You probably decided to elope because you wanted a wedding experience that will be fun and personal. After all, eloping is all about freedom! But sometimes freedom comes with a lot of questions.
Wondering how to tell your family you’re eloping? How about the etiquette around asking for gifts? Keep reading, because I’m going to answer these elopement etiquette questions and more!
Before we get into it, I want to make it clear that there is no right or wrong way to elope. You know your family dynamics best, so choose what will be best for you even if it goes against the advice I’m giving you here today.
Alright, ready to learn about elopement etiquette? Let’s do this!
Deciding Who to Invite
Choosing to elope doesn’t mean you can’t include your family and friends in your wedding experience. If it’s important for you to have your loved ones by your side on your wedding day, bring them along. If you want the day to be just about the two of you, that’s great too! Elopements can consist of 0-20 guests, but you shouldn’t feel pressured to include anyone in your celebration.
It’s a good idea to decide early on in your planning process who you want to invite into your celebrations, if you want to invite anyone at all. This will affect planning your elopement and how you go about sharing the news that you’ve decided to elope.
How to Announce Your Elopement to Family and Friends
Whether you decide to invite others into your elopement experience or not, you’ll need to announce your elopement decision to your loved ones eventually. How you do so will depend on your own family dynamics, and in the end it’s up to you to decide what the best way to share the news will be, whether it’s before or after you’ve eloped.
When Should You Announce You’re Eloping?
You can keep your elopement a secret, but oftentimes it’s easier for family to digest the news if you tell them before your elopement. Sharing the news before you get married can give time for them to adjust to the idea rather than surprising them with the news after it’s all said and done.
Tell Your Loved Ones Personally
Telling your family about your decision to elope in person can help make the news easier to digest. You can make it extra special by throwing a dinner party. Make sure you share with them your reasons for deciding on an elopement and make sure they know that you still love them.
If you plan on hosting a post-elopement reception, this is the perfect time to tell your family about your plans and that they will still have a chance to celebrate with you!
Want to learn more about ways you can include your family in your elopement? Check out this guide!
Send a Marriage Announcement
After your elopement day comes and you’re officially married, you can send a marriage announcement to the rest of your family and friends! You can do so by sending an announcement in the mail or by posting photos of your elopement online.
Choosing Your Wedding Attire
Choosing the right dress or suit is one of the most exciting and emotional decisions in the wedding planning process. It’s often an experience shared with family and friends, which can leave you wondering if you should include your family in your elopement attire search?
Once again, this is going to depend on your personal family dynamics. But yes, you can absolutely include your family in your search for the perfect wedding attire!
If it would be meaningful to you to have your family or friends by your side as you look for the perfect dress or suit, ask your loved ones if they would like to be a part of the process after announcing your decision to elope. Make sure they know that it’s important to you and that this will be a way that they can come alongside you in your wedding celebration!
Should You Host a Bridal Party?
Traditional weddings come with a lot of celebrations before the big day, including a bridal party. There’s different lines of thought on whether it’s appropriate to host a bridal party when you elope, but it really just depends on how you’re eloping.
If you plan on including family in your elopement, then a party with them is perfectly fine! If you plan to elope without any guests, that’s when it becomes a little less clear.
You know your family dynamics best, and if your loved ones know that you will be eloping just the two of you and still want to celebrate with you, then go ahead and plan a bridal party! However it’s best not to ask for gifts if they aren’t invited to the actual wedding.
Asking for Gifts
If you don’t invite anyone along with you and don’t have any sort of reception, it’s considered bad etiquette to ask for gifts. However, you can still make a registry and give it to anyone who asks you for it.
If you plan on bringing anyone with you for your elopement, you can certainly still have a registry and send it to anyone who asks for it.
Hosting a Post-Elopement Reception
A great way to celebrate with your loved ones whether you elope alone or with guests is to host a post-elopement party! A reception is a perfect way to include your family and friends in your celebration while still having the full elopement experience.
A reception can take place on the same day as your elopement, the day after for an extended celebration, or even a few weeks after you’re married.
2-day elopements are a great way to be able to celebrate with your loved ones while also dedicating a full day to just the two of you.
When hosting your reception, you’ll want to tell your family and friends about it when you announce your elopement. That way they can know that they will still have a chance to celebrate with you.
Read the full guide to planning an elopement reception!
Sending Thank-Yous
After everything is said and done, you’ll want to make sure to send out thank-yous to anyone who came to celebrate with you or sent you gifts.
Eloping is such a beautiful way to celebrate the beginning of your marriage and I hope you found this guide helpful!
Happy eloping!
