiose plans for photographs of the couple during the cocktail hour, but the timing was nearly perfect as it occurred after photographing the family, moments before the start of the ceremony, which took place indoors anyway.

The gallery images below were chosen not only from the pool of favorites, but to give a sense of what it was like to be at The Lowlands on that day. In the spirit of their chiaroscuro contrasty design intentions, I’ve chosen to only share B&W images.

Vendors from Meghan and Brian’s wedding:

Venue: The Lowlands

Beauty: Lady Vamp Artistry - Sitha Kim (hair), Laura Seaboy (makeup), Rob Hinderstein (tattoo cover)

Bridal Fashion: White Magnolia Bridal Collection

Cake: Queen of Cake

Catering: Green Mangos

Entertainment: Rock With U (Band) & Jennifer Marlin Illustration (Fashion Artist)

Floral: Wilderland Floral (Jamie Spellerberg)

Groom's Attire: Red Label Bespoke

Officiant: Melinda Guess

Photography: Bradley Hanson Photography

Rentals & Decor: Linen Effects, Collected & Co, AVEX & Girl Friday

Stationery: Minted

Transportation: Renee's Limousine & Unparalleled Parking

Travel & Accommodations: The St. Paul Hotel, Hyatt Place St. Paul/Downtown, Loews Minneapolis

Videographer: Cooper Films & Love Stream (live streaming)

Wedding Planner & Event Design: Jenna Culley Events (Heidi Almendinger)

If you want to follow me on Instagram, I have two accounts: @bradleyhanson is my personal one, all square images from my iPhone since 2008. @bradleyhansonphotography is my professional portfolio, a mix of weddings, family and portraits, as well as black and white and color landscape images. If you are still reading this far, you’ve already figured out how to find my website…

I am a Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota based wedding photographer, specializing in documentary style weddings, elopements, and Indian/Hindu weddings all over the world. To see more of my wedding work, click the wedding galleries under the portfolio heading.

To inquire about my rates and availability, call me at 206-393-8292, email me at bradley@bradleyhanson.com or fill out the contact form (click the “contact” link on the top right of the page).

Kelsey and Chase Autumn Riverfront Elopement In Minneapolis / November 8, 2022 by Bradley Hanson

Kelsey and Chase had a very quiet elopement. I met them at the Hewing Hotel in downtown Minneapolis (North Loop) to photograph them getting ready. We then went straight to the government building for their vows outside with the judge.

While photographing them on a bridge at Nicollet Island Inn, Chase bumped into the group of bicyclists he regularly rides with, a complete coincidence and entirely unplanned.

After the ceremony, Kelsey and Chase hosted a casual brunch at LynHall on Lyndale Ave in Minneapolis that included great food and Jenga! No dancing or traditional reception events, just a nice meal with friends.

“We are a Tinder love story, and had our first date walking around St Anthony Main in 2015 - so it’s especially fun that we had some of our pics from the wedding day there! Chase proposed to me on the Stone Arch Bridge - he made me bike there with him so he had an excuse to bring a backpack because the ring box wouldn’t fit in his pocket. As far as planning the wedding - just that we wanted it to be intimate and low-key and couldn’t be more thrilled about how the day turned out.”

Now this is the proper reaction to seeing your partner on your wedding day!

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I am a Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota based wedding photographer, specializing in documentary style weddings and Indian/Hindu weddings all over the world. To see more of my wedding work, click the wedding galleries under the portfolio heading. To inquire about my rates and availability, call me at 206-393-8292, email me at bradley@bradleyhanson.com or fill out the contact form (click the “contact” link on the top right above this paragraph).

Gina And Amanda's Elegant And Snowy Winter Wedding At The Hewing Hotel In Downtown Minneapolis / December 20, 2021 by Bradley Hanson

This was my last wedding of 2021 and easily one of the best.

Gina and Amanda got married at the elegant Hewing Hotel in the North Loop neighborhood of downtown Minneapolis. It was such a joy. They were amazing people that clearly and a deep connection. Gina is from Boston, Amanda from Minneapolis. They met in September of 2019 and survived 6 months of long distance relationship until the pandemic forced them to quarantine together in Minneapolis. A few days after a heavy blizzard that began melting almost immediately, they were married on a moderately mild December day in Minneapolis. They are both special ed teachers in Boston, which perfectly suits their intelligence and their caring and giving nature.

The Hewing Hotel in downtown Minneapolis is one of my favorite venues because of the timeless design and beautiful light.

From Gina and Amanda: “We decided on a Sunday brunch wedding because we are both sober, vegetarians, and love brunch, so it felt very us!”

Wedding planning and floral design by Ashley Skeie | Wedding And Event Planning

“Bradley - I’ve been trying to craft a perfect response but the pictures have left me speechless. I know when I thought of pictures for our wedding, your work has completely blown every expectation I had out of the water. There are absolutely priceless pictures of not only us as a couple but of us with people that mean so much to us. I cannot thank you enough for doing your job and your passion so beautifully. We have only scratched the surface in the words of gratitude we truly have for you. In the weeks after our wedding we have received countless compliments on the incredible pictures but also from our family and friends that were able to speak about how kind you are. There are truly no words I could attempt to string together that could convey how proud we are to tell and show people who our photographer was. I cannot wait to relive that day through your work in the years to come. Forever grateful.” - Gina and Amanda

I was just interviewed in World's Best Wedding Photos about how I got started in Seattle shooting weddings on film, how I work, and why I never ended up delivering pizzas. They also selected some of their favorite photographs of mine. If you’d like to read the entire interview and see the accompanying gallery, click here.

