minnesota wedding

Abby And Brendan's Vibrant October Wedding At Paikka In St. Paul, MN / October 14, 2020 by Bradley Hanson

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Abby and Brendan changed their original plans because of Covid-19, scaling down their wedding in 25 guests. The couple and their wedding party got ready at an Air BNB in St. Paul and their beautiful wedding was held at Paikka in St. Paul, MN.

Abby and Brendan met me in 2018 while I was photographing a wedding for their friend, Kathryn. Kathryn was the officiant for this wedding, her first in that capacity.

Abby’s dress was a striking and vibrant yellow and really stole the show.

From Abby:

How we met:

Initially, Brendan’s perspective was that Abby only goes to potlucks because it took three of them before Abby accidentally turned down Brendan’s attempt to go on a date. Luckily, Abby followed up shortly after and we’ve been together since. We continued to have non-potluck and potluck related memories, and eventually moved in together in Northeast Minneapolis. Brendan finished medical school and our adventure moved us to Denver, Colorado. We got engaged at sunset in the Sand Dunes National Park on a Colorado road trip.

Planning from CO to MN during a pandemic:

We are definitely happy with the end result! We found wedding planning to be generally challenging, but adding distance and a pandemic, nearly impossible.

The original plan was to have our big families together in a 150 person wedding. We chose MN to make it easier for most guests to come - being that most of our family and friends live in Minnesota or Chicago.

When the pandemic hit, we thought we were so lucky to have planned a fall wedding (hah!). We both work in healthcare, and stayed up to date on all Covid info because it was ingrained in our everyday work lives. Once it became clear that the pandemic wasn't going anywhere, we tried to change gears. We cancelled the big party, and planned to have the wedding once the pandemic was over.

Some very important family members had some serious health issues this year and it became more important to have our wedding ASAP. We went through many different plans and struggled to find the perfect fit to have the people we care about present and to keep them safe.

At each step, we questioned whether or not to keep going. But we did - so that those few special people could be there. After many plans failed, we decided to push through and make the final sprint. We did all the planning and wedding work aside from two vendors already booked in a matter of four weeks - Bradley Hanson Photography and Brasa Catering. Planner, venue, floral, all decor, makeup, hair, bartender, new website, coordinated with our 25 invitees, and worked on all the little details up to the morning of the wedding!

Oofta. And for all of it, we’re glad we did it. The day went by fast, but we had the most important people there. They all had fun. We had fun. Even the most nervous felt safe with the Covid precautions in place. We got to see family members and friends we hadn't seen in far too long. All the small details blended together and looked great. We will literally cherish these pictures forever. The ceremony was exceptional, made so special by our friend and officiant Kathryn's surprise speech, and reading our vows in front of the small group (something we wouldn't have done with the big group).

After the wedding, our families were so thankful that we did it, and that we did it when all of our family members could attend and enjoy it. AND! After two weeks, no one has gotten sick. Our safety measures paid off. Even with masks and following rules, we knew there were risks. After the wedding was over, it was the only thing still on our minds. We are so thankful we were able to have our tiny wedding, have a few more delicate guests attend, and have everyone stay well.

-Abby

Click any image below to see it at full size. If you click on the first image, you can scroll through the larger images with the arrows in the edges of the photographs.

Other vendors:

Venue: Paikka in St. Paul

Wedding Coordinator: Bre Ward with Bre Is Fun

Floral: Studio Emme

Hair styling: Cristina Ziemer

Caterer: Brasa in St. Paul

Bartending: Liquid Motion

Dessert/Cake: Caffe Latte in St. Paul

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 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).

Mara And Andrew's Backyard Mini-Wedding At Turtle Lake In Minnesota During Covid-19 Outbreak / July 31, 2020 by Bradley Hanson

It seemed like years ago when I spoke with Mara and Andrew on the phone about the details of their wedding. Mara’s parents are both experienced photographers and her father had an impressive gallery of framed images and a strong, longtime love of black and white images. They were drawn to the black and white and abstract images in my portfolio.

