Greetings Daizies,
Eloping in Italy and having the most romantic, cinematic, amazing wedding day ever – and then celebrating with our friends and family in Chicago a few months later was genuinely the best way for us to get married. Like many brides, I wanted everything to feel perfect, but when I was planning, one thing frustrated me: I could barely find blogs from brides who had actually done what we were considering.
There were plenty of posts about eloping and plenty about wedding receptions, but not much from someone saying, “We eloped, then we threw the big celebration, and here is exactly what happened.” I relied on Reddit, random forum posts, TikTok, and bits and pieces from people who had done something similar. Now that I’ve actually lived it, I can say that I’m so glad we went our own way.
Our elopement in Positano was the beginning of our union :our vows, our adventure, our private wedding day together. Our Chicago reception gave us something completely different: community. We got the intimacy and freedom we wanted from our actual wedding day while still getting the experience of looking around a room filled with people we love, all celebrating our marriage with us. And no, the reception did not feel less special because we were already married. It had a magic completely of its own.
Quick Details About Our Elopement and Celebration
Elopement: Positano, Italy – April 26, 2026
- Celebration: Chicago, Illinois – August 30, 2026
- Time between the two: About four months
- Celebration guest count: Around 180 people
- Venue: Reception hall
- Budget: Wheeeewwwww. We’ll get into that.
- What we called it: Our reception, our “Happily Ever After Party,” and #TheLloydsDai
We also gave ourselves permission to keep the wedding traditions we wanted and skip the ones we didn’t. We kept our bride and groom entrance, toasts, bridal party, family photos, dancing, and a formal celebration with our guests. We skipped the cake cutting, bouquet toss, first dance, and any attempt to repeat our vows or recreate a ceremony. That was one of the best parts of already being married: we didn’t have to recreate a wedding. We could just create a celebration.
Why We Chose to Elope First and Celebrate Later
Before getting engaged, I never imagined that I would elope. Once we started looking at venues and thinking about what a traditional wedding would actually feel like, I jokingly told my fiancé, “We should just elope.” Then I started watching destination elopements on TikTok, and suddenly the idea stopped feeling like a joke.
The more we talked about it, the more right it felt. I loved the idea of it being just the two of us, starting our marriage somewhere beautiful and on an adventure together, with a day centered around us instead of a guest list, expectations, logistics, and everyone else’s opinions. After a lot of conversations, pros-and-cons lists, journaling, and thinking about what we actually wanted, I felt at peace with the decision.
So we did it. We eloped in Positano, Italy, and the experience fulfilled me even more than I expected. But having a larger celebration was always part of the plan. I still wanted our families and friends together in one room, and honestly, I wanted to dance. I wanted that feeling of looking around and seeing people from completely different parts of our lives celebrating with us.
I did worry that having a reception months after we got married might feel strange. Would people still be excited? Would I still feel like a bride? Would everyone wonder why we were doing this when we were already married? Would something feel missing? None of those fears ended up defining the experience. The elopement gave us intimacy, and the reception gave us community. For us, the two events served completely different purposes, and that is exactly what made having both feel so special.
How Long After Eloping Should You Have a Reception?
For us, about four months felt perfect. We eloped on April 26 and had our reception on August 30, which gave us enough time to come home, breathe a little, transition out of elopement mode, and then get excited about the next event.
Would I personally wait a full year? No. Not because there is anything wrong with doing that, but because I was ready to be done planning. A full year would have dragged my bridal era out longer than I personally wanted. There is no universal rule, but I would think about how long you want to stay in active wedding-planning mode.
A few weeks later may feel like one continuous celebration, while a few months gives you breathing room. Six months may work beautifully if you have travel, budget, or seasonal considerations. A year later can work if that feels intentional for you. For me, though, I would absolutely stay within about six months again.
What Do You Call a Reception After Eloping?
I was very adamant about calling ours a reception because I didn’t want guests thinking they were coming to watch us exchange vows again. We also used language like “celebration of our marriage,” “Happily Ever After Party,” “wedding celebration,” and #TheLloydsDai Weekend.
