Our wedding was located on a beautiful venue in West Marin with ample opportunity for creative photo moments. Alena took this chance and ran with it, generously dedicating time before the wedding to visit the venue so she could see the light beforehand and get an idea of where she would need to be during the day. Once our day came, she arrived with her crew and got busy with what I am sure was an exhausting session. She captured over four inside locations, as well as an outdoor ceremony and rehearsal spread over a very large property. And she did so without the slightest hitch. What impressed me was the efficient manner in which she came into the groom's quarters, took charge of the inhabitants, got the job done, and carried on. But the real point of this review is that we just had time to finally sit down and look at our pictures and they are absolutely amazing. We could not be more happy with her work. And this says nothing of her sweet disposition. I sincerely recommend Alena for your big day--or any other event, for that matter. She is great and we thank her.

Aleena Makes Wedding Photography EASY
We found Aleena through a friend who had gotten married shortly before we did. Looking at her portfolio, I was immediately impressed with the composition, timing, and careful use of natural light in her work. I'm usually not a fan of black-and-white photography, either, because it's hard to pull off an end result that wouldn't look better in color. But Aleena's use of B&W is judicious and well-executed.

We were delighted to find that her quote was within our budget, too. Frankly, I believe her work is better than many popular pros in the area who charge far more.

Aleena communicated promptly and responsively with us as we set expectations and goals. We visited the venue the week before and sort of mapped out the area and brainstormed ideas. I told her that I didn't want a candid, photojournalism-styled shoot as is trendy these days, and that I wanted a more traditional style where most of the shots are choreographed, and to not be shy about taking us and our guests prisoner for posed shots instead of waiting for "the perfect moment." She nailed it!

It's important to note that while Aleena is a bit quiet and almost shy, she knows what to ask for to get results, and will not hesitate to (politely) tell you and your guests what to do.

We also got a few quick drone shots in before the park rangers could catch us. They added some incredible perspective.

We received our first set of sample photos less than a week after the wedding! It was 100 of the best shots, hosted on cloud storage for easy sharing. The remaining photos arrived exactly two months after our wedding, on the most beautiful thumb drive I have ever seen contained in a cute wooden box with a small flip book of glossy prints.

Pros: Breathtaking, naturally-lit photos, good communication, quick photo delivery
Cons: None

Alena was our engagement and wedding photographer, and her husband assisted with wedding photos and provided a photo booth service. We are extremely happy with the photos.

Alena is really easy to work with, communicates well, and didn't have any crazy fees or restrictions on getting original digital copies. She provided creative ideas for poses, and accommodated our requests. She was also very quick to get previews and photos back to us.

We had a member of my family at the wedding that was acting as though he was the photographer and frequently getting in the way. I was very impressed with how patiently and calmly Alena handled it and still did an amazing job getting the photographs she wanted.

Alena was the perfect photographer for our perfect wedding! She was so helpful leading up to the wedding, visiting our location and taking pictures to determine where the best places were for pictures. She made both me and my husband feel at ease in taking pictures, especially posed photos. Alena really captured the "story" of the wedding, so many memories come back to me as I look through the photos. The posed photos were beautiful and the locations she picked at our venue were amazing! Her husband was there helping shoot and he was really helpful in taking pictures too! It was like having two photographers for the price of one. The price we paid for her was amazing, way better quality and value then other quotes we have gotten. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Alena. I wish we had more excuses to hire a photographer just so we could work with Alena.

Alena was absolutely fantastic on our wedding day, and the preview photos she sent us are reflective of that. You can tell she is passionate about photography and creating beautiful visuals, and we couldn't be happier with the images so far, and can't wait to see all the photos. Prior to our wedding, we met with her in person over a glass of wine so she could get to know us as a couple, and I shared with her some images on Pinterest that matched the vibe we wanted to see in the final product. She also took the time to visit the venue to get a sense of what she'd be working with about a month before our big day. She was very responsive throughout the planning phase via email & text, as well. During the ceremony, there were two photographers present to capture the different POVs. The images we're most pleased with are the unposed, genuine moments she was able to capture, especially during the ceremony...the laughs, the exchanged glasses, etc. It was a beautiful day for us, and I'm thrilled that we have Alena's photos that will allow us to visually relive the day in years to come!

Alena and her husband did a fantastic job with our wedding day photoshoot. They drove 2 hours to my city to meet with us and understand our story before signing. They visited our wedding venue that's also 2 hours from them just to find inspirations on the perfect spots for us during various time of our wedding day. They arrived early on our wedding day, and worked past our agreed upon finishing time due to accommodate our schedule. Alena had a lot of great ideas, and also beautiful shots! The photos speak for themselves!

