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Alena Bakutis Photography Reviews

Alena Bakutis Photography

Alena Bakutis Photography

Rosemary Beach, FL
5.0 out of 5 rating, 42 Reviews
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Reviews

5.0 out of 5 rating
42 Reviews
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100% Recommended by couples

Awards

42
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2018 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2017 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2016 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2015 Winner
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    Lia Sent on 12/01/2019
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    Alena is Seriously the Best!

    Y'all, look no further for your photographer. Not only is Alena the most talented photographer I have ever seen, she is also the sweetest person ever.
    Alena was honestly the best wedding vendor I hired for my wedding. I booked her 18 months in advance, and from that moment on, she became basically my rock in regards to wedding planning.
    Alena is responsive, and helped me with any question I had over that 18 month period. We were thrilled with our engagement shoot pictures and I cried when we saw the sneak peek of our wedding pictures!
    Alena is well known in the area and each time I mentioned that she was my photographer, the response was "We love Alena!"
    Seriously, she is the best. You won't be disappointed!
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    Laura W. Sent on 06/08/2019
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    Fantastic to work with!

    Alena was terrific to work with. She was super personable and friendly and took time to talk with me on the phone before my wedding to make sure she knew more about me and my personality. Before the photo shoot she sent a form to fill out with the pictures we wanted, and she made sure to capture them all. Her and her assistant were a great team during the wedding and during photos after. They kept the mood light and made sure everyone was having a good time. We got a sneak peak of our photos the day after our wedding and they looked fantastic! We cannot wait to see the rest of her work. I highly recommend Alena and her team.

    Alena Bakutis Photography's reply:

    Thank you Laura! We really enjoyed being a part of your Big Day!!! You were such beautiful and happy bride and it radiated to all of your guests and us! Happy married life to both of you!!!
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    Kathryn Sent on 11/28/2018
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    The best vendor we had on our team - absolutely outstanding!

    The skill and quality of Alena's work is enough to classify her as an excellent photographer. But her warm personality and confidence sets her apart as an incredible person to have with you on your wedding day!

    From our first phone call, Alena was enthusiastic and easy to work with. We met with her and Michael before our wedding and we would highly recommend that if you have the time! It gave us a chance to get to know them and also discuss the types of places and poses we wanted. It also meant that on the day of, it wasn't awkward meeting them for the first time... in fact, it was exciting to see them again! We were both pretty nervous about being so heavily photographed but Alena is SO positive and encouraging, that our nervousness melted away. The posed family photos were well coordinated and we genuinely enjoyed taking couples portraits around town and on the beach. She was also very quick to provided about 30 "sneak peek" images just days after the wedding, which was exciting and fun to immediately share with friends and family. I can't wait to see all the finished images when they are ready!
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    Kaycee Sent on 09/20/2018
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    Omg this woman and her team was amazing! Please do not hesitate to book her for your event! Her photos were flawless, we weren’t working with the best of lighting because the sun was beating down on us but she managed to pull together some gorgeous photos. Alena is so very sweet and understanding. I recommend her to anyone!
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    Brandy Sent on 09/05/2018
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    just now
    I live in Orlando and came up to Destin for photos with Alena. Her photos are truly fine art photography and at a great price! I’ve met many photographers over the years and she is my absolute favorite because, she not only produces some of the best quality work, but she’s one of the sweetest people to work with! I give her my highest recommendation.
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    Samantha Sent on 01/04/2016
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    Alena was absolutely awesome to work with! She is so sweet as well as professional and very easy to work with! All of my photos came back absolutely stunning & there are tons of candid shots which I love! I would defiantly recommend her!
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    Julia Sent on 01/18/2018
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    I can't say enough good things about the amazing work Alena did as my wedding photographer (and, in a way, my wedding mentor!) Alena was the first vendor I booked and she helped set the tone for my wedding from the start. She gave me recommendations for any vendor or service I asked about, went back and forth with me about various details (e.g., timing of the ceremony, how to get the best photography experience on my limited budget - 2nd photographer vs. extra hour of photography, etc.), and answered any question I had, even the random ones about the color of the gulf in Mexico Beach! Alena responded to every single email I sent her promptly (she often responded within a couple of minutes!) - it was amazing how far this went to reduce my stress leading up to the wedding! When I changed my mind about my ceremony music at the last minute, Alena was able to refer me to her boyfriend Michael, who also did an excellent job and even helped with photography on the day of the wedding. Alena captured every shot I asked for, gave good guidance about timeline adjustments when we ran a bit behind schedule on the day of the wedding, and reassured me tremendously throughout the day with her calm demeanor and extensive knowledge about weddings.