And you know what? People still called it our wedding haha! At first I wanted to correct everybody, but eventually I gave up. Technically, a wedding celebration is a celebration of a marriage, so call it whatever feels natural to you. The important thing is making the actual format clear on the invitation and website so guests know whether they are attending a ceremony, reception, dinner, party, or something else.
Our Real Post-Elopement Reception Planning Timeline
One thing I wish I had found when I was planning was an actual timeline from someone who had done this. Here is what ours looked like.
About 9 Months Before: Start Looking at Venues
Our first idea was actually a yacht reception. It sounded fun and different, but then we realized two things: it was not the most budget-friendly option, and I get motion sickness. So…perhaps not.
With a guest list of more than 150 people, a sit-down meal, dancing, and many of the elements of a traditional reception, we realized there really wasn’t a shortcut around looking at wedding venues. Even though we weren’t having a ceremony there, we still needed a space capable of hosting what was essentially a large wedding reception.
About 8 Months Before: Book the Venue
We ultimately booked Seven Star for our August celebration. Once the deposit was down, everything felt official: we were really doing this.
Planning the reception and our Italy elopement at the same time could be overwhelming, so once the Chicago venue was secured, we shifted most of our energy toward getting married. From January through March, Italy was the priority. Knowing the reception venue was already handled removed one major thing from my brain.
About 6 Months Before: Send Save-the-Dates
Invitation wording made me anxious because we obviously couldn’t say, “Surprise! We eloped. Come to our reception in four months!” People needed notice, so we used Greenvelope and created digital save-the-dates using photos from our engagement shoot.
Our wording for the elopement party invitation was simple:
- Save the Date
- [Our names]
- Join us to celebrate our marriage in Chicago
- August 30, 2026
- Formal invitation to follow
We eventually used Greenvelope to communicate official updates as well. Once guests were marked as attending, we sent them our wedding website with information about the weekend itinerary, travel, accommodations, the 5K, reception details, and registry. The website became our central information hub. Did people still ask questions that were answered on it? Of course they did. But it was still worth having.
About 4 Months Before: Build the Decor Vision
I was in charge of decor ideas while my husband was basically our program manager and operations department. I used Pinterest to build a mood board and Canva to organize my ideas visually. That helped enormously when I needed to communicate the vision to vendors and to my husband.
About 3 Months Before: Finalize Catering and Decor
We went back and forth researching catering, but eventually decided to use the venue’s catering and decor services because coordinating outside vendors would have added another layer of logistics. The venue handled things like linens, the sweetheart table, and faux flowers. I handled a lot of the personalized details myself.
Those DIYs included the entrance welcome sign, photo vinyl banners, seating chart, table numbers, menus and itinerary cards, cocktail-hour bingo cards, custom drink menu, and guestbook postcards. I was still finishing some of these things only days before the reception. Whew, that part was indeed stressful!
Looking back, this is an area where I would spend differently. I am proud of what I created, but time is money too. If you have to plan something like this while working full-time and planning multiple events, you should seriously consider hiring a full-service decorator.
About 2 Months Before: Finish the Wedding Website
Our website had everything guests needed to know: weekend events, travel, transportation, reception information, and registry. Again, people will still text you questions that are literally on the website. That is simply part of life of a bride. Make the website anyway.
About 1 Month Before: Review Day-of Operations
We met with the decorator and day-of coordinator to go over everything in detail. Unfortunately, once we arrived, it sometimes felt like those conversations had disappeared into thin air.
This was one of my biggest planning lessons: if peace of mind is important to you, invest in a planner or coordinator with excellent reviews and preferably personal recommendations. Yes, you and your partner technically can manage everything, but do you want to? That’s the difference.
A Few Days Before: Walk through the Venue
We had done basically everything virtually and did not step foot inside our venue until we arrived in Chicago a few days before the reception. During that visit we tested the elopement video, worked through DIY decor logistics, and did a food tasting. Of course if you live in the same state you can visit the venue sooner but you can make do with the technology we have these days and do things virtually.
Can You Have Bridesmaids If You Eloped?
YES. I did! My bridesmaids were called my Daizies – Daizha’s Daizies, get it?
