First Comes Love Photo

Hiring Alison to capture our wedding was one of the best decisions we made.
She’s an awesome person even without a camera in her hands, her level of talent and professionalism is incredible. From the first minute we met with her, my husband and I knew we wanted her to capture the day. She helped us prepare for the big day (shot list, timeline, etc…) so that things could run smoothly. Once the big day arrived, we left the rest to her and her wonderful assistant, Daighna, and followed their lead. While we didn’t have a big wedding, it was a long day with celebrations starting at my parents house in the morning. Alison and Daighna fit in from the minute they arrived. Needless to say, my friends and family loved working with Alison just as much as we did!
We just received our proofs and they brought me to tears! They tell the story of a beautiful day with our closest friends and family. Her pictures gave me the chance to relive part of the day and experience other moments for the first time (like my hubby to be pre-​gaming with his parents and my cousins in the morning at our house). Love them all!
The pictures are incredible — a gift we will cherish forever! Thank you, Alison, for capturing the biggest and best of our life!

Alison was one of the best parts of our wedding day. She and her assistant Stevie were extremely professional, unobtrusive, and kind we had tons of fun working with them. Our photo album just arrived today and it is absolutely breathtaking. Alison’s work was top notch and her service just as great. She really takes care of the couples she shoots and puts in a lot of effort to be a great resource. Highly recommend her!

Alison was absolutely amazing. We had her shoot our engagement photos in January of 2014 and our wedding in August of 2014. I hired her after seeing all of the glowing Unilocal reviews and she surpassed my expectations. She was incredibly personal and professional. My husband and I weren’t really sure what to do in a professional photo shoot but Alison was able to give us very simple, easy instructions so that we didn’t feel awkward. All of the photos were absolutely fabulous.
We planned our wedding from Virginia but Alison made it very easy. She was willing to meet with us on Skype and she was very responsive to emails and phone calls. She also sent us a sneak peak of a couple dozen wedding photos within a couple weeks after the wedding.
Lastly, not only did my husband and I enjoy working with Alison, our wedding party absolutely loved her. She blended into our event perfectly and managed to get shots of things I didn’t even see on the day of the wedding!

The wedding is over. After months of planning and giddy excitement the day came and went. It was lovely but it was over in a flash — thank goodness we picked Alison to photograph our day to preserve the memories. Pictures are a big deal. I still look through my parents and grandparents photo albums and when I was a kid it was my favorite thing to do. Because I had such fond memories of other’s photos from their wedding day the pressure was on to find the best photographer we could and we did.
Alison was phenomenal on the day. She was fun, easy to talk to and very efficient and professional. She also may double as a ninja — I swear, neither my husband nor I noticed her for most of the night once the ceremony started. We don’t understand how she got some of the amazing shots she did without us noticing her during the ceremony and reception. It’s pretty impressive.
Alison has a great style — she could probably give you anything you’re looking for but we wanted the traditional romantic and whimsical kind of look. Very soft and romantic. Nothing overly posed or forced and, pardon me for saying, we looked amazing in every shot (mostly her doing, not so as much ours.) When our friends and family saw her final work everyone was floored. So many friends made comments like «It’s like you’re in a movie,» or said it was the best photography they had ever seen. Even my grumpy father who is a photographer (and world’s biggest cynic) was blown away.
She knocked it out of the park. Hiring her was the best choice we made in regards to our wedding. I’d recommend her to our nearest and dearest (and have been!)

Alison, in one word is fantastic! She is professional and experienced, yet makes you feel at ease during the whole process. My husband is not a fan of having his picture taken, but after how well our engagement photo session went and how amazing the photos turned out, we were so happy that we picked Alison. We really felt like she captured our personalities and in a natural manner, without being forced.
Our friends and family, some of which are professional photographers, couldn’t say enough about how much they enjoyed both our engagement and wedding photos. Scrolling through the photos, I felt like I was back in that moment, which is great, since the day really is a blur.
I love that she has a website that I can send everyone the link to, so our guests that view and even purchase any photos they like. My mother-​in-​law can’t say enough about how much she enjoyed watching the wedding slide-​show and the music Alison picked to go along.
I would highly recommend Alison to photograph any life event.

