I've been doing a lot of reflecting lately. I think it's the whole birthday thing... the whole "omg I'm 30 and I'm not married and don't have kids and don't know what I'm going to do for the rest of my life" meltdown thing (which didn't really happen... much)... but it's prompted me to look back at the past year, what worked, what didn't, if I accomplished my goals or not. The truth is, every year is kind of the same in that aspect... there's always many things I'm proud I did, and there's always moments I think back on and I know I could've done better. Been kinder, been more understanding, been more gracious and grateful. I think it's important to have moments like that... it reminds us to always strive to be a better person than we were the day before. Anyways, in doing all this reflecting, I asked my wedding clients from this past year to help me out. I wanted to know what their favorite photo from their wedding was... it could be anything, as long as the two of them were in it. I really want to do this every year- I loved seeing the photos couples picked and why! I didn't have a ton of weddings of my own this year... I had thought I was going to be in Ireland for June and July... but I loved all the wedding clients I did have and I am so proud they asked me to capture these special moments. I hope you like this post!

Katie and Sarin, May 27th

Our favorite picture: I love the softer light in the picture but I also feel like it captures the day... I remember when you pulled us out of the barn to take a few outdoor shots as the sun was going down and it was during those few moments away from our celebration when we had a moment to let it all sink in that we were really married! I am so thankful we had those few quieter moments outside to reflect on the day.

From Katie:

We were so lucky to stumble upon Alanna's work last year via a random link through several co-workers and a mutual friend and when we finally met her, my husband and I knew instantly that we wanted her to capture our wedding day. Lana is a warm, fun personality and working with her was so easy. She's incredibly professional, creative and affordable and communicating with her via email during the planning process was super easy. Aside from giving us the most amazing wedding photos ever, Lana also shot our engagement photos and we couldn't have been more pleased with how all of the photos came out. She worked so hard to capture every little detail of our very detail heavy, travel theme wedding. We would highly recommend hiring Alanna to capture your wedding day - you'll be so happy you did!

From Alanna:

Katie and Sarin's wedding was definitely a fun night, and I can think of a few of my favorite parts easily. First, I loved their travel theme and they did a beautiful job with DIY decorations. But besides that, I LOVED when Sarin broke down during their first dance and started a dance routine to Michael Jackson! He got so into it, and it was awesome. They were so happy and just having a great time. This is my favorite portrait from their wedding :)

Jen and Larry, August 4th

Our favorite picture: We love this photo because it has great colors and the angle is awesome! I love that Larry is holding my shoes and you can see that beautiful car behind us!

From Jen: WE LOOOOVED you as our photographer because you knew exactly what to do. I tend to be a control freak and I did not feel like I had to tell you anything to do on our wedding day. When I look at all the photographs you took I can see that you captured everything from my wedding day that I would want to remember. Our families have commented on how wonderful you were and that you had a great personality. You really made our day special!

From Alanna: Jen and Larry's wedding really made me realize I should be shooting more weddings close to home! This was probably the closest wedding I've ever shot to my house, and it was wonderful to be able to scope out the location ahead of time and only have to drive about 15 minutes on the day of the wedding :) My favorite part of Jen and Larry's wedding was just the pure celebration of it all. They have been together since high school and so everyone there seemed to know each other and just have a great time. Oh, and the chocolate fondue station was kind of awesome too :) I'm such a sucker for barns, so this is still my favorite picture from the day!

Diana and Jay, August 12th

Our favorite picture: What's not to love about our first kiss picture?! It was my very own fairytale come true. I had just married my very own Prince Charming with everyone I love in this world all around me..the most magical moment of my life and the start of our happily ever after.

From Diana: Alanna, you are phenomenal and truly gifted! You were so easy to get comfortable with, fun to be around, and took all the awkwardness out of being being in front of the camera. You have a way of capturing magical moments. And I think your pictures speak for themselves.. They are absolutely amazing! We couldn't be happier with our photos!

From Alanna: Diana and Jay's wedding was special to me for many reasons, first and foremost being that it was in Wellfleet. I love the Cape; it is such a magical place and the perfect spot to get married. I grew up going to Wellfleet with my family and so I was thrilled to be asked to shoot a wedding there. I would honestly have to say that my favorite part of Diana and Jay's wedding was the formal time we had with them. I think my 2nd shooter, Melissa, would agree with me- we didn't have to direct them AT ALL. They are so in love, and so into each other, that it was like we weren't even there. And that is a photographer's dream come true :) As many photos as I LOVED from their "formal time", I would have to say my favorite photo of the day happened right before Diana's favorite photo of the day. This is when Diana's dad (who was officiating) announced them husband and wife. Look at how excited she is!!

