Great Ways to Include Family in Your Elopement

By Dave Westfall

Eloping doesn’t mean you and your betrothed have to run off in secret to tie the knot! In fact, a growing number of modern elopements actually include the happy couple’s immediate family in your elopement and even some of their friends! One of the biggest concerns that eloping couples have is how the family is going to react to the news of their elopement and here at WhereToElope.com, we have always advocated telling people in advance rather than springing it on them after the fact!

Let’s take that one step further and think about ways that you could include family.

1 – Invite Your Closest Relatives

The most obvious solution is to go ahead and invite your closest family to participate in your elopement. This might seem like it defeats the purpose of eloping, but we are not suggesting you have 50 guests – just your parents and maybe siblings. Lot’s of the elopement vendors you will find in our listings have elopement packages that include a small number of guests.

2 – Share Your Ceremony With a Live Feed

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, your family can be present at your elopement ceremony without actually attending your wedding. A number of elopement vendors now offer the option of live streaming your ceremony on the internet allowing your family and friends to log on and watch you get married in real time from anywhere in the world.

3 – Carry Something Personal With You

A really nice way to include family is to wear or carry something with you that belongs to your family. Asking for these items before you elope will help the family to feel like they are included in your celebration. Some great ideas would be for the groom to wear the tie his father wore at his wedding or for the bride to borrow some of her mother’s jewelry for the occasion.

4 – Have a Post Elopement Celebration

One popular way to let your family feel like they didn’t miss out on your wedding is to throw a post-elopement celebration. This could be a family dinner, backyard barbecue or even a small cocktail party. It is also the perfect opportunity to share photographs and stories about your elopement with your nearest and dearest.

How did you include your family in your elopement? We would love to hear from you!