Post Elopement Party: How to Plan a Reception After Eloping
Bride and groom celebrate their elopement with an afterparty.
There’s lots of great reasons for eloping. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t celebrate your marriage. Planning a party or reception after eloping isn’t a requirement - it’s ok to skip it. But if you do like parties, and you want to have some fun, a post elopement party is a great idea.
It’s not a traditional wedding reception, so you can plan any type of party you’d like. It can be formal, semi formal or casual. You can plan it for any time of day, with any type of style. You can plan a dinner party if you’d like. Or you can plan a picnic, a brunch or a BBQ. Start by deciding on your budget.
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How to Plan an Elopement Party
1. Decide on your budget
A post elopement party doesn’t have to be as expensive as a wedding reception. Decide how much you want to spend, then choose the type of party that fits your budget.
2. Choose a date
Talk to your most important guests and find a date that works for them.
3. Make your guest list
If you’re trying to keep it simple, keep your guest list small. Invite only your closest family and friends. Or if you want a big blowout - go crazy with your guest list! As long as you’ve got enough food and drinks for everyone, your party can be as big, or as small, as you want.
4. Decide what traditions, games or activities to plan
Lots of couples like to include a few traditions, like cutting a wedding cake for your guests. But if you don’t like traditions or games, it’s ok to skip them. Choose your activities based on the type of party you’re planning, where you’re having it and how much time you have at your venue.
5. Book your venue
Your venue is going to have the biggest effect on the cost and style of your party. Choose your venue first, based on your budget and the type of reception you’d like to have.
6. Plan your menu
Remember, if you’re planning your party at a meal time, you need to serve people that meal. If you don’t have the budget to serve a meal, plan your party for a different time. For example, if you’re planning an evening party but don’t want to serve dinner, you can plan a cocktail party instead. Just make sure it either ends before dinner time or begins after dinner time. Otherwise you’ll have hungry - and unhappy - guests.
7. Send out your invitations
Decide how you’ll invite people and how you’ll collect RSVPs. You can send emails, texts or make a phone call to your loved ones. Or you can send printed elopement announcements with invitations to your party. The ideal time to send invitations is three to four weeks ahead of the party.
8. Choose your decorations
Consider your venue and decide how many decorations you’ll need. To save money, you can shop at your local dollar store, craft store, or compare prices online.
9. Enjoy your party!
Slip into your wedding dress or elopement outfit, welcome your guests and enjoy the party!
Bride and groom cut their wedding cake at a post elopement party.
What Do You Do at a Post Elopement Party?
There’s not as many rules for an elopement party as there is for a traditional wedding. As long as you’re considerate of your guests, you can plan any type of reception. For your post elopement party, you can choose any style - from a dinner dance to a cocktail party to a backyard barbecue. Plan some food and drinks that fit the time and mood of your party. Then think about what kind of activities you want to plan for your guests.
Couples don’t usually plan a complete wedding reception after an elopement, but if you want to include some of the traditions, you can. Since you didn’t have a bridal party, you could ask a family member or friend to make a speech or a toast. You could also plan a first dance and cutting a wedding cake. Include as many wedding traditions as you’d like. If you don’t like wedding traditions, go ahead and skip them.
If you had an elopement photographer, use the photos or videos from your wedding day ceremony to plan a slideshow. If you’d rather keep it low key, you don’t need to have entertainment. You can plan a party where people come over, congratulate you, then mingle and chat for a few hours. It’s ok to keep it simple if that’s your style.
How Much Does a Post Elopement Party Cost
The cost of a post elopement party depends on what type you plan. If you want it to be similar to a wedding reception, it can get expensive. Booking a venue, catering and vendors will add up to a big budget.
If you want a less expensive party, you can plan a simpler reception. If you want to spend a few hundred dollars, consider planning a casual barbecue at home or at a local park. If you want to spend a few thousand, you could host a dinner party, a cocktail party or a brunch reception.
Decide on your budget first, then choose the type of reception that’ll be easy to afford. Here’s some of the things you’ll need to budget for:
Venue
Food and drinks
Wedding cake
Invitations
Decorations
Games or activities
We Eloped Cake Topper - Rustic Elopement Decoration. By: ThistleAndLaceDesign
Budget For a Simple Post Elopement Party
The least expensive party is a get together, at your home. For an elegant party, think about planning a cocktail party. You’ll need to pay for alcohol, mixers, bar supplies plus appetizers and snacks. For a more casual party, you could plan a BBQ or picnic. You’ll need to buy food and drinks for your party. Plus any extras you want, like wedding cake or flowers.
If you decide you want to have all the traditions, including dinner and a first dance, your budget will start to resemble a traditional wedding budget. If you’re planning to hire a caterer, a DJ and more, read this next to find out about the typical costs for a big reception: How Much Does a Wedding Cost?
Post Elopement Reception at a Restaurant Venue
Renting a venue and hiring catering is the most expensive way to host a post elopement reception. If you want to save some money, consider hosting a dinner party at a local restaurant instead. You’ll save a lot by not paying for rentals, set ups and decorations. You probably won’t have space for dancing or speeches, but if you’re looking for a low key party, a restaurant could be the perfect choice.
