How to elope without offending anyone
How to elope without hurting anyone
How do you know who to invite to your elopement?
This is probably one of the first question that comes to your mind once you decide to elope.
Here are some tips on how to narrow it down:
Short list
Communicate
Involve friends and family in your elopement
Photos and video
Remember who’s day it
Create a short list
It’s your day and you can decide every single person that stays by your side when you say I do. This can be for example just your closest family or just your maid of honor and best men or only your family and best friends. The most important part here is to choose people that make the entire day about you and not about them!
If you have people in your family or friendship circle that put pressure and expectations on you, it’s probably better to invite no one to avoid drama on your weddingday which was probably the reason why you decided to elope in the first place.
Communicate clearly with everyone
“Why are you eloping instead of having a big wedding?”
Everyone you tell about your decision to elope will ask you this question, so it’s important to have a straight answer to stand your ground.
The reactions of the people you tell about your elopement are out of your control, but you can give a simple explanation and if the reaction isn’t what you expected, it gives you even more reasons to elope.
Of course you can choose the route of not telling anyone beforehand and let them know about it when you get back and then give them the reason why you did it.
Some may answer
“we are so excited to celebrate the beginning of our marriage in a way that’s memorable and unique to our relationship”
“We don’t want to wait to get married until we have the financial resources and the time and energy to plan a big wedding”
“We rather spend the money on an experience that we will remember forever instead of spending money on stuff that just last a single day”
Involve friends and family in your elopement even if they weren’t invited
You can prepare your friends and family for your solo elopement long before you actually do it if you drop hints here and there, so they won’t be too surprised and to gage their reactions.
A way to involve them in the process is to go wedding attire shopping with them or to celebrate with them by having a gathering before or after with your wedding attire.
A really special way to let them be a part of your actual elopement even if they aren’t there is to have them make voice memos, videos or a book with little notes and wishes for your marriage and you two can listen to it or read it to each other during your ceremony.
Take photos and video of your elopement
Hiring a photographer and maybe even a videographer gives you first and foremost the opportunity to relive your elopement over and over again.
Elopements are filled with intentional and meaningful moments that deserve to be documented.
Having pictures and a video of your day is a great way to share your elopement with everyone who didn’t attend it.
If you elope just the two of you, the pictures and video will be a great way to surprise everyone when you get back at a little gathering.
The photos will probably say more than a thousand words to explain why you did it.
Choose the right photographer
Since you won’t have many people at your elopement it’s even more important to have a documentation of it, this is why it is important to choose the right photographer for you, who understands you and your values in your relationship.
You want to choose someone who guides you through the process and helps you to bring your vision of your perfect wedding day to life.
My goal as a photographer is to capture the couple authentic as they are and capture the moments as they happen, with all the emotions that are involved in these intentional moments.
I am there to document your day where you put on your wife and husband shoes for the first time and build the core of your marriage, see the unconditional love you have for each other and get a glimpse of what the future will bring for you.
Always remember who’s day it is
Make it intentional and meaningful to you
You don’t have to burn bridges with your family, always be respectful and communicate.
But at the end of the day it’s your day and no one else’s, so you can decide exactly how you’d like to spend it.