brooklyn, new york city weddings on film: aly hansen photography
new york city weddings on vintage film by aly hansen
location: brooklyn, new york city
aly hansen is a brooklyn, new york city film photographer specializing in vintage weddings and elopements with a stylized documentary approach.
There’s a super special kind of magic to photographing weddings in New York City that no other place quite replicates. The city is a living, breathing backdrop—full of character, grit, grandeur, and intimacy all at once. For someone like me, who specializes in film photography and a true documentary approach, it’s the dream. NYC doesn’t need polishing. It doesn’t need staging. It just is—and that’s exactly how I like to work.
I’m not here to orchestrate a wedding day like a director on a movie set. My couples hire me because they want to feel something when they look back at their gallery. They want to remember how it felt to squeeze each other’s hands in a yellow cab between the courthouse and the reception. They want to see the way the light hit their partner's face in a random corner of SoHo, or the champagne-soaked chaos of the afterparty in some hidden Chinatown bar. These aren't just photo ops—they’re the story.
My approach is centered on truth, and my medium is film. Film photography slows me down just enough to pay attention. It forces me to shoot with intention and trust the moment. There’s no rapid-fire. There’s no scrolling through a hundred identical images on the back of a camera. Each frame is earned—and it shows. Every image has texture, emotion, and that beautiful unpredictability only analog can bring. My clients often say that working with me feels calm, like having a friend nearby who just happens to be quietly making magic with three cameras around her neck.
Here’s the thing—New York weddings aren’t always traditional. I’ve documented ceremonies on rooftops, in restaurants, under city bridges, and at City Hall. This city makes space for couples who do things differently, and that’s exactly the energy I’m drawn to. Whether it’s an editorial elopement in Brooklyn or a full-day event with disco balls and dancing in a café-turned-reception hall, my job is to pay attention and preserve the soul of it all.
So if you’re planning a wedding in NYC and you’re not into over-posed, over-processed photography—if you want someone who shoots from the gut, who sees the in-between moments, who gets why film feels more alive—I’d love to hear from you.
