Elopement Planning Guides Archives - Liz Ruth Photography

Knowing How to Elope with Family, or How to Include Family in Your Elopement can be tough, but I’m here to make it a little easier with this guide to Eloping with Family.

Perhaps you never pictured yourself having a big wedding. Maybe, you started looking into what it takes to plan a wedding and thought, why not plan the elopement adventure of your life with an epic vacation afterward instead! Or you just want something small and intimate, unique, and special to the two of you. One thing’s for sure though – you are so darn excited to be planning your elopement! The only problem? You’d like to share at least part of your day with your family, you’re just not sure how.

Father of the bride is walking her down the isle in Lake Tahoe. The bride and groom's close family is surrounding them. The groom is smiling as he sees his bride for the first time.

Bride and groom are cheek to cheek smiling in Lake Tahoe. The brides veil is dancing in the wind. There is a beautiful lake with lined with pine trees behind them.

HOW TO ELOPE WITH FAMILY

Can You Elope with Family?

First thing first – does it still count as an elopement if you elope with family by your side? The answer – of course it does! An elopement is really just a small and intimate wedding, usually with less than 10 guests (but that number could easily stretch to 20). In my mind, the most important thing about eloping is that you plan a day tailored to the two of you. Ask yourself:

What do you both love to do in your spare time?
If you were picturing the best day ever, what would that look like?
Who would you spend time with and how?

Elope with Immediate Family

If your family is included in that, you should definitely invite them to join for the day! There is no right or wrong way to do this. It could be as simple as asking them to attend just your ceremony, or you could ask them to share a meal with you afterward. Or hey, why not both? Whatever sounds best to you!

Suggested Timelines for Eloping with Family

The most important thing for your elopement is that the two of you plan a day centered around, well, the two of you! You shouldn’t be worried or stressed about pleasing others or living up to ideas of what a wedding ‘should’ look like. You’re choosing to elope, after all!

A good way to ensure this from the beginning is to make sure you’re upfront with invited guests about what you want and your plans for the day.

I know it can be hard to picture what the day might look like though without the usual ideas of a ‘traditional’ wedding to guide you. To help, I’ve put together a few sample timelines of what a wedding with family might look like.

Suggested Timeline including a Family Dinner

A great way to include family while keeping your elopement intimate and true to your wishes is to organize a family dinner on the day. This way, you can share your vows privately, explore and enjoy time together. Then, at the end of the day, you can come together with your family to tell them all about it and celebrate your wedding!

A nice way to do this is to break up the day into two parts.

6.00: Preparations & getting ready

7.00: Meet at the first location for sunrise portraits and to share your vows

8.30: Explore your next location. You could bring a picnic breakfast or include a stop for coffee somewhere along the way!

11.30: Break for lunch and a rest

5.00: Meet your family and start with some time for them to admire you in your wedding clothes, congratulations & family portraits

5.30: Informal cocktail hour

6.30: Share dinner at a private location. You could even consider having a chef cater a dinner at an Airbnb or something similar.

Optional inclusions: speeches, cake cutting, first dance, any other traditions you’d like (or not)

A Two-Day Elopement

You still want to have that elopement experience of celebrating your love without worrying about needing to be somewhere at a certain time or organizing your day around other people. But you want your family to be present, as well! A two-day elopement could be for you.

Day 1: Private Vows and Exploring

2.00: Get ready separately

3.00: Drive separately to the first location (one of you can come with me!), where you share your first look. It could be at an easy-to-reach mountain lookout, the start of a trailhead, by a lake, or on the coast. Whatever you like!

3.15: Share your private vows with each other

3.30: Explore the location, go on a hike, drive to alternative locations. Just take in the view and enjoy celebrating your wedding!

5.00: Have a private picnic or meal set up somewhere, share a toast, or pop a bottle of bubbles

6.00: Sunset portraits

Day 2: Family Ceremony, Photos, and Meal

9:00: Get ready separately with your families

10.30: Ceremony

11.00: Family portraits

11.30: Short wedding portrait session for the two of you

12.30: Shared lunch with you and your loved ones, including whichever elements you’d like to include – speeches, cake cutting, first dance, any other traditions you’d like (or not)

If you’d like some help planning your own elopement timeline that includes family, I’d love to assist you as part of my elopement photography packages. Get in touch to find out more!

GET IN TOUCH

Including Friends & Extended Family in your Intimate Wedding

Just because you won’t be inviting everyone and anyone to your elopement doesn’t mean they can’t be involved. It also doesn’t mean you don’t value and appreciate their love and support! Here are a few ideas for how to include family & friends in your elopement day, without inviting them:

Ask someone who is invited to your elopement to livestream the ceremony
Ask friends & family to record short videos with well-wishes for the two of you to watch on the day
Ask loved ones to write a letter or a note for you to read on the day

Did you find this blog post on How to Elope with Family helpful? I’d love to help you make your elopement memorable and unique to the two of you, and to document it for you to look back on for life. Just get in touch to find out more!