Originally scheduled for June 27th of this year, a few months ago we discussed rescheduling for the complications of the Covid-19 virus, which prevents a “normal” wedding because of the risk of transmission from being in close quarters, especially indoors. As it became clear that their original plans wouldn’t work in their original location(s), they rescheduled the full wedding with the originally desired guest list for next summer. A couple months went by, and because of some personal things, they wanted to have a small wedding with 12 guests in their parents backyard at Turtle Lake in Minnesota.

They quickly pulled together a very cool DIY wedding with sanitizer and masks available for guests, had all guests seated outside in couples, about 8 feet apart, and the parents, family and guests who couldn’t be there in person because of travel restrictions and health concerns were able to join via Zoom, thanks to the iPhone on a tripod and the laptop on a table near the couple during the ceremony. Mara’s sister played cello and it was beautiful. Each guest was given their own glass to keep.

Although my first love in photographing weddings is real, candid moments that happen between the seams, I thought it would be timeless to get a photo of all of the guests with their masks on, something to mark this historical moment in time that has already affected 5,000,000 Americans with no immediate end in sight. I only photographed for 2.5 hours, but it felt a lot like a full wedding. There were no getting ready photos as they were ready when I arrived, there was no cocktail hour or formal dinner, and no reception aside from a first dance just after the wedding ceremony.

Because of physical distance and logistics, there was no formal reception, but they did have a first dance and Mara’s parents danced with them, along with most of the guests. I was honored to be a part of their day and happy they were able to pull off a small gathering safely without undue health risks.

Images below chosen more to give you a sense of the short wedding, rather than my usual approach of strictly posting favorite images.

Click any image to see it at a larger size.

Richard And Juliet At Kenwood Stables In Minnesota With Their Horses, Darwin And Noah / July 24, 2020 by Bradley Hanson

Richard and Juliet asked me to photograph them and their two horses, Darwin and Noah, at Kenwood Stables in Independence, MN. A short 25 minute drive, it felt like a world away. On an extremely hot and muggy morning, we got a lot done in an hour.

It’s always a treat for me to be around Richard and Juliet, two very sharp, insightful and kind people I’ve known since the late 80s. (As an avid cyclist who raced cyclocross for a couple seasons, Richard was also a big inspiration to me as a competitive bike racer). It was also fun to photograph the horses they’ve had for 20+ years, especially as someone who knows very little about horses. I rode horses as a child at a summer camp, but I’ve always been fascinated. Since I don’t have the expertise that my friends Richard and Juliet have, I’ll let their words speak:

“We’ve had Noah and Darwin for over 12 years. Now 21 and 22 years old, they’re our cherished companions, surrogate children, and also best friends to each other. For the past year, we’ve been fortunate to live at a beautiful boarding farm called Kenwood Stables as the night managers. Noah and Darwin love living at this serene farm with all their equine and human friends.

A relationship with a horse is unlike any other and we feel privileged to have learned so much from them. As prey animals, they’re sort of like 1200 pound bunny rabbits— they’re afraid of the world and have huge hearts. To get to know them, if you open up your sensitive, non verbal, instinctual side, the reward is great. They’re also notoriously difficult to photograph (it’s that fidgety bunny rabbit thing) and we’ve been wanting good photos of us together with them for a long time. Fortunately our good friend Bradley agreed to take on the challenge.

We’ve known Bradley for over three decades. He’s an incredible human with an amazing eye. I wish we could all see the world’s beauty and detail the way he does but, fortunately for all of us, he knows how to share this view with his camera. Bradley took our favorite photo of the two of us on a crisp winter day 30 years ago. People still tell us it looks like a cool record cover. We knew Bradley would be able to capture the special bond we have with each other and how it’s strengthened by our horses.

The shoot was on an especially hot, humid morning but you’d never know it by the photos. Being with Bradley is always breezy and effortless and that’s what you see in these shots. We’re so excited to have this period in our lives so vividly captured. Thank you so much, Bradley!”

