How to Plan an Olympic National Park wedding:
a step by step guide

Updated October 4th, 2023

Thinking about getting married in Olympic National Park? If the answer is yes, then you’re on the right page! Olympic National Park is an amazing park with a wide variety of scenery & plenty of things to do. Olympic is located on Washington State, specifically the Olympic Peninsula- depending on what you want to visit it’s about 2.5hr to 4 hour drive from Seattle. 

Olympic National Park is a great place to plan a wedding or elopement because there are so many beautiful places to explore. From lush rainforests, epic coastal lines, bright blue lakes, and some towering mountains- you cannot go wrong for your adventure wedding! 

When it comes to planning an adventurous wedding/elopement, it can feel a bit overwhelming at first, so that’s why I’m happy you found this page! This Olympic National Park wedding/elopement guide is filled with the best places to get married in Olympic National Park, wedding inspiration, and a step by step guide on how to plan the perfect day. I’ve recently updated this guide for the 2024 elopement season, making it the ULTIMATE guide to help with all your future elopement planning.

Keep scrolling if you want to learn everything
you need to know on how to plan an Olympic national park wedding!

Like I mentioned above, Olympic National Park has a wide variety of scenery, so it can be hard to choose where to get married in the park! So before we dive into the step by step planning guide, let’s talk about where to have your wedding in Olympic National Park. Here are the top 5 locations for an Olympic National Park Wedding. (If you already know where you want to get married in Olympic National Park click here to jump to the step by step guide)

Overview:

1. Hoh Rainforest

2. Hurricane Ridge

3. Olympic Coast

4. Lake Crescent

5. Olympic Mountains

The Hoh Rainforest is one of the coolest forest environments in the U.S. There are only a handful of rainforests located in the U.S. so it’s a very unique area to explore. If you’re looking for a lush & vibrant forest to explore on your wedding day, this is an awesome option.

Related: Looking for some Hoh Rainforest wedding inspiration? Click here for a blog post on this lush & magical Hoh Rainforest elopement!

Hurricane Ridge is the most accessible mountainous location in Olympic National Park. Located near the town of Port Angeles, you can practically drive up to these mountains. There are plenty of trails to explore with rolling green hills, trees, and epic mountains in the background. 

If you’re more of a coastal & beach person, the coast at Olympic National Park is filled with beautiful beaches, rock formations, and cool cliffs. One of the benefits of the beaches is dogs are allowed on a few of them! So if you’re looking to elope with your fur baby, this is a great choice. 

    Lake Crescent is located between the mountains and the coast. This lake has massive pine filled trees surrounding it and bright blue water. The Lake is great for water activities and there are plenty of places to stay on the lake for your elopement lodging. 

Along with Hurricane Ridge, there are more mountains located inside and outside the park, If you’re looking to go for a good hike at sunrise or sunset, these mountains are for you. There are a lot of great mountainous locations outside the park that you can bring your dogs along with you!

Now that you have a better idea of where to have an Olympic national park wedding
let’s talk more about how to start planning.
Keep reading for my step by step Olympic national park wedding & elopement guide!

Before we jump into the guide, I wanted to answer some of the most common questions
I get asked as an Olympic National Park wedding & elopement photographer:

How do you elope in olympic national park?

To elope in Olympic National Park, you need to decide where you want to elope in the park, apply for a special use permit,
and decide what you want to do for your elopement. I break down the steps to planning an Olympic National Park wedding and elopement below! 

When is the best time of year to get married in Olympic National Park?

The best time of year to get married in Olympic National Park is May-October.
It slightly depends on where you want to explore in the park, but this is the general timeframe I would recommend for your wedding! 

can you get married in the Hoh Rainforest?

Yes you can get married in the Hoh Rainforest. Wedding locations vary depending on your guest count size.
You will need to apply for a special use permit (linked here) before your wedding.

Can you get married at Hurricane Ridge?

Yes you can get married at Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park.
Wedding locations vary depending on your guest count size. You will need to apply for a special use permit (linked here) before your wedding.

the 7 steps to planning an
Olympic national park wedding:

Step 1: Choose a Location

Step 2: Pick a Date

Step 3: Find your Ceremony Location & Obtain Proper Permits

Step 4. Plan your Elopement Activities

Step 5. Nail Down Your Vendors & Find Lodging

Step 6: Create a Timeline

Step 7: Have the best wedding day EVER.

HOW TO FIND YOUR Olympic National Park
Wedding Location

The first step in officially planning your elopement is to choose where you want to get married in Olympic National Park . Hopefully my ‘best places to get married’ list above makes your decision a little bit easier! Here are some questions to ask yourself when choosing an elopement location:

1. What type of scenery do you want to be surrounded by in Olympic National Park? (Forests, Lakes, Coastal, Cliffs, Forests etc.)

2. What type of things do you want to do in Olympic National Park? (Hiking, backpacking, off-roading, swimming, etc. )

3. Are you looking for a more accessible location or are you looking to hike/adventure out to a spot? How far are you looking to hike?

