This is my favorite post ALL YEAR LONG!  My third annual Bride and Groom Superlatives!! Check out 2016- HERE and 2017- HERE. I literally think about this post while I’m photographing every wedding and what superlative they would get.  I am SO thankful to work with such amazing people.  I leave every wedding feeling like I was A- a guest by the way I am always treated, B- have two new best friends because we just spent the best day of their life together and C- so emotional and thankful for this opportunity to do what I love.  THANK YOU doesn’t begin to describe how I feel.  Disclaimer before we get into the superlatives- this obviously is not the most important picture of the day, so you get to see me at the end of the night, usually covered in sweat, ew I know gross!  Also- yes, when I find a dress that works, I wear it um maybe three weekends in a row….haha! Also- I couldn’t pick just one superlative for each wedding so there is a superlative AND a runner up for each couple!  Click on their names to see the post all about their wedding.  Drum roll please…

Nick & Kelsey– Best surrounding team, Favorite venue

First things first- I met Kelsey when I was 4 years old…we grew up playing soccer together.  It was such an honor to see her and Nick get married for my first wedding of 2018.  These two win best surrounding team for MANY reasons. First- they both had so much family that was a part of their big day.  These two have four nephews on Kelsey’s side of the family and lots of siblings that had rolls in their wedding.  Kelsey also is very close to twin girls that she nannied for who were her flower girls.  Both Nick and Kelsey had guests fly in from other countries to watch them get married.  They also won my favorite venue!! They rented a house on Lake Anna and set up everything by themselves.  It was beautiful!  The best part about doing this post is that I get to share that these two are expecting a little baby boy in 2019!!!

MJ & Lauren – Best I’m here to party, Best go with the flow (of rain)

MJ and Lauren seriously know how to throw a party!!! Their guests were dancing the ENTIRE time.  Every generation  that was at their wedding was on the dance floor, which was so neat to see.  One of my favorite parts of the wedding was when Lauren iced MJ with a Smirnoff instead of wearing a garter.  You have to click on their blog post to see the pictures of MJ’s reaction, it was so great.  Along with a great party, MJ and Lauren had guests from ALL OVER THE WORLD.  Some of their guests had never even been to the United States before.  I had tears in my eyes watching them experience everything and hearing what they had to say during the speeches.  Thank you MJ and Lauren for this amazing opportunity.  I can’t wrap up this summary without talking about the downpour of rain ALL DAY.  You two were so chill and relaxed and it helped everyone else have an amazing time at your wedding regardless of the weather!

David & Bailey – Most Sentimetal, Best dancers

Every single guest I talked to during David and Bailey’s wedding talked about how perfect these two are together.  It was so easy to see that they just get each other.  It probably helps that they both are teachers at Tucker High School here in Richmond.  They understand the day to day of being a teacher.  I’ll never forget the way Bailey was smiling at David and his mom dancing or David’s reaction when Bailey was walking down the aisle.  It was all smiles all day.  Now onto the most impressive part of the day- the dancing!!! David grew up playing baseball and so him and his mom had a correagraphed dance to a compilation of all of his walk out songs.  It was so amazing.  The guests were literally stunned!  They even brought out baseball bases to dance around.  These two also opted for a band instead of a DJ.  The band was amazing!!! I could not get these two off the dance floor, even for one picture! It was so awesome to see them light up around each other all day long.

David & Christina – Best planned wedding, Most anticipated 

David and Christina’s wedding was a showstopper!! They had over a year to plan and Christina was SO organized, it amazed me.  They thought of every detail and made everything so personal which I loved.  My favorite parts were the Disney songs they played during cocktail hour and how much time Christina built in for us to take pictures!  One particular moment I’ll never forget was when the florist delivered Christina her bouquet.  It was everything she had dreamed of and more, I think she may have even gotten watery eyes admiring it.  I loved watching their plans come to life.  Another favorite moment was when the dance floor opened.  Christina and David were lost in each other while dancing, it was as if no one else was around them.  Christina and David- even my friends and family were anticipating your wedding because of everything I had told them about it.  SO many people had a countdown to your beautiful and perfect day!

Josh & Amanda– Best team, Most welcoming

These two win best team for a good reason: They were married a year before!  We all got to celebration their one year anniversary and vow renewal with them.  They had already made it through their first year of marriage and still had so much love, if not even more, for each other.  They also win most welcoming wedding.  The moment I walked in and met their wedding planner, I knew it was going to be a good day.  Everyone was so incredibly nice to me and to each other.  I felt more like a guest, then a wedding vendor.  Some of my favorite moments from the day were hearing Josh and Amanda’s story and how they met working at Costco, seeing the barn really come to life with beautiful decorations and guests, and catching pictures during an amazing sunset!! I can’t wait to hear how your SECOND year of marriage is going you two!

Chris & Liz–   Best guests (including human & animal), Most relaxed

Chris and Liz are two of my very good friends which made their day so much fun!!!  They got married at a venue in Richmond I’ve been wanting to shoot at for a few years now.  Everything about their day was a dream come true.  The weather was perfect which definitely helped.  These two win best guests for many reasons.  First, they had so many friends be a part of their vendor team.  This shows how much love people have for these two.  They also had their dog walk down the aisle right before Liz.  You have to click on their blog post to see how sweet and well behaved Chipper was during the ceremony, it was amazing!  They also win most relaxed.  Every time I talked to Chris and Liz leading up to their wedding, they were like “yep, all good, ready to go.”  They seemed to not have a worry in the world.  Thank you both for allowing me to be a part of your special day.

Thank you all so much for my favorite year of weddings yet!! I hope you all have an amazing 2019!

-Ashley