Elopement Announcements Made Simple

One of the things that eloping couples stress about the most is how to tell their loved ones about their decision to elope. However, sending an elopement announcement doesn’t need to be difficult.

Should You Send An Elopement Announcement or Tell People In Person?

For some folks, like your close friends or immediate family, it might be best to tell them face-to-face beforehand. But anyone who you don’t think needs to know ahead of time, you can simply send out an elopement announcement to get the word out about your marriage!

Creating Your Elopement Announcement

Of course, sending out a wedding announcement is easier said than done. 

Not only do you have to either create or purchase the perfect design for your announcement, but then you have to think of what to say. That’s usually the most stressful part. 

Elopement Announcement Wording Tips

1. Keep it simple 
2. Don’t apologize (such as “Sorry you couldn’t be there with us!)
3. Don’t try to manage everyone’s potential reactions in your message
4. Give some detail about your celebration (at sunset/ on a mountaintop/ etc)
5. Consider writing your message by hand instead of printing the whole announcement

Wording Suggestions

If you’re having an “afterparty” or reception, your wedding announcement is a great time to share that information. 

“We’d love for you to join us for a celebratory cookout at our home this summer. Details to follow!”

Acknowledge the fact that they weren’t at your wedding, at let them know you were thinking of them.

“We decided to have an intimate “just-us” ceremony, but you were there in our hearts.”

Something short and sweet is all you need.

“With the love of our family and friends in our hearts, we exchanged our vows at dusk on the bank of the James River on Saturday, the twenty-sixth of August. Thank you for your love and support as we embark on this new journey together!”

Designing Your Elopement Announcement

When it comes to the design of your elopement announcement, there are a lot of possibilities for creating something really unique and special. 

The most popular type of elopement announcement is a postcard. This is a great way to share a photo from your day and send along a little personal message without having to spend hours stuffing and licking envelopes.

With something as simple and concise as a postcard, you need a great design! There are three main ways that couples acquire a design for their elopement announcements. 

Hire a Graphic Designer

If you’re looking for something truly unique, you can have a graphic designer create a custom design for you. You can find lots of great artists on sites like Etsy and Creative Market who can create a custom design for you.

This tends to be the most costly and time-consuming option, but it can totally be worth it if having a totally unique design is important to you.

Use a Template

Using a template is a great option for creating a really nice, professional-looking elopement announcement for a fraction of the cost of a custom design. 

Some templates are designed for the more tech-savvy among us, and can be tweaked and edited within programs like Adobe Photoshop or InDesign. 

But a newer option that has been growing in popularity is creating templates for users to customize using Canva, a free and super user-friendly online graphic design platform. 

One really cool thing about Canva is that you can order prints of your postcard design without ever having to download the design or leave Canva. 

Plus, they have a satisfaction guarantee, which means you can rest easy knowing that your elopement announcements are going to look awesome. 

If you’re looking for great-looking, simple, super-affordable and easily-customizable wedding or elopement announcement templates, check out the $5 template bundle in the shop!

Do It Yourself

If you’ve got an eye for design, you might really enjoy designing your own elopement announcement! 

This option definitely isn’t for everyone (I’m looking at you, perfectionists). You might find that you spend hours and hours working on a design, without ever getting it exactly how you’re imagining it in your head.

Other Fun Ideas For Your Elopement Announcement

Some cool ways to send an elopement announcement include a postcard, a specially-designed email message (for us paper-saving folks), or even a fun pre-recorded video message!

If you’re planning ahead, you could even record some video footage on your elopement day with your phone to include in your announcement, or have your elopement videographer create a short preview video that you could easily share!