So you’ve decided you want to elope but now you have to figure out whether you want to include or how to include your family and friends in your elopement. Whether you are wanting to plan a day for just the two of you or whether you want to have your family and friends there for your ceremony. Here are different ways you can include family and friends in your New Zealand elopement.
1. Invite family and friends to your ceremony
The easiest way if you want to have your family and friends present during your adventure is to invite them to witness the ceremony. I always suggest keeping this to between 10-15 guests which means it stays nice and intimate. If you are choosing to legally get married in New Zealand then this is the perfect option to have two of your guests sign your marriage certificate as your legal witnesses.
2. Livestream/video the ceremony
If you’re planning to elope overseas (like eloping here in New Zealand) then this is a great option to involve family and friends without the cost of buying everyone flights. Just keep in mind that we don’t always have the best reception service in New Zealand especially in certain secluded areas so if you’re planning on livestreaming make sure your phone has extra space in case you need to record the ceremony instead if reception doesn’t pan out.
In case you decide you want to video you can always set up a tripod off to the side with your phone and have it video the ceremony to share with friends and family later on after your adventure. This becomes a keepsake for you both to rewatch together as the time passes by.
If you choose to hire a videographer as part of your elopement documentation they can also video the ceremony for you to share with your friends and family.
3. Host an engagement party/farewell party
Before you tie the knot you can celebrate together with family and friends by hosting an engagement party or a send-offl party. This is a special way to have family and friends feel like they are a part of the lead up to your elopement, having pictures taken with the two of you during the party to celebrate you!
4. Host a post-elopement celebration/dinner
Once you’ve adventured and said “I do” you could throw a post-elopement celebration or have a fancy dinner with family and friends to share your adventure with them. Printing out photos from your adventure and having them displayed can also add to the excitement of celebrating the commitment and adventure you both have just gone on allowing friends and family to feel as close to having been there through the emotions in the photos!
5. Include family traditions or heirlooms
Just because you’re choosing to elope doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate family traditions or wedding traditions into your adventure. Whether you want to wear something blue (could be mum’s blue earrings) or wear grannies pearl veil you can include family and friends by having something important of theirs present on your adventure. You could even recreate mum and dad’s staunch wedding photo just for a splash of fun to share with them after your day.
6. Read letters or watch videos from friends and family
In the lead up to your adventure you could ask family and friends to write you letters or record congratulating videos to then read or watch after your ceremony on your elopement day. In your elopement timeline you can add some time in to make sure you get to read and watch those memos from friends and family.
7. Facetime/Zoom Call
If you are in an area that has cell coverage you could plan some time into your day to call family and friends via facetime or zoom before or after your ceremony allowing them to congratulate you in real time. This also makes for a wonderful way to allow family and friends to feel included in your elopement day.
8. Make a video to send to family and friends
You could make a video before explaining what you’re about to do and after the ceremony explaining you just said “I do” which you can then stitch together and send to family and friends. Bonus it becomes a little keepsake for the two of you to remember and look back on from your day!
9. Shop for elopement attire together
In the lead up to your elopement you could involve family and friends with the planning and purchasing of items for your day. Whether you end up taking your mum and gran with you to choose your wedding dress or take dad to help you choose the best hiking boots. Planning an elopement is definitely a lot easier and stress-free than planning a traditional wedding, but you don’t have to go it alone, ask for advice from friends and family to include little snippets of them in your day!
But ultimately your elopement day is all about the two of you and what makes you both happy! So plan a day the way you want it and include family and friends as much or as little as you like, because this is not their wedding day, this is YOUR day!
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