I wanted the bridesmaid experience even though we weren’t having a traditional wedding ceremony. At first, I genuinely wondered whether that made sense because there wasn’t really a precedent for what I was envisioning. Basically, I asked my closest girls to be part of my bridal squad and support me throughout the major moments of the year – the bachelorette, bridal shower, elopement season, and reception.
I created a Google Doc explaining what I expected and what the estimated costs might be, and you know what? They got it. They were excited, they supported me, and I needed them. Looking back, I’m very glad I didn’t talk myself out of having bridesmaids just because our wedding structure looked different. You are allowed to take the traditions that bring you joy and adapt them.
What I Wore to Our Post-Elopement Reception
I did not rewear my wedding dress because I wanted the Italy dress to belong to that day. For Chicago, I bought the Calanthe Maxi Dress – Ivory Sparkle dress from Babyboo for $313, and let me tell you: I spent so much time worrying that it wasn’t “fancy enough.”It was perfect. It photographed beautifully, I felt good, and most importantly, I could DANCE. I did not need to spend thousands of dollars on another wedding dress. That is one of those things I wish I could go back and tell myself earlier.
Which Wedding Traditions We Kept – and Which We Skipped
Because we had already had our real wedding day in Italy, there was less pressure to check every traditional box. We skipped the first dance because we had already had that emotional moment in Italy and didn’t feel the need to recreate it. Instead, we entered our Chicago reception to “Came to the Party” by Future and got the actual party started. Very different energy, and exactly what we wanted.
We also skipped the cake cutting and bouquet toss. We absolutely kept the toasts, though, because the speeches ended up being one of my favorite parts. Hearing people we love say such beautiful things about us made my eyes water.
We kept the bridal party too – my Daizies were there – and we definitely kept the bride and groom entrance. Walking into a room with everyone dressed up, smiling, cheering, and holding up phones while we were introduced as The Lloyds was so much fun.
Showing Our Elopement Video at the Reception Was One of the Best Decisions We Made
Our reception began with the professional documentary film from our wedding day in Italy, and we entered through the back of the venue so we could watch everyone watching it. That was surreal because this was the first time most people had actually seen our wedding day or heard our vows.
The film showed us getting ready, exchanging vows, jumping the broom, riding through the city in an Alfa Romeo, our boat ride, our first dance, and cutting the cake – our whole day. I had already seen the video several times, and I was still standing there crying and trying not to ruin my makeup. Then I started noticing other people wiping tears away too.
People even cheered when our officiant said, “You may now kiss the bride.” It was beautiful, and when I’ve asked guests what their favorite part of the reception was, the video comes up again and again. If you’re worried that guests will feel disconnected from your elopement because they weren’t physically there, I strongly recommend considering something like this. It allowed everyone to experience a piece of our wedding without us having to reenact it.
Our Post-Elopement Reception Timeline
Our reception did not follow every traditional wedding format, and that was intentional. We had a firm entry cutoff because the program began with our wedding film, which taught me one important lesson: if you need guests seated by a specific time, tell them a time that is at least 30 minutes earlier than your actual deadline.
People will be late. It does not matter how many times you put the time on the website, invitation, WhatsApp group, smoke signal, or billboard. Someone will still be strolling in.
Once our video ended, we made our entrance. From there, the reception included photos, dinner, toasts, a large group picture, and dancing. One thing that worked especially well was going table to table and taking a photo with each table before releasing guests for food. That meant we got a photo with almost everyone, and I highly recommend it for a large guest count.
After the toasts and our big group picture, the dance floor opened. We started with some family-friendly music, and then the last hour and a half? Oh, I was cutting a RUG. My main request for this celebration was simple: I wanted to dance, and I danced.
What Went Wrong
Not everything was perfect. The morning of the reception involved more logistical stress than I wanted, including cake-decor issues, vendor-management issues, coordinator issues, and decor that still needed attention. My family and Daizies stepped in to help make sure everything crossed the finish line.
I remember thinking, “Thank God this is not the day I am also saying my vows.” If I had needed to manage all of that and emotionally prepare to get married that day? No ma’am.
That is probably my biggest practical recommendation: hire the best coordinator or planner you can reasonably afford. If possible, hire someone with strong reviews or a personal recommendation. Having to coordinate vendors yourself before and during an event pulls you out of the moment, and this is absolutely one of the areas where I would spend more money if I were doing it again.
