Pinehurst Wedding | Ashley & Dan | Married

Honestly, I can’t say enough wonderful things about this couple and this wedding. This Pinehurst wedding was as stunning as it was fun.

There was so much emotion, love, joy, laughter, and even shocking omg moments throughout this day – I couldn’t have asked for a better first wedding of 2016.

When Ashley and Dan first announced they were engaged, I was at a spa getting a facial with my mom (lol, good times) and just scrolling through instagram. I saw Ashley’s post and I was so excited for her! Most of you don’t know that Ashley was my internship supervisor for a summer, so I would hear about Dan and learn bits and pieces here and there, and I’d see photos of them online and I was always just like “these two are just so lovely!” but I’d still never met Dan at this point. Anyways, when I saw the engagement post, I was like sooo do you want engagement photos, I always need models to practice on! They took me up on the offer (see here) and Dan was not what I expected him to be – much more outgoing and such a fantastically willing participant in all the poses! I kept calling him Matt because he looks like my friend Matt. Sorry about that. During that session, I asked a bit about their plans for their wedding and found out it’d be in North Carolina! Fast forward a couple weeks and they asked if I’d be willing to travel down there for their Pinehurst wedding! Obviously, I said yes of course, and here we are now!

Now, I’d never been to (or really heard of) Pinehurst. Some of my friends who are golfers were like “Pinehurst is amazing” “You’re shooting a wedding there?” “You don’t even understand what a Pinehurst wedding is” “That golf course is famous.” And I was like “Okay… cool… got it… whatever.” So the day of the wedding I walked around and explored and I get the hype now. The place is GORGEOUS. Dreamy-ly gorgeous. I was a bit shocked that I had the privilege to shoot a wedding there later that day.

Enough about the location though, let me tell you about these two amazingly fantastic humans. Ashley and Dan. They fit, they more than fit together perfectly. Not only are they beautiful on the outside, they’re stunning on the inside (so cheesy, I know, but SO true). Their families were incredibly supportive, the wedding party was a lot of fun, and their dance moves were fantastic. Before the wedding, I could feel the anxious-excitement from both Ashley and Dan and their wedding party and family members. The best part about this energy is that some weddings have very ~stressed out vibes~, but with Ashley and Dan it was honestly just pure excitement – excitement to see one another, excitement to get married, excitement to celebrate with their family and friends. It was great energy to work with.

One thing I loved about this wedding was the wedding party. Ashley had two beautiful bridesmaids and a very handsome bridesman, and Dan had nine entertaining groomsmen – I had a blast shooting all of them, especially some of the less serious moments. I was laughing out loud at what was going on in front of me and just snapping away.

Once I was with the groomsmen, I had a chance to ask Dan if he thought he’d get emotional when he saw Ashley walk down the aisle. He said he’d either have the biggest smile on his face or tears streaming down it… I get emotional looking at the reaction he had! It was so, so beautiful. I sometimes think people assume wedding photographers are immune to the emotion of the day because they are at them a lot – trust me, it’s rare that I DON’T shed a tear at a wedding I’m photographing.

The ceremony was held at the Village Chapel in Pinehurst, and it was so beautiful inside. With big windows letting in a lot of light and a bright red walkway, what more could I ask for?! The ceremony was lovely – and over a lot quicker than I had expected! But that left time for photos and reception celebrations!

Ashley and Dan looked like they were having a BLAST. Simple as that. They danced (there was even a riverdance that happened), they sang, they laughed with their friends and family – seriously, just looked like they were having a fantastic time. No stresses, no anxiety over the color of the napkins or the food or anything, all good everything. Also, just as a sidenote, the DJ was hilarious. He got people up and moving (and making out, lol) and danced along with the guests and made incredibly funny/odd comments… it was delightful to work alongside of him.

Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell
Pinehurst Wedding Photography by Nikki Schell

At the end of the evening, I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to keep photographing these newlyweds having a great time, their friends who seriously entertained me, and their families whose hearts were so full. I hope you all enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed capturing them! Ashley and Dan, it was an honor photographing you both – and I can’t wait to send you your gallery (tonight, tonight, tonight!!!!).

Comments

  1. Maggie says

    WOW! Thank you for sharing these gorgeous photos of Dan and Ashley’s wedding! You really captured the feeling of the day, with so much joy, happiness and love.

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