On the first date, Ash showed up early, entirely throwing Emily off her game since she was always the overly punctual one. The chemistry was instant and natural. One date turned into three and countless more followed. By March, it was exclusive. By April, Ash had won Emily’s heart through the birthday, otter-feeding trip (and her other many wonderful qualities, of course). By the following January, Ash was moved in—we couldn’t separate newly adopted Dumplin’ from his “siblings”! And by the end of June, they’d both taken a knee to ask that oh-so-important question: “Will you marry me?” Come celebrate double the brides as we make our lifelong commitment to each other!

It was a running joke of who would propose first. For weeks, Ash and Emily teased each other saying "Maybe it's today, and I've kept the ring hidden." Every summer outing carried that nervous excitement. Then, a routine visit to the Virginia Living Museum turned into a proposal. Ash and Emily gathered around the otter statue for their typical picture and in those few seconds, Emily pulled out the ring. After a whirl of words and tears, Ash said yes! Our rockstar of a friend, Madison, caught the whole thing on camera and even made fabulous bridal hats to celebrate. The next day, we took our weekly picnic to the gazebo at Maymont Park. What started as a joke, "Maybe I'll propose again because it was hard to pick just one ring for you" smoothly turned into Ash's proposal: "It's my turn now." Our boss of a friend, D, doubled as a secret ninja photographer, shedding their shoes to capture this moment. Two proposals, two days of excitement and celebration, but a whole life of love.