    Alena showed me a few shots as she went throughout the night, so I already knew they were going to be absolutely beautiful, but the sneak peek pictures Alena posted to facebook within a few days of the wedding were too amazing for words. I have gotten so many compliments on the photos (a mix of portraits, details, and candid moments), and so many people told me they wished they could have used Alena as their wedding photographer! The images she captured are truly stunning and priceless!

    Finally, as I alluded to earlier, Alena is warm, funny, genuine, realistic, knowledgeable, and extremely talented. She was wonderful to work with and I would highly recommend booking her for any event that requires a photographer!
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    Karen Sent on 12/30/2017
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    Alena is wonderful to work with. From the first phone call we made to her we felt like we had known her forever. She is so easy to work with. Alena is unbelievably talented and captured the very essence of all the love and joy of our daughter's special day. In fact, one of her images of our daughter's wedding made it into a national photography magazine, "Shutter".
    I highly recommend Alena, and believe your only regret would be if you didn't choose her to capture your special day!
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    Megan Sent on 12/29/2017
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    Alena and Michael were such a joy to work with. I knew I wanted Alena from day one, as she was the only photographer to call me instead of emailing me after my initial inquiry. She took the time during that call to get to know me and ask about my wedding visions. Her and Michael lived a couple hours away from our wedding venue, yet they kindly traveled to us for family, engagement, and wedding pictures. She was so bubbly and personable, making us feel at ease throughout our sessions. I can’t even put into words how beautiful all of our pictures turned out. Thank you Alena and Michael for giving us photos that we’ll treasure forever!
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    Maddy Sent on 12/29/2017
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    Alena is an outstanding photographer! She was so kind, patient, engaging, and knowledgeable. She made us feel like we had known her our entire life! We felt so comfortable around her and she made it so easy to be ourselves. Our pictures turned out BEAUTIFULLY and I cannot decide which ones to print because all 1,000 of them are amazing! I would recommend her to anyone!!!
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    Sierra Sent on 09/23/2017
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    Alena is absolutely the best photographer we could have POSSIBLY asked for. She went above and beyond in every front. First, she was a pleasure to work with as a professional. Prompt to respond to our emails and skyped with us to get to know us remotely and hear our story. For our engagement session, we were far from Panama City and she made time during one of her vacations to our city to spend time exploring our home and taking the most stunning photos I have every seen. She kept in touch throughout our planning stage. The day of the wedding, she was timely and profession and also sweet and inclusive of our whole party. The guests loved her and she did an excellent job of staging her self well for the shot while still being subtle. She has a great eye for detail (and for candid shots - our favorites!) and I am DYING to see the final results. The teasers were beyond my wildest dreams. We now call her a friend and I would recommend her to ANYONE. Worth. Every. Penny.
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    Margaret Sent on 05/14/2017
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    Hiring Alena was one of the best choices I could have made in coordinating my wedding. If you're on the fence as you read this review, I can tell you with 100% confidence that you should select her.

    I struggled with identifying a photographer overall because it's quite expensive in the Destin area. Alena was at the top of my budget, but she worked with me, answered all my questions, and never pressured me. I did tons of research and I just kept coming back to Alena's work. It was a pleasure to work with her team from the very beginning. They are relatable, professional, and very skilled at what they do. My wedding day was truly the best day of my life and they captured so many moments throughout the entire event.