Hannah and Joe, August 18th

Our favorite picture: I love this photo so much because it is the most genuine display of emotion during such a special moment between Joe and I. This should be an example to other couples why it's amazing to do first looks! It shows pure happiness, joy and excitement and that's what any wedding day should feel like! I still get the warm fuzzies when I look at it and it brings me right back to how I felt in that moment, and that's exactly what I wanted from our wedding photos!

From Hannah: Why did I love you as our photographer? Well...SO many reasons! First of all, I fell in love with your work even before I knew you! You have incredible talent for capturing the essence of the moment between two people with your photography, and you made both Joe and I feel so comfortable in front of the camera! This is a hard feat for two people who tend to be a bit shy! You made us laugh throughout both our engagement shoot and wedding, and you were able to capture all of our emotions perfectly from beginning to end! You were accommodating and offered suggestions when needed, but also let Joe and I have our own moments together without being directed. Your were a workhorse from beginning to end, and it certainly shows in our images! We both love you and can't wait for you to shoot us again!

From Alanna: Hannah and Joe's wedding really set the bar high! I had been in touch with them and planning with them for about a year before they got married, and I knew how much time and effort was going into this wedding. In the end, it paid off; it was an absolutely gorgeous event and I heard more than one person saying it was the best wedding they had been to! I think beyond all the amazing details that Hannah and Joe created, my favorite part was the First Look. It had been POURING all morning... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't freaking out slightly in my head that morning... and miraculously, the sky cleared up in time for us to still do the First Look at Hannah's aunt's dock, which meant a lot to her. Everyone was having a great time, and we just laughed and took pictures and had FUN. It was wonderful. This is my favorite picture from the entire day!! Hannah and Joe's laughter is just infectious.

Eric and Jeff:

Our favorite picture:

There are so many, but we particularly like this one, taken during the rehearsal!

From Eric:

Alanna did a phenomenal job with our wedding pictures. They were thorough and really captured how happy and engaged everyone was. She also managed to capture a lot of the event. Having the second photographer there (Alanna's suggestion) was also important as they managed to get scenes from different angles. Thank you!

From Alanna: My favorite part of Eric and Jeff's wedding was how personal it all was. Everything was very unscripted... Eric and Jeff had asked Eric's parents and their spouses to speak, along with Jeff's sister and Eric's uncle, about different topics involving love and family. It was so beautiful! Everyone truly spoke from the heart and there were a lot of laughs, and a lot of tears. This is why this photo is my favorite: this is Eric's dad and stepmom when it was their turn, and you can just see how happy everyone is listening to their story.

Caitlin and Adam, September 14th

Our favorite picture: This is our favorite because the picture says it all "We did it!". The genuine smiles on both of our faces is priceless and really captures the excitement of the day.

From Caitlin: I found Alanna from looking at a friend's wedding album and I fell in love with the quality and creativity of every photo. Alanna truly does modern and amazing work and I couldn't have been happier with my photos. I got married in Stowe, Vermont and I knew I needed a photographer who would capture the gorgeous views of the mountains and our love for the state. I was so thrilled Alanna and her second shooter ended up traveling quite a ways to there for our special day. Alanna's communication was excellent, very responsive and she is a pleasure to work with and has a undeniable talent. She is my number 1 recommendation for any person who is in need of a photographer!

From Alanna: I met Caitlin and Adam the day of the wedding, which rarely happens for me anymore. Usually couples do engagement sessions with me or we meet beforehand, but our schedules just never jived and so I was a little bit nervous driving up to Stowe that day, not sure exactly what to expect. Once I met Caitlin and Adam, all my nerves melted away. I felt completely comfortable with them, and when I saw the way they looked at each other during the ceremony... swoon. It was perfect. And of course, being that the wedding was in Stowe, I was very happy to have the chance to photograph such an important day for them. My favorite part was probably tearing it up on the golf carts with them afterwards, trying to get to Hole 18 for the killer view you see in the photo below. That, and one of their friends did a rap to Ice Ice Baby later in the evening... or was it Naughty by Nature? Either way, it was pretty epic :)

Kristen and Rich, September 29th

Our favorite picture: Rich and I have MANY favorite photos from our wedding day, but our absolute favorite is this one. We met in college and frequently visited the pub on campus. We spent many nights sitting on these stools, drinking beers, not realizing that we would some day be married! Many of our favorite memories from college happened in the pub, so it was a perfect spot for us to cheers our first beers as a married couple! I think this picture captures how much fun we have as a couple and how excited we are to be married.

