Destination Wedding only with our kids- Wedding Announcements?

I would probably just post the picture on Facebook. It seems odd to send an announcement to someone but not invite them to anything? I can't see anyone sending a gift if they aren't invited to the wedding.

Wedding announcements are sent after there has been a wedding. If I received a postcard telling me that someone was getting married, but I wasn't invited, and it had a link to their registry, I would assume that they just wanted gifts and would find it pretty rude.

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Right.. thats what I was thinking.

Would an engagement announcement be more appropriate?

Announcements are sent after the event. By eloping, you forfeit a registry.

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I've never heard of anyone eloping and sending any kind of announcement. I've seen people post "we eloped!" on Facebook with a picture. I guess a "we got married!" announcement would be better than an engagement announcement but they don't seem super necessary to me and a registry seems very unnecessary since no one is invited to the celebration.

Standard etiquette is to mail an announcement to everyone you want to know, immediately after the ceremony. You can leave them with someone else to mail, if you will be gone for weeks, or wait til you go home. Write out your names as they would appear when addressing mail to you, including whether you use Mr. , Ms., Mrs. , Dr., or Rev. And since some change their names and some don't, put your names after marriage, from here on. So start with Janice Monroe and James Cameron would like to announce the marriage, place and date. After marriage, if you wish to contact us, both names with titles, current address, and any email or phone you want to give out generally. Or just mailing address. Unlike an invitation, an announce is just that, not a request for a gift, so it can be sent to anyone you would send a change of address to. There are no showers or advance parties if you have a private wedding, or elope. But when you return sometimes a group of friends and family, none of whom were invited, will hold a welcome to the newly married couple, and some will bring gifts, some won't. Also, some people will sent gifts to anyone they feel close to, and any family, when they marry. Whether they are invited to the wedding or not. Because they care. We received about 40 gifts, some family too distant, and scattered friends, whom we had not invited. You can let people know you are planning to marry on vacation, it is not as though you are having a big wedding and reception and simply not inviting them. More like when you plan to do something exciting on your vacation .

You don't want to announce before the wedding, because at least some people will confuse that with an invitation. And you don't have a registry. Instead, you get the announcements all ready to mail, and then drop them in the mail immediately after the ceremony.