    Worth every penny.
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    Julie Sent on 03/05/2017
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    Planning a wedding can be stressful already, but doing it from afar adds another level of stress. We chose to get married on St. George Island so I started researching photographers in the area, before my first visit in February…11 months before our big day. I found several and set up some meetings, but the photos didn’t wow me. They were good, but something was missing. When I arrived in Florida, I kept looking. I happened upon this blog post of a small intimate wedding on St. George Island. The photographs were beautiful. This was it! This was what I was looking for. I searched for the photographer and found Alena Bakutis Photography! I went directly to her website. Beautiful! Every single photograph was a confirmation that this was what I was looking for! There is a softness to the pictures, but yet they were so crisp. It’s hard articulate, but anyone that has seen Alena’s photographs will know what I am talking about. I had to meet her. I contacted her and lucky for me, she was available to meet. She is so kind and generous. I knew I found my photographer. She likes to get to know her clients and her interactions are so genuine, you feel right at home, which translates really well in the photographs. Because she is so generous and caring, she offered us a complimentary engagement session when she was visiting New York. The pictures came back and I could not believe how great they were. I got very excited about our wedding day. When the big day finally came, Alena was very flexible and moved with us when we had to move the time up. If I had an unlimited wedding budget I would have kept Alena with us the entire night. While we only had her for three hours, we got so many fantastic photos packed into that time. She works quickly and her eye for details are amazing. If she has an idea, trust her, it will turn out amazing. I cannot say enough wonderful things about her or the photographs. Our wedding photographs are magazine worthy. I love her work and I love her!
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    Jasmina Sent on 10/01/2016
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    I strongly recommend Alena as a wedding photographer. She is very easy to work with. Alena is very responsive, accommodating and flexible. At the same time Alena makes sure to capture all the important wedding pictures, and you don't have to worry about missing any pictures taken. She is on top of it!!! And most importantly Alena is very talented, so the pictures are amazing.
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    Stevie Sent on 10/20/2016
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    HANDS DOWN, Alena was THE best investment we made for our wedding! I've heard that some brides have a hard time when it comes to planning their destination wedding. Nothing could be further from the truth with Alena! From the moment we began chatting online, I felt an instant connection to her. She the type you could totally see yourself becoming best friends with! Her genuine spirit and beautifully distinct photography style made it an easy decision to have her shoot our private elopement in Destin! This might seem like a small gesture to some people, but Alena called us when we were driving down to Florida just to check in, tell us how excited she was, and to wish us a safe trip! That was the nicest thing! It's those little details that make her so personable! She showed up to our beach house with the biggest smile, and instantly made us feel comfortable and calm! We absolutely adored our time with her, and our pictures were STUNNING! There wasn't a picture that we didn't love! She puts so much effort into her craft, and I can tell you that she will be our go-to photographer for every single moment in our lives! I cannot say it enough: With Alena, you will truly have your day captured in a way that no one else could have!
  • User2740675 Sent on 08/24/2016
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    In our first encounter with Alena, we were delighted with her bubbly persona. Alena is always happy and you can tell she loves her line of work. She is the type of photographer who knows how to make the most of a shoot, as she has an eye for what makes a great photo. This made working with her a breeze, especially considering both my wife and myself had little direction to offer. The results of our photo sessions speak immensely of Alena's raw talent and of the hard work she puts into making beautiful photos for her clients. If you want a skilled photographer who knows how to effectively conduct a photo shoot and delivers breathtaking photos then you should hire Alena. As the old saying goes, “You get what you pay for”, and Alena was worth every penny. Thanks for being the best Alena!
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    Rachel Sent on 06/17/2016
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    Love Alena and her photography skills - she's truly amazing. I could not be happier with her in every way! Absolutely would recommend for any type of photography, especially bridal.
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    Jennifer Sent on 09/06/2018
