In a wedding straight out of a fairy tale, a Mount Vernon couple tied the knot in a secluded location overlooking Mount Rainier last week.
Ashley and Brian Aurand moved from Philadelphia about a year ago to be closer to the mountains and felt mountains would make the perfect backdrop for their wedding ceremony.
“We wanted to do a wilderness elopement, because that’s our holy place,” Ashley Aurand said. “Being in the mountains is what moves us the most.”
The Aurands hooked up with photographer Josh Steele with Out of the Woods Photography and two videographers to document their special day.
The couple wed on August 21 – the same day as the Great American Eclipse. The Aurands had no idea the eclipse was happening when they picked that date, but said it was special to view it in the wilderness.
The ceremony took place near Sunrise on the south side of Mount Rainier, although Steele said the exact location is “more or less a secret spot.”
With 4-year-old Kaya strapped to Aurand's back, the couple hiked up around 4:30 a.m. with Aurand’s maid-of-honor and her husband.
“Just being in the presence of that mountain in that light and getting married,” Aurand said. “It was absolutely moving.”