Alena and her husband, Alex, photographed my wedding in July 2017 in Tiburon, CA. I can't say enough positive things to capture our experience working with Alena, but I'll try to draw on the highlights. First, Alena is a steal. With her experience, you'd be hard pressed to find someone that's also at her price. She has years of experience under her belt, and is pricing low because she's trying to break into the Bay Area market. Her work is exceptional, despite having the lowest quote we found. Second, Alena and Alex are extremely warm, sweet, supportive, and positive. The charm and kindness they brought to the first meeting drew us to hiring them, and they had proven to be nothing less than a supportive and warm presence throughout the wedding process. Planning a wedding is a tough process for many, but these two put you at ease and remind you of the romance. Third, Alena is super responsive and flexible. Any communication and/or concern is resolved quickly and professionally. She makes it a point to be extremely flexible for you. Meeting in person just to chat, viewing the venue, having her arrive at a certain time on the day of the wedding...despite her living out in Sacramento, and we live in Berkeley (and having our wedding in Tiburon), she makes sure to make every appointment on time and molds to your schedule as much as possible. Just this alone helped make the wedding planning process much smoother. Fourth, Alena and Alex are extremely professional on the day of the wedding and beyond. Honestly, I completely forgot they were there most of the time. Alena was present for the morning prep (makeup and hair), and she fit completely seamlessly into the day by snapping many gorgeous photos while blending into the background. Her non-intrusive style helped me and my bridesmaids relax and just completely be ourselves - nerves and humor and all - while she caught wonderfully candid moments. Throughout the day, her and Alex's photojournalistic style were able to capture so many moments we missed, while making everyone look good! But also importantly, she was also able to direct posed shots and suggest placement and timing for our first look, sunset shots, and bridal party/family photos. Even a request for a re-edit of photos, Alena took with positivity and responded with a newly edited version rapidly. We hope to one day work with Alena and Alex again!

Nothing I can write here will do Alena and her photography justice. My husband and I are not super romantic people, we don't love our pictures being taken and were very fearful of the wedding photography process. Alena made everything easy- nothing felt forced or fake. As a bride I wanted photographs that I wanted to stare at forever but were a true representation of my husband and myself. After 12 years together we finally tied the knot and my photos will be cherished forever! If you are on the fence don't be- Alena is a true pro, her photographs rival those that are double and triple her price point. Thank you Alena for making our day perfect, we are so happy.

Alena and her husband did a truly phenomenal job capturing our wedding in August. My husband and I were extremely impressed with their skill and professionalism, and the photos turned out amazing. She gave us almost 100 preview photos within ten days of our wedding! We got the rest of them a couple weeks ago and were shocked by how many she sent us. Our friends love them too--she truly captured every aspect of our wedding! She was also very reasonably priced. My husband spent about a month exploring options online and looked at a dozen portfolios before choosing Alena, and I'm so glad he did. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a quality, friendly photographer!

Highly skilled and amazing photographer :D
Alena was awesome! We hired her for an afternoon at city hall and then for an evening reception on another day over the weekend. We met up to talk over details and she was very accommodating and flexible with what we wanted (more candid and casual as opposed to posed shots; mixture of indoor and outdoor; shoots on two different days). She was extremely professional, friendly and, most of all, very good at what she does. Here are some things we loved about working with her:

+very responsive to emails
+the contract was clearly written
+very skilled with a range of lighting conditions (bright sunlight, shadowy indoors)
+turnaround time for previews and final shots were quick
+high quality uploads
+gave good direction for posed shots
+pricing was highly competitive for the bay area
+great suggestions for backdrops
+visited/researched our venues in preparation

Her portfolio is incredibly impressive and we could tell she really loves what she does. Honestly, we feel so lucky to have had her as our photographer because the photos turned out amazing! We felt like she really captured the atmosphere of our wedding. It was a great pleasure working with Alena :) Highly recommended!

Wow- from the moment I saw Elena's page, I knew she was what we were looking for. Her photos capture not just poses, but true emotion and love. Everyone at the wedding was very pleased with the photo outcomes and my husband and I enjoy looking at them everyday. Elena was not only a great photographer, but amazing to work with. She listened to my wants and acted on them in everyphoto. She also had great ideas and was flexible with our needs. We are so lucky to have found her for our wedding. Thank you very much Elena!!! Best of luck in the future, if you have any questions or would like to speak with me about our wedding photos, please ask Elena to put us in contact. I wish you all the best and happy marriages.