You’ll still need to pay for everyone’s food and drinks. Make sure to discuss the menu and billing with the restaurant manager ahead of time. Lots of them will have set menus you can choose from. They’ll also let you decide whether to include cocktails, wine, beer or soft drinks.
You can book at your favorite restaurant or go ahead and get creative. You could choose classic food like Italian, Greek or French. If your city has specialty restaurants, you could even plan a fun party with wood fired pizza, tacos or brunch. You could also consider booking a local winery, distillery or brewery for a unique party.
A restaurant is a great venue for a post elopement party.
Venue Ideas For a Post Elopement Party
Consider the size of your guest list, then think about banquet halls and meeting rooms that are available in your city or town:
Community center
Church hall
Local park
State park
Nature center
Botanical garden
Pavilion or gazebo
Campground
Cottage
Cafe
Library
Museum
Nightclub
Theater
Timeline For a Post Elopement Party
Most couples plan their reception for a month or two after their elopement. If you want to save up some money, you can plan your post elopement party any time up to a year after your wedding ceremony. If you’re planning your reception for more than a year later, consider calling it a vow renewal instead.
Party Ideas For a Reception After Eloping
For a post elopement party, you can plan any type of reception. If you want one with all the wedding traditions, book a venue and serve a meal, plus cake, drinks and dancing. If you want a different, or less expensive type of reception, think about planning a simpler party.
The most expensive part of a reception is always the venue and the food. If you can plan an at home party or DIY your food, you’ll be able to have a great party on a budget.
Open house with appetizers and cocktails
Picnic style party at a local park or beach
Dinner party at a local restaurant
Cocktail reception at a wine bar
Theme Ideas For a Post Elopement Reception
You don’t need to have a theme for your party, but if you want to have some fun, there’s lots of great themes to choose from. Plus, if you’re bad at decisions, having a theme can make everything easier.
For example, there are about nine million different invitations to choose from. If you’ve decided you’re having a fiesta, it’ll narrow down your choices to only that style. Having a theme will make every decision easier, from the invitations to the food to the decorations.
Some fun themes for a post elopement party:
Wine tasting
Poker night
Murder mystery game night
Brunch and bubbly
Breakfast for dinner
Ice cream social
Vintage cake and punch
Character theme (Disney, Harry Potter, etc.)
Holiday theme (Halloween, 4th of July, etc.)
Reception After a Destination Elopement
If you had a destination elopement, you could use it as a starting point for your party. Set up a slideshow of your wedding pictures and plan your party around your destination. Plan activities, food and decorations to fit the style:
Casino night for a Las Vegas elopement
Cake and punch with macarons for a Paris elopement
Fiesta with a taco bar and margaritas for a Mexico elopement
Tropical island for a Caribbean elopement
Pig roast for a Hawaii elopement
Outdoor Party Games
If you’re planning a casual, outdoor reception, lawn games are a great activity for your guests. You can buy some game sets or make them yourselves.
Giant Jenga
Horseshoes
Ring Toss
Connect Four
Corn Hole
Croquet
Bocce Ball
Elopement Party Games or Activities
If your reception is more formal, or indoors, you can plan some games or activities as icebreakers or entertainment for your guests.
The Shoe Game: How to Play the Wedding Shoe Game
Photo Booth or Selfie Station
Board Game Station
Coloring Station
Mad Libs
Couple Trivia
Advice For the Newlyweds
Advice and Wishes For the New Mr. and Mrs. - Post Elopement Party Game.
Kissing Menu Game - Party Game For a Post Elopement Wedding Reception. By: WishfulPaperBoutique
See more party games, banners, decorations and invitations on my curated Etsy list: Post Elopement Party Invites & Decor
Post Elopement Party Invitations
To avoid misunderstandings, make sure your invitations are not wedding invitations. Your guests might get confused or offended if they think they aren’t invited to the ceremony. Invite people to celebrate your marriage, but make it clear that it’s a celebration or a party and not a wedding reception.
You can choose an invitation that announces your marriage and invites your guests at the same time. Or choose one with cute wording, like “Join Us For a Happily Ever After Party” or “We Said I Do, Now Let’s BBQ!”
Remember to give your guests all the information for your party. Include the venue, address and time.
Post elopement parties aren’t always the same as a wedding reception, so your guests might not know what to expect. You can let them know by saying “please join us for dinner and dancing” or “join us for a cocktail party”.
If you don’t want gifts, it’s ok to say “no gifts please” on the invitation. If you’ve registered for gifts, do not include the information on your invitations.
Happily Ever After - Post Elopement Party Invitation. By: ViolaMirabilisDesign
We Said I Do Now Let’s BBQ - Post Elopement Party Invitations. By: AcetiDesignCo
Post Elopement Party Decorations
Before you choose your decorations, think about the location of your party and how much space you’ll need to fill. If your party’s at home, you’ll probably need a banner and some table decorations. If your party’s at a restaurant, you might just want a few centerpieces.
If you’ve rented a room, or a community center, you might have a lot of space to fill. If you’ve got a big space, think about some decor that’s inexpensive and oversized. Pieces like streamers, paper lanterns, banners and balloons are great ways to fill a lot of space.
We Eloped Banner - Photos, Announcements - Post Elopement Party Decoration. By: BannerCheer
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