The answers you come up with might give you a better idea of which area is the best place for you to choose in Olympic National Park. Each area in the park has it’s own unique scenery & vibe to it. Some spots are easier to get to such as Lake Crescent or Hurrican Ridge, while others are a bit more ‘out there’ or require more driving. It’s important to consider all these factors when choosing a spot!

things to think about when choosing
where to get married in Olympic national park:

• You don’t have to pick just one type of scenery or location. If you love rainforests and coastal views- you can visit both! First choose what locations are your favorite, and once you narrow it down, see how close they are to each other. A great way to include multiple locations is to plan a two day elopement, or you can choose locations that are a short driving distance to each other. 

• It’s important to check wedding permit requirements before finalizing your location. Permit rules change overtime, so it’s best to reach out to the park directly before choosing your locations. As an elopement photographers, I help my couples through this process. If that’s something you’re interested in, get in touch about your Olympic National Park Wedding here!

Looking for some Olympic Elopement Inspiration? Check out this Lush Olympic National Park wedding here!

One of the most important decisions for planning a wedding in Olympic National Park is choosing a date.
Once you have a date picked out you can apply for permits, hire vendors etc. 

Two of the biggest things that impact your wedding date are weather during that time of year and crowds. 

WEATHER:

Olympic National Park is on the coast of Washington State, so the weather patterns are a bit different than the mountains in Western Washington.
Since the park has such a wide range of terrain, the best weather depends on where you are in the park.
Here are my recommendations for months to plan your Olympic National Park wedding in based on the terrain:

Hurricane Ridge/Mountain Locations: July-September

Rainforest: Flexible because it rains off and on, May-October

Coastal: Way more flexible, year round but May-November is best

AVOIDING CROWDS for your olympic national park wedding:

Summer has some of the best and consistent weather in Olympic National Park. Making it a more popular time to visit. To minimize other people/crowds on your elopement day I recommend getting married on a weekday if possible! This will reduce the weekend tourists visiting the park. If you can’t have your wedding on a weekday, having your ceremony early in the morning can also reduce crowds. 
Want to learn more about how to avoid crowds during your wedding/elopement? Check out this blog post here

Woohoooo! You’ve made it this far. Now that you know where and when you want to get married, it’s time to figure out permits! Permits are an essential part of getting married in a National Park. You want to make sure the park is aware of the wedding and that you’re respecting the rules of the park! Each National Park has their own rules and regulations, so it’s important to do your research. As mentioned above, Olympic National Park does require a permit for a wedding in their park, so I recommend reaching out to them to learn more about it.

If the thought of doing this all by yourself is overwhelming, I can help! As an elopement photographer, I help all my couples with the planning process! If you’re interested in hiring an elopement photographer who can help you with all of this, fill out my contact form below to get in touch!

washington marriage licenses:

If you’re coming from out of state, you might be wondering, ‘how do we legalize this?’. It’s the same as if you were getting married in your own state- picking up a marriage license and following the laws of the state, Washington state requires 2 witnesses and an officiant to sign the license.

One thing to note coming out of state is Washington Marriage Laws require a 3 day waiting period before your license is active. This can either involve picking up the license 3 days before your elopement or mailing it in notarized from your home state. You will need two witnesses to sign at the ceremony.

** Olympic National Park Wedding INSPIRATION**

If you’re looking for a really unique wedding location- consider this treehouse (pictured below) located in Port Angeles. It’s right on the coast of Washington and has great ocean views.
Contact me if you want to learn more about this location!! 

OR KEEP SCROLLING FOR THE NEXT STEP IN PLANNING An Olympic National Park Wedding

Once a lot of the fun stuff is figured out, it’s time to hire some vendors for your Olympic National Park wedding! Couples getting married in National Parks still choose to hire certain vendors to help make their day special. Here are the most popular types of vendors hired for adventure weddings/elopements:

1. Photographer

2. Florist

3. Hair and Makeup Artist

4. Officiant

5. Baker/Caterer

6. Videographer

Olympic National Park Wedding
Lodging Advice

When planning an adventure wedding/elopement, lodging is an important part of the picture!
There are some really cool places to stay in the park Here are some of my favorite lodging recommendations for an Olympic National Park Wedding:

Note: All of these Airbnbs I’ve either personally stayed at or I’ve done research and they are highly recommended by others, none of them are affiliate links!

The final planning step for an Olympic national Park Wedding is creating a timeline! Wedding timelines can vary depending on a lot of factors: what time of day you want to start, where you want to explore, what activities you want to do, who will be there with you. I work with my couples to help create custom timelines for them (learn more about my process here).

SAMPLE TIMELINE FOR A SUnset wedding in Olympic National Park 

11:00am: Getting Ready Photos

12:00pm: First Look

12:30pm: Drive to Ceremony Location

1:30pm: Walk to Ceremony Spot

2:00pm: Ceremony

2:30pm: Family Photos

3:00pm: Say Goodbye to Family- They Head Back to Lodging

3:30pm: Drive to Hiking Trail

4:30pm: Hike Up

6:00pm: Exploring & Private Vows

7:55pm: Sunset & Hike Back

9:00pm: End Photography Coverage

YOU’VE MADE IT!! Once you’ve finished all these steps you are well on your way for an EPIC Olympic National Park Wedding. If you you have any questions or are looking for an elopement photographer who can help guide you through the planning process get in touch with me below! I would love to be apart of your wedding day.

Olympic National park wedding Packages:

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