My favorite blog post of the whole entire year!!!! This is my 5th annual bride and groom superlatives and I am SO excited to share and brag on all of my 2020 brides and grooms. Most of these couples had to make significant changes to their wedding day and did it with such grace. 2020 took a lot from us but it couldn’t take marriage. I think this year will honestly change the wedding industry for the better but that is a topic for another day. This was my most successful year in business for many reasons but the number 1 reason is these amazing couples. They trusted me to document one of the biggest days of their lives. For that, I am eternally grateful. I was supposed to have four more weddings in 2020 but I’m so happy to say they have all been rescheduled for 2021. 2021- PLEASE be nice to us!!! You may not have seen some of these couples yet because I was updating my site during wedding season this year. Lots of weddings to come on the blog soon. Without further ado, here are your 2020 superlatives in order of their wedding date!!

1. Most Welcoming- Tasha & Tim

Tim and Tasha were my lucky 2020 couple that got married 2 months before the pandemic started. During this wedding, we had no clue what the year was going to hold!!! They were so welcoming and trusting right from the get go. They welcomed me into their beautiful church ceremony and trusted me to find all of the good spots for photos afterwards. A fun plus of this wedding was that my mom knows Tasha very well and helped coordinate the wedding. We got to work together. Maybe I have a future Ashley Edmunds Photography employee I need to consider.

2. Best First Dances- Christy & Carlisle 

Christy and Carlisle’s wedding was the epitome of an amazing backyard wedding.  They got married on their friend’s property and had a beautiful, intimate reception at the backyard pool.  These two win best first dances because Carlisle’s son played and sang their first dance song!! He has an amazing voice and it brought many people to tears.  Another cool thing about this wedding is they had an amazing husband and wife folk band that played during their reception.  They were so amazing that I hired them the very next day for my own wedding!!! Can’t wait to listen to Blair’s West during our cocktail hour in May! 

3. Best Surrounding Team- Ashley & Caleb

Ashley and Caleb got married on a hot summer day in Richmond, Virginia even though they don’t live here!  It’s already hard enough planning a wedding during a pandemic but add on top of that living out of state and you’ll definitely need some help from others!  Ashley and Caleb win best surrounding team because of how many people traveled to be at their wedding and how incredibly sweet each of their families and friends were.  You could tell that these two have some amazing people in their life. 

4. Best Dancing/I’m Here to Party- Patrick & Becky 

Patrick and Becky ended up not only postponing their wedding but also having to find a whole new venue to use!! These two were so much fun!!!  The dance floor was full all night long at this wedding and these two have some friends with amazing dance moves.  I even found myself dancing while photographing everyone.  I’m so glad we were able to have such a fun celebration after all of the rescheduling these two had to go through.

5. Most Sentimental- Bryant & Jaime

Bryant and Jaime got married in the mountains of Harrisonburg in October!  They had a beautiful, cool crisp day.  I LOVED how sentimental these two made their day.  It started when I was photographing Bryant’s details and he explained how meaningful his groomsmen gifts were.  I also adored Jaime’s dance with her dad.  I immediately texted my own dad and told him to listen to the song they danced to.  He texted me back and said “I couldn’t make it through one verse without crying.  I think we found the one.”  As you can see, I used 2020 to get ideas for my own wedding from these amazing couples! 

6. Best Ceremony- Kyler & Annie

Kyler and Annie were another lucky 2020 couple that had planned a small intimate wedding before we even know what the pandemic was.  They only wanted their immediate family at their ceremony and reception and boy was it emotional!!! These two wrote their own vows and had me crying behind the camera.  It was so special that their family got to be right up next to them during this intimate moment.  I’ll always think of you two when I’m at Libby Hill Park Annie and Kyler! 

7. Most Joy- Powell & Cheryl 

One thing I’ll never forgot about Powell and Cheryl is when I took their engagement photos and they said without a shadow of a doubt “We will get married in October, even if it’s just the two of us.”  The pandemic changed their wedding plans but these two were solely focused on their marriage and because of that there was SO much joy during this day.  Their families were by their side all day and got to celebrate with them at such a beautiful airbnb and venue.  Cheryl and Powell read each other their vows right after their ceremony privately in the garden.  It was such a special moment.  

8. Most Elegant- Matt & Erica 

Matt and Erica also had to make some serious changes to their wedding because of the pandemic but did it with such grace.  I’m not kidding when I say Erica looked like a full on princess.  She was glowing all day long!! These two got married in a beautiful Richmond church and then barely caught the sunset at the Boathouse at Rockett’s Landing but man was it incredible.  After the sunset photos, they enjoyed an intimate, elegant dinner with just their families.  To go with the princess theme, they headed to Disney World this December for their honeymoon! 

9. Most Relaxed- Mary & Mills

Mary and Mills were my very last wedding of 2020.  They also had plans to get married in November and COVID had another idea.  I’m SO glad they decided to get married right before Christmas and have their big celebration next year.  These two were so relaxed because they got married on their back deck.  It was so neat to photograph a couple at their own home.  They had the football game on after the ceremony, had an amazing dinner with their families in their own dining room, and even went live on facebook many times!  Such an amazing, relaxed day.  

 

A huge thank you to each of these couples and their families for trusting me and inviting me into their story.  This is not the end, I hope to stay in touch with each of you!! 2021- let’s do this!