Alison is everything and more. It’s hard to put into exact words how great she really is. I’m from Texas, my husband is from Michigan, and we live in Louisiana. We decided to get married in Michigan, and it is difficult to plan a wedding from that far away while trying to stay below a budget without coordinators or planners. Alison did more than she had to, and it’s because she truly cares. She helped formulate a list of shots for the day of, and was kind enough to meet me on Skype since I was planning from so far away. Besides getting married, Alison was the best decision I made about the wedding.
During the day, it was as relaxed and enjoyable as I’d hoped it would be– because I completely trusted Alison to capture everything in a beautiful artistic way– I wasn’t worried about the day slipping away or that the napkin holders weren’t perfect I just had faith in the way Alison captures and I knew I’d be able to focus on the emotions and love, and then enjoy it again through Alison’s art.
She even got our dog before he ruined his wedding collar I made for him! She got so many special moments, and also moments I wasn’t able to see on the day.
I wish I had more walls to hang the photos on! We just can’t say enough about her! She was great to be around, friendly, smart, caring, she got along with everyone and really captured personalities, love, emotions and we will cherish our photographs forever. In my opinion an amazing photographer can make a cheap dress look like a million bucks and vice versa. Alison is an amazing photographer. She’s thoughtful and original, and she enjoys what she does, which makes everything go so smoothly on the wedding day. I’m not opposed to traveling all the way to Michigan again to do maternity photos with Alison when the time comes! She is fabulous. She is also really, really cool, you just want to be her friend. That is so important considering you spend a great deal of the day with your photographer, you want to be around positive individuals. I wish I could give her a big hug and say thank you again.
She was nice enough to put previews up only a month later, and I was able to see a gallery about two months after the wedding. It was so nice of her to put up previews. Alison is indispensable, book her for your wedding and you will have photographs and art to cherish for a lifetime and share with your own children and grandchildren someday. Absolutely beautiful and timeless. Her photographs are treasures.
You will be so happy with Alison’s work. I searched and searched for a photographer– to me it was a decision of utmost importance, and she was perfect. It is one of the most important (if not the most important job) — because with an amazing photographer, you can let go, stop worrying, relax, take it all in, and smile, laugh, cry, and savor the moments on your wedding day. Because you know that she will work her magic– and everything will be as beautiful as you saw it that day– if not even more beautiful. I am SO grateful for Alison. Her talent and experience is unsurpassed, and priceless.
I can’t stop looking at the photos, and I can relive the best day of my life over and over again!

My husband and I cannot say enough about Alison. She is such a beautiful, caring person and she really appreciates and honors the level of intimacy that is present in photographing others.
When we began looking for photographers for our wedding, we browsed site after site of work that was pretty, but didn’t seem authentic. In our minds, our wedding was going to be one of the most intimate, cherished moment of our lives; and we really wanted someone who would be able to capture that in all it’s natural, honest beauty. As soon as we came across Alison’s work we knew that she would give us exactly that and we had complete trust in her to capture our day exactly as it was — making it possible for us to relive each moment just by looking through the pictures.
Not only was she fantastic to work with but she was incredibly flexible and supportive as well. Alison is professional and caring. She definitely knows what she’s doing and she uses her insight to help you in the best way possible. When you work with Alison, you really can tell how much she appreciates the fact that you are letting her capture your most cherished moments. She truly is the best at what she does!

