Retro Floral-Filled Elopement Through North Cascades National Park in a Vintage VW Bus

Diablo Lake Elopement

Jacquie + Owen won a *pretty sweet* elopement giveaway, hosted by Good Seed Floral, Kalen Rivers, Brina Photography + Dawn Photo. The prize? Just a DREAM elopement somewhere in the Washington National Parks. Jacquie + Owen set their sights on Diablo Lake, but with a little twist…they had to road trip there in a vintage VW Bus!

Dawn tells us: Diablo Lake is the perfect mix of turquoise water + mountains, like a mini Banff, Canada in the States. So many incredible views, and such an underrated park. They flew to Vegas from Canada, road tripped all the way up to Diablo Lake, and even stopped in Portland to find Owen his shirt + bowtie at a vintage shop.

The wedding artists got to do what they do best: create gorgeous + romantic vignettes, inspired by J+O. Let’s head to Diablo Lake and see what they came up with!

record invite

Isn’t that floral calligraphy record Kalen Rivers created the perfect memento for the big day?

The First Look

Diablo Lake Elopement

What a location!

Diablo Lake Elopement

floral bow tie

Diablo Lake Elopement

We wanted our day to be as stress-free as possible, especially because we were coming from outside of the country. This meant little details like forgoing a cake, finding Owen’s outfit at a vintage shop during our road trip + drinking our favorite beer on the big day.

Their Vows

Diablo Lake Elopement

Diablo Lake Elopement

Diablo Lake Elopement

Made with Love Dress

Who else is LOVING the lace on that Made with Love gown from Revelle Bridal?

The Newlyweds

Diablo Lake Elopement

Made with Love Dress

Talk about a brilliant bouquet! Good Seed Floral mixed in proteas, pampas grass, ranunculus and more to create this swoon-worthy beaut!

Diablo Lake Elopement

Diablo Lake Elopement

Curious about how to elope in a national park? We’ve put together this FAQ list for you!

Diablo Lake Elopement

Pop a Bottle of Bubbly…They’re Married!

Diablo Lake Elopement

So much YESSSS!!

Diablo Lake Elopement

Diablo Lake Elopement

Jacquie shares: We also stayed at the most rad Airbnb the night before—it was literally a mushroom…made by natural builders! So, doing my hair + makeup in a mushroom the morning of was pretty rad.

Diablo Lake Elopement

A Retro Camper + Tons of Florals

Diablo Lake Elopement

Owen tells us: It was a must for me to rent a VW bus, as it was something we’d talked about doing for ages. We had a wedding playlist for cruising that made the day that much more memorable—we can now listen to it on our anniversary!

Diablo Lake Elopement

How darling is this van vignette with all the florals?!

Diablo Lake Elopement

Can you imagine road tripping with your love in an old camper van and then taking styled photos like these? Sign us up for an adventure like that!

Diablo Lake Elopement

Diablo Lake Elopement

Diablo Lake Elopement

The BEST feeling!!

Diablo Lake Elopement

We were in the mountains, so we didn’t have a DJ—but these are our songs, which were also on our wedding playlist on the bus!

Our Musical Choices

Processional: Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles

Recessional: Lovely Day by Bill Withers

First Dance: Wouldn’t It Be Nice by The Beach Boys

Floatin’ in the Lake

Diablo Lake Elopement

And, to top it all off—these two took a dip in the water with some super cute pool floaties!

Diablo Lake Elopement

Our Advice To Those Planning Now

Jacquie: Hire the best vendors you can find + let them take care of the rest! We fully trusted all our vendors + knew they’d bring magic to our vision…and, of course, they absolutely did! Without even having to meet us, each of them created something so uniquely us. We’ll cherish that forever. Also, whatever you do, don’t stress about the little things! You don’t need everything that Pinterest tells you need.

Owen: Just go with the flow + put all your trust in your vendors. Joanna created an unreal floral installation on our VW bus, Brina created a wicked video that we can look back on + show our grandkids, Dawn’s photos blew our expectations out of the water + Kalen created the coolest record for us—it was the first thing we hung in our new home! So definitely vendors, though a rad vehicle helps too.

Diablo Lake Elopement

Diablo Lake Elopement

LOVE.

Diablo Lake Elopement

Jacquie leaves us with these parting words: Road tripping in the Pacific Northwest to get to our location was the best experience! We fell in love with the landscapes + the people, including Dawn, Joanna, Brina + Kalen. I can’t thank them enough for everything they did for us!

Doesn’t a road trip to get to your wedding location sound like a ton of fun? Let us know where you’d like to go to in the comments below!

photography: Dawn Photo // venue name: Diablo Lake, Washington, USA // florals: Good Seed Floral // wedding dress: Made with Love // wedding dress boutique: Revelle Bridal // bride's shoes: Kate Spade // groom attire: (shirt + bowtie) Vintage from Magpie in Portland // videography: Brina Photography // paper goods: Kalen Rivers // calligraphy: Kalen Rivers // bus: Go Camp Rentals

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