We loved her and you will too!
We had a pretty unique wedding experience at a local campground and I was so worried about how a photographer would handle it. Alena captured our day perfectly. She was extremely friendly and professional. Our wedding was last fall and our friends and family are still talking about how nice Alena was and that every time someone turned around, there she was capturing an important moment. Also, We were not very interested in taking many posed photos but Alena talked us into taking some and I am so glad she did, it was so worth it!!! We are so pleased with our photos and will cherish them for many years. We had such a wonderful experience with Alena - hire her!!!!!

Alena is a true pro!
Our wedding was in California, but we live in Texas so we were a little nervous about finding the right photographer to capture our big day. Then we came across Alena's work and we were blown away.

Alena had an unbelievable attention to detail, and was an absolute pleasure to work with. We love ALL of the photos from our wedding and would happily recommend her for any and every event!

Alena was one of the best decisions we made about our wedding - other than each other. Honestly, she was wonderful to work with: she was friendly and warm with our guests, orchestrated portraits smoothly, and took amazingly beautiful photographs with all sorts of creative framing and angles. We now have an album full of magical photos of this deeply meaningful day, and we would recommend her to anyone looking for a talented, creative, kind, and professional photographer for their wedding. She went above and beyond to understand our wishes for the photography and incorporate this input into her work. Thank you, Alena, for capturing our memories so beautifully!

So thankful we chose Alena!
My husband and I had an outdoor wedding and we absolutely loved the different shots that Alena got. She did a great job at following our preferences and getting the shots we requested. And she also had a lot of great ideas of her own. She was able to move around quickly but we hardly even noticed she was there. She is great at capturing moments and candid photos. Alena was so great to work with and so sweet. We are so thankful we chose her to be our wedding photographer.

Excellent pictures, quality service! Thank you
Alena was the photographer for my wife and I's wedding this summer and we cannot say enough good things about the fantastic job she did!
We decided to hire her based on the quality of the images we had seen and we were glad that the ones from our day matched up in terms of quality.
Alena is very professional and was in communication with us through the entire process, we met to discuss the day and she was genuinely interested in the event and things were discussed in detail. Then a few weeks later we all met again at the venue so she could see it and get a feel for the location. This thoroughness was very much appreciated and put our mind at ease that the photography was in safe hands.
On the day Alena was great, was there early and knew exactly what to do. We have really nice pictures of the preparation before the ceremony, guests arriving, the ceremony itself and the reception after. The pictures were natural and Alena got the most out of the location with some beautiful shots.
We took some nice family photos after the ceremony and it was very relaxed as we weren't being bossed around like some photographers would do. Alena was so easy to work with and flexible to what my wife and I needed which is so important on a day like that. No stress or drama. A lot of our guest commented on the great job she was doing.
Pictures were sent to us when promised, and the price was a great deal all things considered! Obviously Alena spent some time editing the pictures which is appreciated also and shows how seriously she takes things.

Overall, very pleased with Alena. Great professional service, she is super talented and a very nice person to work with. What more can you ask for?
Would recommend to all.

Siamo rimasti molto soddisfatti per la professionalita‘ e per la capacita‘ di adattarsi alle nostre richieste ed esigenze.
Il servizio fotografico e’ stato attento e di alta qualita’ con moltissimi scatti degni di nota, luminosi e da atmosfere incantate.
Un fotografo mai invadente e pronto a immortalare momenti naturali che danno il senso dell’emozioni.
La consegna delle foto e’ stata fatta alla scadenza accordata senza ritardi.

We have so much fun getting our pre-wedding photos taken by Alena.
She is responsible, creative, talented and easy to work with.
The pictures are sent to us on the promised date.
My pre-wedding pictures turn out beautifully!
Each pictures perfectly captured the beautiful moments on the day!
You will definitely love your experiences with Alena!
Thanks for capturing my perfect moments!

Алена и Леша, большое вам спасибо, за вашу работу! Вы сделали наш параздник не зыбываемы, в прямом смысле слова! Пересматривая фотографии со свадьбы, мы не можем ими налюбоваться. Очень надеемся, что эта съемка и в целом, наша встреча, была не последняя. До встречи)

Мы долго искали фотографа на нашу свадьбу на Санторини и были очень рады, когда Алена согласилась с нами работать, так как мы были в восторге от ее фотографий! Алена и ее муж Леша очень классные ребята, приятные в общении и профессионалы своего дела, без них наша свадьба бы просто пошла наперекосяк, они нас выручали на каждом шагу! Возили на своей машине, когда не приехало наше свадебное авто, сами выстраивали логистику съемок, искали наших заблудившихся операторов) Сниматься у Алены очень легко, никакого напряжения и стеснения не возникает. Фото просто отличные, мы довольны результатом! Семья и друзья тоже в восторге! Спасибо еще раз Алене и Леше! Всем рекомендую обращаться к ним, не пожалеете)