Elopement etiquette?

Most of my eloping couples tell their parents.

I'd just call your closest friends afterwards.

We would definitely be guilted. His mom when we brought up the destination wedding basically said we'd be killing his grandmother since she would due of being heartbroken and she doesn't have long left to live. She said we were selfish, it was not about us, and made a huge deal about it. She really wanted us to have a traditional, huge wedding. She would probably crash our wedding. So we wanted to skip the drama and the guilt trips. It may be selfish, but it is the one day where we just want it to be about us and our little family with our son. We really don't want the negative vibes in our heads when we are getting married.

Calling afterwards sounds fine, announcement cards are nice too.

We eloped and we told our parents, my cousin (who is basically my sister), an aunt an uncle, our best friends, and another close family friend of mine because I wanted them to be prepared for our announcement and to in a way "get their blessing" Everyone was extremely supportive. We kept the date the secret from all of them though so they didn't spill the beans on social media or anything before everyone else got the announcements. We sent the announcements to all of those people and other family members and friends and announced it on social media after everyone received their announcements (except for one friend because she's in Africa and didn't get it until 2 months after the fact, but she knew it was coming!)

Not sure if we followed "etiquette" but it worked for us.

Have you considered maybe doing a small ceremony, still at the courthouse or another small venue, and inviting parents and grandparents only? You could also look into elopement packages at local hotels and resorts. That is also what we did and our officiant, flowers, and a cake were included with a room rate. And in theory if we did have guests there wouldn't have been an extra charge, unless they also wanted to book a room in which case we could have paid or they would have.

I do not regret eloping at all. It was definitely the best decision we could have made. I was worried what my family would think but eventually I just stopped caring. I get that it's hard when you have pressure from certain people but you gotta do what is best for you, your FH, and your son. Good luck!

My mother and step-father eloped. They told me, siblings/step-siblings as well as their parents. Sent announcements with a wedding photo afterwards. It worked for them although I'm not aware exactly what etiquette is in this instance.

I would tell your parents before. I don't think announcement cards after are necessary- in fact, I think they're quite odd. I would just call your VIPs (or tell them in person of course).