Alison is an absolutely incredible photographer. First of all, she is a dream to work with, literally from the moment I contacted her, she made every single step of the whole process so easy. My wedding was in California and Alison was in Michigan, but our distance made no difference at all… we talked on the phone and over email a bunch of times and Alison really helped me organize everything around the photos and even the timeline of the day.
But maybe even more importantly, when I saw the previews of my pictures I was totally floored. My husband had to pull me away from my computer because I was obsessed with looking at the pics… I just found them so gorgeous and they just brought me right back to that day in such a special way… I honestly could not have imagined more beautiful pictures of my wedding day.
I wanted photos that captured the day in a way that was as far from cheesy wedding pics as we could get. I wanted photos that captured more than just our smiles, but really captured our emotions and the private moments of the day amidst all of the lovely craziness, and somehow Alison was able to do just that. I highly recommend Alison and First Comes Love Photo and am positive you will have a wonderful experience and be thrilled with her work.

Alison is the best, hands down!
I first heard about Alison when she photographed a wedding where my flower shop designed the floral arrangements. The bride sent us photos of the flowers from her wedding, and I was hooked. I loved the photos so much that I referred her to one of my best friends, as her wedding photographer. I was wowed again! So then, naturally, I hired Alison as MY wedding photographer.
I can’t say enough nice things here. Besides being a wonderful person, she has a natural and non-​intrusive technique. She is a true artist, but a quiet one. During my wedding ceremony, I didn’t know she was there! How did she get those beautiful, candid, close ups?! She also made the posed/​family portrait photos go so quickly and smoothly, that I didn’t miss any of my wedding reception fun!
Not one of the photos were cheesy, or unnatural. Some of the photos from my wedding are such true works of art, they’re worthy of a modern art museum display!
Also, my husband hates having his photo taken. Hates it. So, he usually looks terrible in photos. Alison managed to make him comfortable in front of the camera, and got great shots of him.
If you need a photographer, for your wedding, or portraits, or party, or whatever, don’t even bother with anyone else. Seriously!

Hiring Alison was the best decision I made about my wedding, save for saying «yes» when my husband proposed.
Alison is smart, professional, and experienced. She is a talented photographer. If you choose to work with Alison, you will find your personality, your dynamic as a couple, and the aesthetic of your event in her photos. Her photos are not just gorgeous, they are gorgeous photos that tell your story clearly. In short, you will LOVE your photos!
Just as important as the exceptional quality of her work, Alison is a joy to work with. Having Alison around on our wedding day was a pleasure. I knew she knew was she was doing, and was able let go and enjoy my wedding. She manages to be everywhere at once — capturing each important moment — all while being utterly unobtrusive. «Sneaky,» she calls it. I call it awesome. Alison also has great skill and experience working with the crowd of a wedding — family, friends, churchgoers… she wrangled all the people who needed to be in our formal photos, and the process was fast and (dare I say) fun!
A friend who could not attend our wedding today said via email: «Oh, WOW!!! I was enthralled by all the photos — I felt as if I were there. What a gift! Your photographer was terrific and the photos told the story and captured the emotion. Wow!»
This echoes every comment we’ve had from friends and family who were at the wedding; so many people told me they felt like they were reliving the day. I still feel the same way. I can relive the best day of my life whenever I want to, just by breaking out Alison’s photos of our wedding! It’s an outrageous delight.
An unexpected and absolutely invaluable part of working with Alison, for me, was how well she knows how to help you prepare. She knows what she needs from you in order to make the day run smoothly from the perspective of photography, and this translates incredibly well into making the day run smoothly, period. In the months before the wedding, she was aware of us and of our day, and she asked at intervals for information that she needed. Her requests were so well timed, they helped me understand how my day needed to run and some of the things I needed to do to prepare. So helpful. And Alison is one of those rare people who is both organized and relaxed! Such a relief!
From our first email exchange I knew I wanted Alison as our photographer. She is kind and caring, and naturally understands and gets along well with people. This is, perhaps, enhanced by her art, but is not just a function of it. Alison is supportive, warm, and openhearted, and she reads people very well. All of this comes through in her work. Her work is impeccable, and her taste is unimpeachable. You can truly just let go and experience the day, knowing that your photos and the memories of the event will be quite perfectly preserved for you.

