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Meghan And Brian's Elegant Black And White Downtown Saint Paul MN Wedding At The Lowlands 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).

Abbey And Mitchell's North Loop / Northeast Minneapolis Minnesota Wedding at Hewing Hotel And Bauhaus Brew Labs by Bradley Hanson

Abbey and Mitchell started their day near their Mississippi River apartment at the lovely Hewing Hotel in North Loop neighborhood of Minneapolis, with their wedding ceremony and reception at Bauhaus Brew Labs in Northeast Minneapolis. They were very sweet and obviously very connected to each other. Abbey’s dress was one the best I had seen in a while.

According to Abbey: “The North Loop and northeast being near and dear to us. We’ve lived in North Loop the entirety of our relationship and spend a lot of time making memories with friends in NE (Bauhaus in particular being our favorite spot), so incorporating those spots was important to us. We wanted our wedding to be authentically us, and laid back in a way that made our guests feel they could be themselves.”

 “After meticulously researching wedding photographers, we landed on Bradley given his documentary style, natural editing, and his professional training and experience. Unlike many photographers we considered, Bradley is a true student of photography and a master of his craft. He was a pleasure to work with, making sure to understand our vision, needs, and plan for our wedding day. We adore our photos, received them (over 1,000 of them) within one month. Our guests continue to comment on how impressed they were by Bradley and that our photos are the best wedding photos they’ve ever seen. We don’t disagree.”

-Abbey and Mitchell

Preparation Venue: @hewinghotel
Reception Venue + Bar:
@bauhausbrewlabs
Coordination:
@mavenevents
Hair + Makeup:
@ladyvampartistry
Catering - Food Truck:
@butchersalt
Catering - Food Truck:
@centro_twincities
Entertainment:
@transmission_music
Photography:
@bradleyhansonphotography
Florals:
@notherly.flora
Ice Cream:
@lildippersoftserve

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).

This Festive Atlanta Indian Wedding Was Just Featured In THE World's Best Weddings by Bradley Hanson

To jump right to the article and the full gallery, visit https://www.worldsbestweddingphotos.com/hindu-wedding-hotel-buckhead-bradley-hanson-photography

Indian weddings are incredibly rich in culture and tradition and the Indian/Hindu wedding of Payal and Dave at the Intercontinental Hotel Buckhead in Atlanta, Georgia, was no exception. It all began with a ceremony at the home of the bride’s parents in Smyrna, GA, and Day 2 and 3 took place at the hotel. 

The second day began with the baraat. Custom dictates that the groom and his family ride a white horse to the bride’s home to get married, singing and dancing the whole time. “This has been abbreviated over the years and while it sometimes still includes a horse, it’s often a white car or even a white boat,” says Minneapolis based photographer Bradley Hanson. It is one of his favorite traditions to photograph where the dancing, music and drumming have remained. The groom meets the bride and her family, and the bride’s mother applies a tilak (red dot) on the groom’s forehead. This brief custom is called the milni. Sometimes the mother will pinch the groom’s nose to remind him that life can be painful. 

During his career, Bradley Hanson has photographed over 600 weddings, and 35 to 40 have been Hindu celebrations “I photographed a large Indian wedding in Rajasthan, India, in 2005, and from that point on, the floodgates opened because couples and families knew that I was familiar with the intricate customs. This wedding included impressive dancing by the groom. The coordinator, Ushma Desai, was very hands-on and extremely helpful in juggling the multiple events, locations, and outfit changes.”

Of course, a wedding that takes place over multiple days can include its share of challenges. But Hanson, ever the optimist, says that the biggest challenge was also part of the biggest joy of photographing this wedding. “The baraat is extremely difficult to photograph because of the nature of the fast dancing and the circular formations by the guests taking part in it,” he explains. “It’s akin to the hora in a Jewish wedding where you must commit to wedging your way inside a circle or holding your camera ‘over’ the circles as they form spontaneously. I am tall, experienced, and confident, but I’ve learned to wear combat boots and protect my eyes while photographing, because arms, fingers and elbows are flying for the entire hour. The other challenge with these dancing circles is that the moment you see the shot line up in the viewfinder, someone will jump in front of your lens, or the composition will disintegrate as quickly as it appeared. I shoot the entire baraat with one camera and a wide-angle lens, because I have to get in close to get to the real action. My favorite moments from this wedding are the groom dancing during the baraat.” 

For this lively Buckhead Hotel wedding, Hanson’s gear of choice included Fujifilm cameras, two XT-5 bodies and one XT-4 with 18mm f1.4 WR, 33mm f/1.4 WR, and 56mm f/1.2 WR lenses. For the most part, he also relied on natural light, except during the last hour of dancing, where he used a Godox V1F flash, remotely triggered. 

Like many wedding photographers, Hanson sees himself as an observer and is always happy to let the day unfold naturally. “I tend to see the world in a more abstract, compositional way, and I am constantly scanning the scene in my mind for shapes and observing where the light is coming from,” he describes. “Most of my images are lit from the back or from the side because I love the mood and glow that this creates. I shoot with 3 camera bodies and 3 fast prime lenses, rather than a zoom, because I like to be as invisible as possible and avoid flash or artificial light unless absolutely necessary. I don’t previsualize and I don’t go into a wedding with a template or an agenda. Technically, this approach makes it harder because I don’t know what will happen or what to expect, but it is exciting for the very same reasons: my greatest joy is watching something amazing unfold in front of me, and my favorite photographs are moments that happen in an instant and can’t be posed or duplicated. I am not so much interested in the details as I am in the emotional moments of the day.” 

Vendor Credits:

Venue: @intercon_buckhead_atl 

Planning/Coordination: @desaidesigns 

Catering: @madraschettinaad 

Catering: @baps.atlanta 

Decor: @mandapworld 

Photo: @bradleyhansonphotography 

DJ: @m1sounds 

Dholi: @dholisaag 

Hair: @gunnglamour 

Makeup: @bogartbeauty 

Mehendi: @manasisart 

Choreographer: @dancin.gandhi 

Photobooth: @buttonitup 

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).

Assumptions, Photography And The Micro Four Thirds System Article In The Debut Issue Of Olympus Passion Magazine by Bradley Hanson

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.

14 Page Spread In Issue 1 Of Fuji X Passion Photography Magazine by Bradley Hanson

An article I wrote was featured in Fuji X Passion Magazine, along with 8 photographs in a 14 page spread. With magazines transitioning to online only subscriptions, it makes the printed page feel even more special. The look, feel and even the smell of quality printing is a joy. I was asked about my transition nearly 4 years ago from Nikon to Fujifilm, and this article summarizes that experience, along with advice about navigating the switch to mirrorless cameras.

Here is a link to purchase the magazine directly: https://shop.fujixpassion.com/product/fuji-x-passion-magazine-issue-1/

My Photographic History And Why I Switched To Fujifilm Mirrorless Cameras In 2012 by Bradley Hanson

This review is 3 years in coming, and isn't really a review but rather a personal history of why the Fujifilm X-Series, specifically the X-Pro1 and X100S, is a perfect fit for me: the cameras I had been waiting for. I am a very technical and precise person, but this is not a technical review. These cameras have been out for years and there are much better reviews, including one by my friend (and Fuji X-Photographer) Vincent Opoku. I wanted to write something initially because using these cameras was revolutionary for me, but I also wanted to let the beer goggles dissipate and write logically and dispassionately about the experience so those considering the system could get a realistic understanding of what to expect without all the usual superlatives that come from excitement, and also to spare readers the agony of run on sentences like the one you are enduring now.

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