From Kristen: I knew I wanted Alanna to be my wedding photographer after seeing her first blog post. I fell in love with her pictures and followed her blog on a daily basis. After getting engaged, the first vendor I contacted was Alanna to make sure she was available. My now-husband was not excited about being photographed, but Alanna made us both so comfortable. It was like we were hanging out with a friend for the afternoon. Alanna was also very helpful in assisting with organizing a timeline of the day. Her professional input made the flow of the day flawless. I'm so happy we went with Alanna Scully Photography. Our wedding pictures are more perfect than I could have imagined.

From Alanna: My favorite part of Kristen and Rich's wedding was Rich Instagramming the whole thing!!! Haha I literally died... durring communion at the church I was on a side aisle, and I see Rich turn around with his phone and snap off a shot... then again during family formals... then during the reception, while the band was playing... I was dying! Honestly it was hilarious. Besides that, it was great to be back on a college campus- Saint Anselm's was beautiful and I loved shooting there! Case in point: the beautiful ivy you can see in my favorite picture!

Emily and Roger, October 6th

Our favorite picture:

It's so hard to pick! But we both think that last photo in the album (page 34) is our favorite. It just truly captures the happiness of the day. We both look like more radiant versions of ourselves. And the black and white with the lights in the background is beautiful.

From Emily:

Alanna was wonderful to work with. Very friendly and accommodating. She was always available for questions. She made the whole experience easy and fun and took wonderful pictures!

From Alanna: Emily and Roger's wedding was simply awesome. I have shot weddings around Boston for years, but I feel like this was my first real "city" wedding, and leading up to it, that made me nervous. It can be hectic driving to different locations in the city, finding parking before the ceremony starts, etc! But Emily and Roger made it so easy, and it was really a very go-with-the-flow kind of day. It may sound weird, but the first favorite part that comes to mind was Emily getting ready before the First Look. Her mom and her best friend helped her, while her little adorable nephew looked on approvingly. Everyone was just so happy and excited, and of course she looked stunning when the dress was on. My other favorite part (also, maybe a little bit weird lol) but former governor Michael Dukakis was one of the officiants for their wedding at the Swedeborg Chapel in Cambridge. After they were pronounced husband and wife and kissed for the first time, he said something like "Now go forward, live a happy life, have children... because we need as many Democrats as we can!" It was a very cute moment and drew a lot of laughter from the congregation.

My favorite picture is from their First Look. Love everything about this photo!

Amanda and Matt, October 20th

Our favorite picture: This photo is most definitely my favorite from our wedding and the one that first popped into my mind, although there were so many amazing ones to choose from. I love that it captures our laughter and silliness and the delight we find in being together. The foliage behind us is wonderful too and reminds me of the warm colors of our wedding day.

From Amanda:

Alanna was simply the most wonderful wedding photographer we could have imagined. She has an excellent eye for capturing people at their best and frames her shots well. She quickly responded to my many questions and gave valuable feedback about our timeline and other wedding day logistics. More importantly, she is personable, hilarious and a joy to be around. She has our highest recommendation! We were so so happy having you as our photographer and I could have gone on and on and on :)

From Alanna:

I loved Amanda and Matt's wedding. LOVED. IT. It was honestly the perfect way to end my wedding season, and I couldn't have been happier with the way things went. It was in a quiet Vermont town, and it was really, truly, a family affair. It was small and intimate, and yet all of Amanda and Matt's favorite people in the world were there. And those who couldn't be were still a huge part of the day. During the reception, we listened to a pre-recorded speech from the best man, who was in the military with Matt and who was deployed at the time of the wedding. The tears and the laughter that came from that speech, and from the other words of people who stood up to toast the happy couple... those were probably my favorite moments of the day.

And here is my favorite picture... I just love the colors, their expressions, the reflection off the pond behind them... everything! I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed looking back at these weddings! Thank you again to all my 2012 clients!!

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A Year in Review: 2012 Favorites