https://www.worldsbestweddingphotos.com/artist-interview-bradley-hanson

Intimate Winter Elopement At The St. Regis Hotel In Downtown Atlanta Georgia / December 2, 2019 by Bradley Hanson

I got a call out of the blue to photograph this private elopement in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The bride was born in Turkey and the groom is from my neck of the woods (Minneapolis, MN). The couple now live in Los Angeles, but got married in Atlanta because the bride’s family is still there. Like the Hitchcock movie “Rope,” most of the wedding took place in one room. In this case, the lovely and regal St. Regis Hotel in Atlanta. There were only 9 family members lucky enough to be there. I was only there for 2.5 hours, but we packed it in. There was a 5 minutes ceremony and a small dinner, with toasts and even a little dancing. We enjoyed some time at sunset on the rooftop deck of Restoration Hardware, which had a uniquely beautiful view of downtown Atlanta. Never one to hesitate to leave snowy Minneapolis in the winter, it felt good to enjoy 73 degree sunny days, if only for 48 hours…

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Downtown Minneapolis Snowy Wedding In The Historic Lumber Exchange Building / March 17, 2019 by Bradley Hanson

Illyas walks out on the roof of the Lumber Exchange Building as the snowstorm begins on March 9, 2019.

I’ve been photographing weddings for 20 years now. I’ve personally been to 600 of them. Yeah, I know. It’s gone by quickly since April 1999. Anyway, 13 years of that was in Seattle, the last 7 here in Minneapolis. As someone who grew up in Minneapolis, the feeling is often that there is snow on the ground 6 months of the year. It can start as early as October and it can happen as late is May. We don’t get the kind of heavy snow we used to get all winter when I was a kid, but we are getting wild extremes. This year, we had a bone dry December, then February was 40 inches of snow rather than the average of 7.

Snow gets old when you grow up with it, but it still has a magical quality to me, particularly the first snow of the year. There is a quiet and peacefulness that happens both from the visual minimalism and the sound deadening of the snow itself. It literally absorbs sound and the combination enhances the beauty.

When Anna and Illyas hired me to photograph portraits for them, it was a relatively humid day. They had just gotten a sweet little dog named Louie who didn’t want to be away from them during our time together.

Fast forward to a week ago. The wedding day, March 9th, came quickly and meteorologists forecasted a late winter storm of 8-10” in the Twin Cities. I was excited because I could finally take photographs of a bride and groom in the snow. Well, the serious part of the storm ended up hitting the part of the state south of Minneapolis and while we ended up with more like 5 inches of snow, it was beautiful: large, heavy and dense snow that fell slowly and accumulated quickly.

In a brief moment after the wedding ceremony, Anna, Illyas and I went to the roof of the historic Lumber Exchange Building to take a few photographs it was the opportunity I’ve been waiting for. I rarely use flash, but with snow it highlights every flake on its way to the ground.

I’ll be adding images to this blog post in a few weeks.

Rachael And Josh's Downtown St. Paul Wedding At A'bulae / December 8, 2017 by Bradley Hanson

Rachael and Josh didn't let a little November rain alter their mood. The light at A'Bulae in downtown St. Paul was in abundance, and we did sneak up to the roof in the rain for a couple moments.

You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, VSCO, Pinterest, Instagram, and LinkedIn through the links on the upper right.

To see more Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN portraits, wedding photography and weddings all over the world, visit my main portfolio on bradleyhanson.com or email me at info@bradleyhanson.com or call me at 206-393-8292 and we can discuss your wedding plans in detail. My speciality is shooting family portraits in an unposed, natural style and wedding photojournalism. I photograph weddings as they happen rather than direct the action, which is often referred to as documentary style wedding photography. I’ve photographed weddings in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Seattle and many countries around the world.

To listen to the bi-weekly photography podcast I do with UK photographer Ian Weldon, visit https://www.outerfocuspodcast.com or search for Outerfocus on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.

Image Published In Current Issue Of Mpls St. Paul Weddings Magazine / February 8, 2017 by Bradley Hanson

This wedding image, the kiss from Christina and Ben's wedding ceremony at The Bachelor Farmer restaurant in Minneapolis, was featured in the current issue of Mpls St. Paul Weddings Magazine's "Kisses We Love" section.

You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, VSCO, Pinterest, Instagram, and LinkedIn through the links on the upper right.

To listen to the bi-weekly photography podcast I do with UK photographer Ian Weldon, visit https://www.outerfocuspodcast.com or search for Outerfocus on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.

Jil And Vinay's Wedding At The Hyatt Regency In Downtown Minneapolis / July 6, 2016 by Bradley Hanson

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You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, VSCO, Pinterest, Instagram, and LinkedIn through the links on the upper right.

To listen to the bi-weekly photography podcast I do with UK photographer Ian Weldon, visit https://www.outerfocuspodcast.com or search for Outerfocus on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.

Christina And Ben: Wedding At The Bachelor Farmer, Published By Minnesota Bride / August 10, 2015 by Bradley Hanson

"Christina and Ben's cozy wedding at The Bachelor Farmer is Minnesota perfection. It's difficult to find a venue that better represents the city of Minneapolis and all of its wonderfully unique attributes and characteristics. This gorgeous couple considered every meticulous detail when it came to their event, coordinating their floral designs with the space and offering guests hand-crafted cocktails and fresh local fare. The entire day was captured expertly by Bradley Hanson Photography."