Alison is Fantastic!
My wife and I planned our wedding from California and had the wedding in Michigan. This was very challenging seeing as we decided to find and book our venue, florist, caterer, officiant, and photographer all in one weekend trip. Our weekend trip was a complete circus as one might imagine. Thankfully, Alison agreed to go out of her way and meet with us in a coffee shop next to a florist we looked out. This gracious gesture along with her refreshing, professional attitude quickly instilled confidence that my wife and I had been hoping for.
At the ceremony and reception, Alison did not disappoint. She’s kind of like a photographer ninja. I really don’t even remember seeing her that much and yet she managed to capture hundreds and hundreds of moments that my wife and I will cherish forever.
Highly recommend,

Michigan brides, we are so lucky Alison Banks now lives in Ann Arbor, although after having her photograph our wedding it would have been worth every penny to fly her in!
Just look at Alison’s site, you will fall in love with her photos. She captures your personality and true emotion. The moments you felt on your wedding day will all come back to you when you see your photos for the first time, and second time, and… forever. I don’t know how she does it, she captures moments I didn’t even see her shooting. Her still life shots are elegantly designed and artistically composed. Her people shots are editorial, photo-​journalistic, real, full of emotion and capture the person’s spirit. Somehow she is in the right place at the right time to grab that special moment. She finds not only art & beauty in her photographs, she captures the magic of your day. Alison was great with myself, my husbands camera shy-​ness, my family and all of my guests.
You can check off all the regular boxes: professional, experienced indoors and out, great with people, great equipment, respectful and very well organized and calm. Alison will not only help you plan your shot list, she will help you time out your entire day if you need, she will keep you on time, and always with a smile. She has clear concise pricing and workable packages based on your needs, easy to understand contract, etc. Alison brings great ideas to help you get all of your important shots plus some. Then Alision brings magic. Magic I have not seen in many other wedding photographers in Michigan. We have some amazing photographers, I know, I’ve worked with many of them, but Alison brings something very different. She puts her artistry, heart and spirit into your photos that will bring tears to your eyes and feel like you are reliving your wedding day every time you look through your photos.
Alison is worth every penny and more. Get her while you can. I cannot recommend her enough for your wedding, indoors or out, large or small. Just look at her site and imagine those photos being your wedding day. She is true to her work. I’ve hired and shot with probably close to over 100 photographers in my career; Alison ranks tops. I would love to get married again just so I could have more of her photographs.
Holly A

When we were planning our wedding, my husband wisely said to me, «after the day is over we will just have the photos, so we should choose our photographer first, and we should choose the best.» After scouring the Internet, reading reviews and looking at photos, we had no doubt that Alison Bank was the most talented photographer we had seen. Once we began talking with Alison, we realized that she was also a true professional with loads of experience, who also cares deeply about what she does.
On my wedding day, I had absolute faith in Alison. I knew she would photograph our wedding with the same grace and talent that she had displayed in the year leading up to the day, helping answer all of my questions, capturing the love between my husband and I during our engagement shoot, and making certain that we had a perfect plan (and backup plan) for the photos on the wedding day. I cried tears of joy two months after the wedding as my husband and I looked through our photos for the first time. It was like reliving the day over and over again through Alison’s lens. Alison was able to capture beauty that I hadn’t even noticed on the wedding day. She is truly an artist, and I will cherish her work for the rest of my life.
Alison not only did fantastic work with our engagement session and wedding day, she was a critical part of the planning process. She reviewed our ‘day of schedule’ to ensure I’d made enough time for everything, and she scouted our venues ahead of time to find the best places to take photos. My husband and I were married in late December in Michigan, and the cold weather and potential snow presented its challenges. Alison was ready. She encouraged us to take photos outside with our bridal party, but also set up lights inside for family photos (so my grandparents didn’t have to freeze). We can’t thank her enough for encouraging us to tough it out in the cold — the photos we took outside are remarkable.
Alison’s work speaks for itself. She’s the best of the best, and we couldn’t be happier.

