One of the most common questions I get asked by couples wanting to elope is: What can we do to include our families and friends?
You have many options. Let’s walk through them:
Option 1: Bring them with you!
If you want to bring a couple friends and family members, think less than 10-15, go for it.
Elopements are evolving with the times, and as such, are now happening on a regular basis with more people in attendance. You can have up to 15 people in attendance and still ‘elope’.
You can still elope in most places with under 15 in attendance. If you want to elope at a national park, or local garden, etc, most will allow you to host your elopement with attendees with you. Just keep in mind the physical space at the location you want. For example if you want to elope on a mountain in Scotland or Banff, there might not be enough physical space to accommodate 15 people.
Likewise, if you want to elope somewhere that requires hiking or long walks, keep in mind other attendees abilities to do so at the pace you will want for your day.
Option 2: Sign your marriage license at home with family and friends present, then run off to elope in full dress with vows! (This is what I did!)
There are numerous benefits to doing this: You can elope in a destination outside your country/province/state without tons of red tape. There are no rules to your elopement, it is YOURS. Who says you can’t sign your license at home and then do everything else when you elope - it happens ALL THE TIME.
You can include close family/friends at your signing. We hired an officiant to come for a half hour and legally marry us, sign the paperwork and file it, and invited our best friends to attend and be our witnesses. It was very private and very us. We dressed up, but not in wedding attire, and took some photos with our friends and officiant. Then we ran off to Scotland with our kids and eloped in Edinburgh in wedding attire, with vows and a full ceremony. This allowed us to skip all the red tape involved in signing our license overseas. (I’m Canadian, for reference).
If you do this option, you can always make it a party or dinner afterwards to make it feel more like a wedding for family.
Option 3: Elope wherever and whenever you want, then host a party with friends and family.
This is the most common I would say. You can host the party before or after, but most couples choose to do so afterwards.
This allows you to do exactly what you want, how you want, where you want, without any input from others (if you so choose) and still involve them in your love story!
You could host the party and surprise guests with your marriage. You could send out invitations like a wedding, and simply say it is a wedding reception, letting them know you are getting married and want to include them! You can also plan to include some wedding photos/videos in a slideshow to show everyone what your elopement looked like.
Whatever you choose to do, remember that it is your day and you can do anything you want! Just know that eloping doesn’t have to mean not including other people.
Did you elope? Did you do any of these things?
