Ol’ Hitching Post Wedding | Emily + Daniel
Ya’ll know I love a good weekday wedding. They just feel more liesurely than those weekend weddings. Maybe it’s the shorter timelines or the lack of traffic, but they just have a different air to them. This Ol’ Hitching Post wedding proved weekday weddings are the way to go.
Emily + Daniel’s Love story
Emily and Daniel met at Grand Canyon University the first week of their freshman year while hanging out in a group of roommates and friends. Rumor is, Emily would hang out with Daniel and watch him play video games (something he did a lot with his best man years before). So they’d hang out a lot, and about a month later started dating.
After they both graduated college, they headed in different directions but made their relationship last long distance with some serious dedication. (I suspect there were some video games in there too). Eventually, Daniel decided to make his big move during Emily’s birthday trip. And on October 31, 2021 he proposed at Snoqualmie Falls.
You may remember their two part engagement session (because Washington doesn’t always cooperate). If you don’t, I highly recommend pausing here and sneaking over to check it out here and here. They make such a great pair, and their resilience shows as they did what it took to get those dreamy photos with the mountain in the background.
Ol’ Hitching Post Wedding
Emily and Daniel’s Ol’ Hitching Post wedding was highly anticipated. I live a whopping 15 minutes from the venue and hadn’t gotten the opportunity to photograph a wedding there yet. The rustic barn venue gave way to a beautiful field flanked by PNW pine trees. James and Amanda (the venue owners) were incredibly welcoming and the weather, while hot, wasn’t completely overbearing.
Onto my favorite parts of the day. As I collected their details, Emily told me about one of the garters she’d chosen. It was the same garter her mom wore on her own wedding day to Emily’s Dad. It also encompassed her Old, Borrowed and Blue elements. Special little details like this make wedding days incredibly special and personal.
Another really special moment was their first touch. Emily and Daniel chose not to see each other prior to the ceremony; instead we set them up around the corner of the grooms suite and they held hands. Being a little behind schedule, I tried my best not to rush them, and told Emily to let me know when she was ready. She responded by commenting “I’m ready anytime. After all, I get to hold his hand for the rest of my life”. I swear the sky was leaking at that very moment.
Surprise, surprise!
Of course, Daniel sure had some secrets up his sleeves. Emily hadn’t seen her ring since he’d taken it to have it reset for their wedding day. Her simple solitaire was now surrounded by several smaller diamonds, in a setting that made my sparkly girly heart sing. She saw it for the first time during their ceremony.
Then there was the surprise for Daniel. Emily orchestrated their grand entrance very carefully and secretly. While the wedding parties lined up and passed out their lightsabers, I took Emily and Daniel aside to snag a few extra photos. We thought we’d completely pulled it off, but Daniel recognized the music before they headed inside. He was still excited and surprised when they entered!
This Ol’ Hitching Post wedding was nothing short of amazing. It was an honor to photograph Emily and Daniel; I truly enjoyed every minute of it. Their wedding crew was an incredibly wonderful group and they made sure to bring the fun moments out for the camera.