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    Alena is a true professional! My best friend/bridesmaid is a wedding photographer so since we couldn’t use her for our wedding, she went on a massive search up and down the east coast (we live in NYC and our wedding was in GA) to help us find the best one. She vetted dozens of different photographers to see who had the best experience with regards to using different lighting, navigating different weather patterns, shooting different backdrops, managing big families, capturing the most natural candids, etc. Long story short, Alena was her top recommendation. I set up a call with Alena and immediately felt so comfortable speaking to her. At our wedding she did such a great job capturing every moment but I never felt like we had a big camera trailing our every move (at all!). My wedding party ran deep and we both have big families but she somehow managed to get everyone’s attention (at the same time!) and the group shots are some that we treasure. The actual wedding photos are breathtaking. I can’t tell you how many people comment on the ones we have up in our house or the ones they’ve seen online. She really captured the magic of that day. We also loved creating our album with her which she truly went above and beyond on to make sure it was perfect. I really can’t say enough about our entire experience with Alena, start to finish.
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    Alison Sent on 11/19/2016
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    I highly recommend working with Alena for your wedding photography. She took the time to understand what we were looking for and delivered beautiful photos. Once the photos were edited, she kindly sent us a huge stack of 4X6 photos, along with a USB drive of the entire gallery. She was very pleasant to work with and was not at all disruptive during the ceremony or reception. We have received so many compliments on the photos--thanks Alena!!
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    Haley Sent on 09/14/2015
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    I could not have been any happier with my engagement photo shoot with Alena. My fiance and I were traveling in the Destin area and decided to plan our engagement photo shoot while we were there. I stumbled across Alena's website and after viewing a couple of her other photos I decided to book with her. She was extremely professional during the whole booking process and answered all my questions within a couple days of emailing her. The actual shoot was so much fun. My fiance and I are not usually the type who enjoy having our pictures taken but Alena made us feel so comfortable and relaxed the entire time. We got all of our photos back in about 4 to 5 weeks and we fell in love with every single one of them. I would recommend her to anyone!
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    Jennifer Sent on 10/31/2015
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    Alena is an incredible photographer! She went above and beyond her duties as a "photographer". By helping me relax and not focus on the hiccups that happened on our wedding! I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures!
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    Valerie Sent on 10/10/2015
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    Alena is a phenomenal wedding photographer. She did my engagement and wedding photos and I adore all of them. She is very responsive, creative, and professional. On the day of my wedding she helped solve multiple problems and dealt with my bridezilla moments. I highly recommend her to anyone in need of a photographer.
    - Valerie McCormick
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    Meredith Sent on 08/05/2015
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    Alena was the photographer at my wedding at the Highlands House in Santa Rosa Beach. She did an absolutely amazing job capturing the forever memories of my ceremony and reception. My now husband and I are both camera shy and don't feel as if we're very photogenic; however, Alena made us both feel so comfortable while we were taking pictures and we were quite surprised on how well we photographed! The pictures turned out beautiful, and we like how she also took more candid shots during the reception of the dancing and partying. Our guests as well as ourselves have loved looking at those to re-live the memories.
  • User2497811 Sent on 01/07/2016
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    Everything looks perfect. We are so happy with our finished product and want to thank Alena for her detailed touch on every little thing! We chose Alena purely based on quality and location. I searched through wedding wire for days looking through portfolios. It came down to two vendors, then from there it was comparing quality, style, and prices. Her prices were competitive with the other contender but we ultimately just liked her style and techniques better. Photography was our most important piece to putting our wedding together. We wanted to make sure it was captured the way we wanted it and we knew Alena could do that for us. Working with Alena was fun! It was so easy and laid back. Our kind of people;). The last thing I would want is to be stressing while trying to take pictures. We stayed on time miraculously and everything worked smoothly. As I noted before, we're completely happy with our finished product.
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    Nikki Sent on 07/09/2015
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    It was during our first meeting with Alena that I realized she was the perfect choice to capture the memories on our wedding day. Her professionalism and compassion for photography was immediately apparent. After answering only a few of her questions, she knew exactly what we wanted. The photos she captured were absolutely stunning, literally taking my breath away and still bring tears of joy to my eyes. The entire process was individualized and she catered to our every wish. We have even decided to book a love story session with her in the near future. If you have had the opportunity to view some of her work your decision will be easy to have her photograph one of the best days of your life. The quality of her work is worth every penny spent for the memories she will provide you with for the rest of your life. Needless to say, we are beyond grateful and satisfied with our photos. Not only will your photos turn out amazing, but just spending time with her was truly a pleasure. We cannot wait to work with her again!
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