Alison is amazing. We got married this past June, and finding the right wedding photographer was extremely important to us. I love photography and work alongside photographers in the design industry, and we spent weeks researching options — more so than any other vendor. After we found Alison’s work online we were immediately drawn to her style– photojournalistic, creative in composition without ever feeling forced, rich film-​like colors, and a wide range of gorgeous candids/​formals and people/​details. I could go on! After speaking to her on the phone, we knew we’d found the right person.
Personality-​wise, we are a pretty laid-​back couple who aren’t big on PDA and don’t take ourselves very seriously. Some of the wedding photography out there that looks heavily posed and high in drama made me worry that we would spend much of our wedding day having to do cheesy poses that made us uncomfortable. While I’m sure Alison could do this with flying colors if you asked her to, what we appreciated was her easy, laid-​back nature and sense of humor, coupled with a proficiency in capturing staggeringly good, natural looking photos with real emotions.
Leading up to the wedding, Alison was very approachable and inclusive while planning for the wedding day. She made sure that we were prepared for the essential shots of the bridal party and family, helping us figure out a schedule that would work with the lighting of the day. She kept our plan flexible enough so she could allow the day to unfold naturally. She was great about balancing fun and professionalism in the weeks leading up to the wedding.
On the day of the event, she directed us really naturally and never made us feel awkward or cheesy. I can’t underscore how important this was, given how much time you spend with your photographer on the wedding day. We didn’t have an engagement session with her and it still felt completely comfortable and familiar. She was so respectful and genuinely wanted to capture the way we naturally were together. We had a sense that she understood our style, and when things didn’t quite line up, she was open to feedback, suggesting certain shots to modify or skip altogether. During the ceremony and reception, she was like a stealth ninja, capturing every aspect (and I mean impossibly fleeting moments) beautifully all while being really inconspicuous. It still befuddles us how she was able to capture everything that she did. She also has a superpower in getting even the most stubborn kids to smile for the camera.
We received the photos about 3 months after the wedding, and were extremely happy with the results. She captured the people, the mood, and the environment beautifully, in all the ways described above. Her candid photos stopped us in our tracks. She took beautiful shots of guests throughout our wedding (something we specifically requested) that will no doubt be appreciated for years to come. She has also been available and willing to show us many options of the same shot, in order to find the perfect print.
Alison was a pleasure to work with and we feel lucky to have had her at our wedding. She is a great fit if you’re looking for fun, flexible, passionate professional who puts you at ease and takes amazing photos of the greatest day of your life.

Alison is AMAZING!
I cannot rant and rave enough about First Comes Love wedding photography. Alison was an absolute gem, and really helped to make our day that much more special. First, Alison met us for a engagement shoot, which was EXTREMELY helpful. The pre-​wedding photo session was an excellent way to dial in on the type and style of pictures that we really liked, and Alison really listened to our feedback. On the day of the wedding, Alison was so kind and helpful, and was able to squeeze in even more portraits than we had originally planned. She was always there taking pictures of each important moment, but she was never in your face with the camera. She was EXTREMELY discreet.
Then, Alison was kind enough to send us a few preview shots of our wedding, the very next day so we could update facebook. They were STUNNING, and the extra effort was just so sweet of her.
I can’t say enough good things about Alison, and I just cannot wait to see the rest of the day-​of photos!

I hate to be boring and provide yet another glowing, five-​star review of Alison, but I do have to tell the truth, and she’s just tops. Alison is warm and real and a total pleasure to work with, which, for the record, is tied for first place for most important things to consider when choosing a wedding photographer. You’re with your photographer a lot on a pretty important day, so personality definitely matters.
The other thing that matters, of course, is quality. When we looked at our wedding photos for the first time, we were amazed at how Alison had managed to be everywhere important in a completely unobtrusive way. The results are a complete, beautiful narrative of our wedding day, equal parts art and photojournalism.
(Special thanks for helping advise on how to shorten my sash at the last moment, and for staying a tiny bit late to capture some of the dancing!)
So, to recap: Professional, personable, and totally talented. Another satisfied customer!