Does Eloping and Having a Reception Later Save Money?
LOL. Not automatically.
If you elope and then throw a 180-person reception with food, decor, a DJ, photography, attire, invitations, a photobooth, entertainment, and all the things that come with a large event, you are still throwing a large event. Your ceremony may be different, but catering companies do not suddenly charge less because you exchanged vows four months ago in Italy.
I would not choose this wedding structure purely because you assume it will be dramatically cheaper. Choose it because you want the experiences to be separate, because you want intimacy for your vows and community for your celebration, and because it fits you. Any savings should be a bonus.
Should You Have a Registry If You Eloped?
We did, and people used it. We included our registry on the wedding website, particularly because people were asking about gifts. At the reception, some guests also put cards and money into our guestbook postcard mailbox, which was incredibly sweet.
I would not overthink this. If you are hosting a real celebration and people ask where you are registered, it is fine to have one.
Everything I Was Worried About Before the Reception and What Actually Happened
This is the section I wish I had found when I was planning, so here is what I would tell my pre-reception self.
I worried that the reception wouldn’t feel magical because we were already married. It did. The elopement video brought in the emotional element I was afraid would be missing, and people cried right along with us.
I worried that I wouldn’t feel like a bride anymore. I did. The energy came back almost immediately once the weekend started.
I worried that my dress wasn’t fancy enough. Girl, your dress is cute. You do not need to spend thousands of dollars.
I worried that having bridesmaids wouldn’t make sense because I wasn’t having a wedding ceremony. My Daizies understood, they were happy to support me, and I was so glad they were there.
I worried that 180 guests would overwhelm me. They didn’t. I actually felt social, energized, and comfortable because these people weren’t strangers. They were my people and my husband’s people, and now they were becoming our collective people.
I worried that everyone would be confused about why we were doing this. They weren’t sitting around questioning our life choices. They were eating, celebrating, dancing, laughing, and enjoying themselves.
And yes, I worried that nobody would dance. The dance floor was jumping. I danced the night away exactly like I wanted to.
What I Would Do Differently
The biggest thing I would change is outsourcing more. I loved creating personalized elements, but I underestimated how much mental energy it takes to work full-time, plan DIY projects, and still try to be present.
If I did it again, I would hire a stronger full-service planner or coordinator, outsource more decor production, create earlier arrival cutoffs for guests, and make sure responsibility for my photography shot list belonged to someone other than me. I would still keep the custom touches that genuinely mattered to me, but I would be more selective about what I personally needed to execute.
Was Eloping and Celebrating Later Worth It?
One hundred percent. I am so glad we did not skip the celebration.
Being surrounded by genuine happiness from our community did something for me emotionally that I did not fully expect. I live away from so many of the people I love now, and seeing friends I’ve known for years, family members, people who had traveled, and people who had supported me through the bridal shower, bachelorette, elopement, reception, and everything in between reminded me that distance doesn’t erase community.
People care, and people showed up. Some family members took flights for the first time. People came back to Illinois. Our families came together, our friends came together, and it felt like a homecoming.
I love quality time, and I am so grateful we created a moment that was special not just for our family and friends, but for us too. The planning? I can’t say I enjoyed that part. But once the weekend started, I felt pure joy.
The elopement never felt like it was missing anything, and the reception never felt unnecessary. It really was the best of both worlds.
Final Thoughts
If you are considering eloping but are afraid you’ll miss the experience of celebrating with everyone you love, I hope our story gives you another option. Your elopement does not have to look like anyone else’s, and your reception does not have to look like anyone else’s wedding.
You can make the ceremony intimate and the celebration huge. You can have bridesmaids, skip the first dance, wear a $280 dress, show your wedding film, and dance until your feet hurt. You can create exactly the combination that makes sense for you.
For us, eloping in Italy and celebrating later in Chicago was the right choice. The elopement gave us our intimate beginning where it was just us two during a sacred moment, and the celebration reminded us how many people were cheering us on as we started forever. I’m so glad we did both.
As always,
Take it step by step and DaibyDai
