The movie was shot in 12 days and it was largely improvised.
The majority of the film was shot somewhere in the San Juan Islands. The exact location of the family cabin is unknown because the filmmakers had to promise to never reveal the location publicly.
When the film was originally scheduled to start filming in middle October 2010 for two weeks, Rachel Weisz was set to play Emily Blunt's sister, so the actress could complete her part and start filming The Deep Blue Sea (2011) in November. However, filming of Lynn Shelton's movie was postponed, making Weisz pull out due to schedule conflicts with The Deep Blue Sea. Rosemarie DeWitt replaced her, and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her performance.
Rosemarie DeWitt plays as Emily Blunt sister, Hannah. She also played as Anne Hathaway's sister in Rachel Getting Married (2008). Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway have both starred together in The Devil Wears Prada (2006).