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This is the image I took of Juliet and Richard in Minneapolis in 1990 on Kodak Kodalith film, printed on Ilford RC paper when I worked at ProColor lab at 9th and Hennepin in Minneapolis at that time.

2020: Shelter In Place / April 7, 2020 by Bradley Hanson

Our son Oliver, the human cat, is always finding fun uses for giant boxes in our living room while we pack for our move to St. Paul, MN

A family fishing at Lake Hiawatha in Minneapolis the night before the “stay at home” orders from the governor

Well, 2020 started with such promise.

We had just finished a wonderful trip to Amsterdam, Rome and Naples, Italy, 3 weeks before a massive change was underway.

Things were off to a great start, and by the end of the month, it was clear that Covid-19, the latest coronavirus, was going to upend our lives for the next few months. The year was filling out nicely and then even more dramatically than late 2008: near total radio silence as people stopped making plans and changed the ones they had.

I work all year round, but the majority of my work is in the months of June through October. The rest of the year I am booking weddings, editing existing weddings, meeting with clients, designing wedding albums and photographing family portraits, landscapes, our family adventures and road trips, and anything that catches my eye.

The current day to day is staying indoors with our 6 year old son, working on his distance online learning program until we figure out if and when his school will resume or even at the start of the next grade in September. I’m also working with existing clients to reschedule their weddings. I was supposed to be photographing a destination wedding in Jamaica in late March, then another in Washington State in early May. Both of them have been rescheduled. I’m rescheduling with all of my clients, particularly for June and July 2020 weddings, to find dates that work for them later in the year or moving them to open dates in 2021.

As always, I have my camera with me at all times and although I rarely leave the house now aside from bicycle rides for exercise and walks with my family for my sanity. I hope you and your families are staying indoors as much as possible, away from others and getting re-acquainted with the joys of organizing, cleaning, and finally unable to say “I wish I had the time to do (insert task here).” We are lucky to have some talented, artistic friends make masks for our whole family. When I go to the grocery store or food co-op, it’s clear that it’s another means of self-expression. Part of our new wardrobe!

Watching a little too much TV (Ozark 3, Fargo, Breeders, Catch 22, Lady Dynamite, etc), but also finally crossing off some great books from my reading list and organizing the house.

I’ve been self-employed for 21 years. I’m used to being home. Most people aren’t. Still, I am starting to have a harder time figuring out what day it is…

We all owe a debt of gratitude to the people all around us who are making life better: those pulling long shifts in hospitals and putting their own health at risk to help others. The restaurant workers and cooks still there making our food, the delivery people bringing it to our houses. The hard working people working in grocery stores and pharmacies, stocking the shelves, and everyone else still showing up to work.

As I write this, the US still doesn’t have easily accessible testing like Germany and South Korea, part of why we have triple the number of cases of anyone else in the world: 500,000, as well as surpassing Italy for the most fatalities. We need to be as cautious as possible. I hope people take physical distancing seriously and we can get past this. Be safe, look out for each other, help a friend or neighbor if you can, and look for the silver lining. Support your favorite restaurants with take-out orders to help keep them afloat. A lot of businesses, including restaurants will suffer.

In the middle of all this, we are packing to move at the end of April. As the old saying goes, “May you live in interesting times.” We will never forget 2020, that’s for sure.

I am a Minneapolis, 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).

Our son Oliver on a walk outside at the Lake Hiawatha Golf Club in South Minneapolis

Holly And Kyle's Northern Minnesota Lake Wedding At Maddens Resort On Gull Lake In Brainerd, MN / August 1, 2019 by Bradley Hanson

Holly grew up in California and Kyle came from Alexandria, MN. Kyle and Holly spent the first three years of their relationship traveling long distances to see each other. When they first started dating, Kyle lived in Finland and Holly lived in Denver. Within a year, Holly had moved to San Francisco and Kyle to Salt Lake City. Eventually, Kyle ended up moving to Sacramento for work. Holly jumped at the chance to live with him, but that meant a 7+ hour per day commute for her, in order to chase her man and her career. As a result, they learned to cherish each moment together like it might be their last and to make adventures and excursions a constant theme in the life they very deliberately built together.

