We know it can be a tough decision to have an intimate ceremony. Planning a smaller event means that some important family and friends won’t be present on your big day. There’s ways to get creative so your loved ones still feel included! Here are some quick tips to help you include your friends & fam during your Hawaii elopement planning process.

Before we dive into it, let’s answer a frequent question: Can we bring guests to our elopement? The answer is yes! We consider events with less than 10 guests as an elopement. (If you are planning a larger event, our lead officiant Alana offers wedding officiating as well! Click here to contact her for weddings.) If you have to leave someone out, or you decide to forego having guests at all, these tips are for you!

Service permitting, you can have them on a video call or FaceTime them after the ceremony.

Not ever location will have the best wi-fi, but it’s not uncommon for you to be able to live stream the ceremony. If you want to remain fully present, you can have everyone ready for a FaceTime call after exchanging your “I do!”

You can ask loved ones to write something special that we can incorporate into your ceremony.

Each ceremony script is customized to you and your love story. We collaborate with you to make sure the ceremony is everything that you want it to be! In addition to adding special poems, verses, or saying some special about those who have passed, we can also incorporate sweet words from those at home who couldn’t be there in person. This is a great way to still include them in your day!

You can capture the day on video, whether with your videographer or on your own device.

After booking with us, you will receive a list of our preferred vendors, including videographers, who we fully trust to help bring your vision to life! In addition to having a professional videographer, we also have seen couples document their trip & elopement day on their own devices to make their own video which can be really sweet.

We love getting creative and making it work so you will know you made the right decision with planning your day exactly how you want it! We offer both officiating and elopement coordination for all of the Hawai’i islands. Click here to start your Hawaii elopement planning process!

(Photos by Wild & Free co-founder Chelsea Stratso)