LET’S START PLANNING!

Do you have a question about Eloping with Family or do you just love the photos I’ve shared? Let me know in the comments below! Your comments always make my day.

So you’ve ditched the traditional wedding for its more intimate cousin – the elopement. Congrats! And welcome to the cool kids club, friend. But before you start planning your big day, there are just a few things you should know.

Let’s talk all things elopement: florals, legalities, ceremony, and more. Here are seven facts about elopement that you should consider before eloping.

What is an Elopement?

An elopement is very similar to a traditional wedding – except more intimate.

Just because you’re going for an elopement doesn’t mean you need to forego the more traditional elements of a wedding. Yes, you can still invite guests. Yes, you can make the cake-cutting a part of the celebration. And yes, you can still splurge on that dress, baby!

The main difference between a traditional wedding and an elopement comes down to a few things.

First, the massive guest lists and seating charts are replaced with a smaller, intimate guest list. Or you could keep it a three-person party with just you, your partner, and the officiant.

Second, you’ll likely spend less on an elopement because of its scaled-back nature. That’s not a guarantee, though – especially if you decide to splurge on an exotic destination or gorgeous dress.

Finally, you should still plan out your vendors and support team. I’m talking florals, venue, and photographer. You still might need a few helping hands to bring your vision of your big day to life.

An elopement lets you share your special day with an intimate group of family and friends

7 Facts About Elopement You Need to Know

Planning your elopement can be much more simple than a traditional wedding. If you’d rather invite just a handful of family members and close friends, an elopement ceremony will do just the trick. You can easily avoid the stress and chaos of a big wedding day by opting for a more intimate wedding instead.

But don’t let that fool you into thinking that you shouldn’t do any planning – you definitely should. Here are seven things you should consider:

Find a Solid Wedding Planner for Eloping

Just because you’re scaling down the size of your ceremony doesn’t mean you shouldn’t include some of the more typical features of a traditional wedding.

Wondering how an elopement ceremony works and how long it takes to elope? An elopement wedding planner can help you iron out those details and customize your elopement to your preference. Plus, they can help guide you through the steps to elope depending on your destination.

Know Your Legal Details

Every state varies in the legal requirements for eloping. You do need a marriage license to elope in every state. However, only some states have waiting periods, and each state has an expiration date on that license.

This expiration date is one main reason you really should take some time to plan out the details of your elopement. Make sure you know the legalities if you’re planning a destination elopement so that you don’t run into any hiccups on your big day.

Most Elopements Don’t Happen in Vegas

When you picture eloping, do you envision a shotgun wedding inside an Elvis chapel in Vegas? Yeah, you’re not alone.

While that’s the most common perception of what an elopement is, in all reality, elopements don’t look that much different than a traditional wedding. You can go for a full-on destination ceremony or a simple county courthouse elopement – it’s totally up to you! That’s the beauty of it.

Don’t Skip the Photographer

Your wedding day is one you’ll never want to forget. Whether you’re planning a courthouse wedding or a ceremony on a mountain with a breathtaking view, hire a photographer to capture those incredible memories.

But not just any photographer will do. Once you narrow down your location and date, look for a photographer that specializes in elopement photography. It can be much trickier to capture those very intimate moments, so choose a professional elopement photographer that knows how to perfectly capture those often-missed moments.

Find an elopement photographer that specializes in capturing those intimate moments on your wedding day

A destination elopement photographer can make sure all of the little moments get captured throughout your elopement

Accept That An Elopement Isn’t Everyone’s Cup of Tea

Although elopements are increasing in popularity (partly thanks to COVID-19), you should be prepared for the possibility that family and friends won’t share the same enthusiasm.

And that’s ok. The important thing is to create a ceremony full of moments that bring you joy. Whether you head to Big Sur or Coeur D’Alene, you can make your day perfect for what you want!

Do Your Research

Elopements may be smaller in size, but you’ll still want to do your research before you finalize all of the details. I put together a planning guide on how to elope in Idaho, but many of the details are the same regardless of which state you’re eloping in.

The good news is that you’re not the only one that’s eloping. Plenty of others have done it, so you can find elopement planning guides on just about every topic, including setting the mood (like boho or minimalist wedding style) and even how to pick the right vendors.

You Still Need a Budget

Sure, you might be saving some money by planning an intimate elopement for your special day – but you still need a budget.

Even though your florals, venue, and reception are scaled back, they can still be expensive depending on which vendors you hire. Plotting out a budget (no matter how small) can help prevent any added stress from overspending.

Capture Your Elopement Memories Forever with a Photographer Who Specializes in Elopement and Destination Photography

See, that wasn’t so hard, right? Now all that’s left is to book the perfect photographer that knows how to capture those beautiful, intimate moments.

Hit the button below, and I’ll work my camera magic throughout your big day so you can take beautiful memories home with you and continue to relive those moments long after your wedding day!

LET’S GET STARTED

Elopement Planning Guides