It was easily one of the strongest bonds I've ever witnessed and a wonderful day all around.

The entire wedding took place at Madden’s Resort on beautiful Gull Lake on one of the ideal summer days on a hot and humid day that cooled down nicely in the evening for a perfect sunset on the lake.

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Gauthami And Moulin's Joyful 3-Day South Indian Wedding At The St. Paul College Club, Intercontinental Hotel And Landmark Center In Downtown St. Paul, MN / July 10, 2019 by Bradley Hanson

The next wedding in a series of Indian/Hindu weddings this spring was this one in three locations I love shooting at: The St. Paul College Club on Summit Avenue, the Intercontinental hotel on St. Paul’s downtown waterfront and the historic Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul.

I’ve photographed over 600 weddings (25-30 Indian weddings) and this was one of those weddings where everyone seemed to be smiling the entire time. When the bride sent me an email, one of the words that peppered her comments was “joy.” Looking over the highlights, that’s all I see: people having fun and a couple with a great connection, surrounded by loving and supportive friends and family.

This was a south Indian wedding, which has a few different customs. The ceremony is a little longer, and typically starts earlier in the day. The marriage ceremony takes place on the mandap (stage), led by a Vedic priest who chants ancient hymns and verses, recalling the names of three generations of ancestors of both, the bride and the groom before all who have gathered to witness the wedding. The bride and the groom are hidden from each other, then exchange garlands when they are lifted onto the shoulders of their respective uncles.

A little background into the bride and groom: Moulin and Gauthami met in college, taking summer organic chemistry. They were good friends for a long time, then started dating when they were studying abroad in Paris. After college they’ve been following each other from Chicago to Madison to New Haven, finally getting married in St. Paul and now living in Massachusetts. They are both physicians now: Gauthami is in Pediatric Emergency Medicine fellowship at Yale and Moulin is in Electrophysiology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital.

My interview with "So You Want To Be A Photographer" photography podcast by Gina Milicia of Australia / October 2, 2018 by Bradley Hanson

So You Want To Be A Photographer podcast with host Gina Milicia:

“There are wedding photographers – and then there is Bradley Hanson.

In this episode, we chat with Bradley, who reveals the approach behind his image and the art of photography. He shares his thoughts on starting out and how he felt shooting his very first wedding, essential gear, setting expectations with clients, pleasing the client and pleasing yourself, muscle memory and shooting intuitively, and developing a unique style. This show is all about inspiring and learning from the best in the world – and with 19 years experience and 600 weddings Bradley has lots of great stuff to say in this interview.

I first discovered Bradley Hanson when I stumbled across the excellent photography podcast he co-hosts with UK photographer Ian Weldon called Outerfocus.

I love the way Bradley sees his images and talks about the art of photography. I find myself reading his blogs and wishing I had thought of that!

This show is all about inspiring and learning from the best in the world and with 19 years experience and 600 weddings Bradley has lots of great stuff to say in this interview.”

He shares his thoughts on:

Starting out and how he felt shooting his very first wedding
Gear
Setting expectations with clients
Pleasing the client and pleasing yourself
Muscle memory and shooting intuitively
Developing a unique style

In this podcast, we discuss my Minneapolis, MN based photography business, my photographic history and beginning with film and darkroom experience, how I work and how I developed my documentary, fly on the wall style, and my thoughts on the industry. We talk about wedding photojournalism, mirrorless cameras, my favorite lenses and focal lengths and the importance of setting expectations with clients.

“I learned early on that showcasing a portfolio of images that speak to me will attract the kind of clients who share the same visual aesthetic.”

Link to the podcast and show notes: https://ginamilicia.com/2018/08/ep-212/

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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.