I really can’t say enough about Alison Bank. She was, hands down, the best decision I made with regard to my wedding vendors. Here’s a list of the great things about Alison, since I’m merely restating what others have written and want to do something snazzy to be different!
— Alison is the best at communication. From the first email we shared, I have never waited more than a day for a response. Even when she was on her own honeymoon, she managed to send me a «Ack, I am out of town! But, when I get back I will send you the pricing info! «email. That is so helpful to a bride who is planning at all hours of the night (because, honestly, what bride doesn’t plan at 2am?)
— Alison is organized and thorough. I got all the information about pricing, albums, expectations and requests up front. Our initial meeting with Alison left us feeling completely comfortable in her hands since she was on top of her game. I never had to worry once we decided to utilize her talents!
— Alison makes the pre-​wedding and day of wedding run so smoothly. She helped me craft a pristine wedding schedule of events and was an expert at keeping us on track during the actual wedding without being bossy or pushy. She arrived on time and ready to shoot and kept the mood light and worry free! She even reminded me to eat (thanks Alison!) so I wouldn’t pass out when walking down the aisle. She brought snacks with her, in case I didn’t have any. During the day, she blended into the background and I barely even noticed her stealthily snapping shots during the ceremony and dinner.
— Alison got my proofs back to me in a month and boy, are they STUNNING! The final product from our day is exactly what we wanted — relaxed, candid, bright and thoughtful images of the best day of our lives. She caught every detail, every smile, every bouquet of flowers and edited the group down to 550 of the most beautiful pictures. I’ve just been skipping through them for the 5^th time in a day and I am completely in love. Thrilled doesn’t even begin to describe what I am about these pictures!
I can’t wait to pick out the photos I want for our album and work with Alison to create that heirloom piece. I’m sure her album work is as professional, creative and comprehensive as she has been throughout the wedding process.
Bottom Line: Choose Alison Bank — First Comes Love Wedding Photography. You will not be disappointed.

Alison and I exchanged a lot of emails and I told her how excited I was to work with her and that to please mark my wedding date on her calendar. We scheduled to meet face to face 3 weeks later since I live in Michigan and I had to make travel plans. In our emails she confirmed with me twice that she had put me in her calendar.
Literally hours before I was getting on the flight to meet with her she emails me to tell me that she gave my date to someone else. She knew I was flying in from another state and she knew we were scheduled to meet. I signed up for Unilocal just to write this review because I really thought you all should know!

Alison is awesome!
We’d already met through some work acquaintances, so were familiar with her fun and cheery personality. When it came time to select a photographer for our wedding several months later, we checked out a few others but quickly decided that Alison was the best fit. Her aesthetic was just what we were looking for — contemporary, candid, and playful, yet timeless. Every meeting and communication was effortless, and she was always receptive to our ideas.
On the day of, she was a breeze to work with, and even brought along a second photographer at no extra charge, which was extremely generous! She has an amazing way of blending right in with the guests, so she manages to capture all the moments of the day without being intrusive. Naturally, when we received our photos, we were delighted with what we saw!
We love Alison as both a photographer and a person, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend or hire her for future work.

I have been into photography all my life and am very picky when it comes to photographers.
I scoured website portfolios and met in person with 8 different photographers before choosing Alison for our wedding in Sept. 09.
She had the best work, the most reasonable prices, and she was by far the COOLEST of all of the photographers I met with. How often do all those things line up?
You end up spending a lot of time with your photographer on your wedding day so choose someone who you groove with. Alison is super easy to get along with, she is not at all intrusive, and she takes great photos.
She shot our rehearsal dinner and set up a photo booth for us that was super-​fun for us and for our guests. We were having such a good time that she stayed waaaay past the time she had promised in our contract, and was super nice about it.
Now we are left with the hard part– choosing amongst the great photos that she took to create an album!