Olympic National Park Vow Renewal at Lake Quinault
December 28, 2025
Elena Popescu
If you’re looking for a beautiful, serene, and quiet place for your private vow renewal with your partner, I’m literally begging you to consider Olympic National Park like Hannah and Adam did! These two chose the serenity of Lake Quinault and whimsy of Merrimen Falls to explore and put on their wedding clothes to celebrate their anniversary. It couldn’t have been more perfect!
Topics:
- Planning Their Vow Renewal
- About The Location—Lake Quinault
- What To Wear For A Vow Renewal
- Vow Renewal at the Lake
Planning Their Vow Renewal
I’ve known Hannah since before she and Adam got married and launched their photo/video business together (you have the check out their instagram @venturetoelope!!). A year before this session, they planned a stunning intimate weekend in Glacier National Park—just them, their close friends and family, and their pup Juneau! It made so much sense they wanted their one year vow renewal photos at Olympic National Park, one of their other favorites!
The Vision
Over the few months we had to plan, Hannah and I swapped ideas, explored location options, and talked about how they wanted their photos to feel. Their vision and heart posture to this session aligned so well with me and my style—casual, honest, carefree, with focus on the landscapes.
So we kept it simple, and gave ourselves the extra time and freedom to explore the lake and soak in the sun.
About The Location—Lake Quinault
Let’s be real Olympic National Park has so many epic locations for elopements or photoshoots, you can’t go wrong with any of them. Ultimately Hannah and Adam decided on Lake Quinault—a quieter, not as busy alternative to the popular Lake Crescent.
When to plan your vow renewal at Lake Quinault
While there are tons of more well known or “iconic” ONP locations, these two wanted their vow renewal to be as private as possible. We chose a day towards the end of August and it was perfect for that—the weather was still warm but peak visitor season started to slow down by this point. Just goes to show that when and where you elope or plan your shoot is super important, especially in popular national parks like this one!
End of Peak Season at Olympic National Park: mid-August to late September
What to Know Before You Visit Olympic National Park
Drive Times & Where to Stay
While camping within Olympic will be the option with least drive time (depending on where in the park you go), I get it’s not always viable for everyone. There are plenty of alternative options around though!
You can easily book a cute Airbnb or cabin right outside the park, or in one of the main towns or cities. Be prepared though, ONP is huge—each of these towns are going to be at least an hour drive away *(again, depending on where in the park you plan to go)—*so try booking a place to stay closest to your chosen photoshoot or elopement location.
From Portland: 3~ hours
From Seattle: 2.5~ hours
From Port Angeles: 2.5~ hours
From Aberdeen or Ocean Shores: 1 hour
Aside from camping, there are also multiple lodges and resorts inside the park if roughing it isn’t your vibe! The NPS site has a list of them!
Permits & Fees In Olympic National Park
As long as your elopement or vow renewal or engagement shoot includes 8 people or fewer, you don’t need to get a photos or special use permit!
There is however an entrance pass/fee to enter the park. You can buy one when you get there in person or online here!
Lake Quinault, the lodge, and the trails are technically right outside the border of ONP (Olympic National Park). But while it too, doesn’t require any special use permits, you do need a Recreation Pass for parking. These are super easy to buy online or at your closest REI! I usually get an annual pass every year for about $30, but the day passes run about $5-$10 a day!
Cell Coverage
Olympic National Park is massive. There are towns along the outskirts, but if you’re anywhere towards the main portions of the park like we were, cell reception might be weak or non existent.
Here’s how to prep for no cell coverage ahead of time:
- Confirm the exact location and get a maps pin to your meetup spot
- Map your route days ahead of time to see how long the drive is
- Make sure you have an America The Beautiful pass or Recreation Pass (you can get one here!), or carry cash for parking fees
- Download the section of ONP you’re visiting on Google Maps for offline viewing + directions
- Inform a friend, family member, or partner—tell them where you’re going, when you’ll be back, and that you won’t have cell service during that time.
What To Wear For A Vow Renewal in Olympic National Park
Casual lake day vibes
We started out the beginning of golden hour a little more casual. Hannah and Adam put on some comfy, cute outfits to explore the rocky shoreline of this massive lake with the Olympic mountains framing behind them.
We wanted this part of the shoot to feel like a laidback, carefree lake day. So I prompted them to take their time exploring and playing little games with each other—which resulted in freakin cute moments of chasing each other, finding heart shaped pebbles, and a rock skipping competition.
Changing the vibes to an intimate vow renewal
After running around like maniacs at the lake (myself included obviously), Hannah and Adam walked back to their car to change into their wedding clothes. The same ones they wore for their intimate elopement in Glacier National Park a year before! (insert teary eye emoji ‘cause HOW SWEET) Hannah wore her stunning fit and flare dress with a beaded short veil, and Adam a light, dusty blue jacket and pants.
Versatile Landscape of Olympic National Park
From there we took the 10 minute drive farther into the national forest to Merrimen Falls—tucked away in the rocks right along the road. It blew my mind how the scenery changed from massive mountain lakeside to rainforest so quickly!
This is another pro to planning your destination elopement at Olympic. There’s basically every kind of landscape you know and love about the Pacific Northwest—snowy mountain peaks, rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, lakes like this one, and lush rainforests. You can even hit up multiple options if you can’t choose just one for your wedding day or shoot!
Blue Hour Vow Renewal at the Lake
Candids, quiet moments, and details
This entire session has been a dream so far, but this next part has to be my favorite. The energy of the day shifted to a soft, quiet lull and felt so much like the scene of a movie. Hannah and Adam sat together along the shoreline, each taking a few minutes to write a few sweet love notes to each other. I let those moments unfold uninterrupted. And all you could hear was the back and forth of the waves, the wind through the tree branches above us, and an occasional laugh between Hannah and Adam as they were no doubt teasing and having fun with writing!
Blue hour at Lake Quinault
Hannah and Adam took turns sharing their written vows as the last of the golden light faded and those magical blue sunset hues came into play. Before it got too dark, we made sure to capture some more moody portraits to match the moody PNW light. It was a beyond perfect way to end the night!
Basically An Adventurer’s Dream Photo Location
Like I said, you really can’t go wrong with choosing any location in Olympic National Park for a vow renewal like this, an elopement, or an intimate micro wedding.
Planning on taking your wedding day dreams to Olympic? Reach out here and let’s talk about documenting the magic!
Related blog posts for more inspo:
Kloey & Sage’s Arches National Park Engagement
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