Wedding & Birth Announcement?

Question

My fiance and I will be eloping about (a little less than) a month before our baby is due.
As almost no one is aware that we will be eloping, it seems suiting that we send out an announcement immediately following.
We were also planning to send out a birth announcement celebrating the arrival of our little girl once she is born.
We plan to have a casual party/reception later on in the summer for friends and family to celebrate both our marriage and baby with us, which would require mailing invitations (extremely casual invitations would be fine in this instance.)

HOWEVER, after thinking it over, it seems kind of ridiculous to send out a marriage announcement then a birth announcement then an invitation all within the span of a month or two.

I don't want to skip the marriage announcement, because, aside from offending/upsetting any relatives, my new last name will be displayed on the baby's birth announcement, so it will be clear to everyone that we are now married. If this was the first instance of their finding out, I feel like it would detract from the 'specialness' of the birth announcement, which is something I don't want to take away from our baby.
On the other hand, I don't want to include any details about the party/reception with the marriage announcement, because 1) we don't know exactly when the baby will arrival, and, 2) we don't know if there will be any unforeseen complications.

After discussing it with some friends, we've been unable to come up with any alternative to sending out three separate mailings in a very brief time. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

First of all, Congratulations! About the cards, I would wait to send out your marriage announcements until your daughter is born. That way you can send formal marriage announcements with the formal birth announcements together (as in two different cards in the same envelop). That way, your close friends and family will have by then heard that you were married, and I assume, will have long since known you were expecting a baby, when they receive the actual cards. I think thats perfect timing for getting the cards together in the mail, especially since its mainly for the sake of pouring over the pictures and tucking them into their scrapbooks. Speaking of pictures, that will give you time to choose nice wedding photos for the announcement since you are eloping. And since the reception is so casual, why don't you just tell people yourself? When they call to congratulate you on the baby/wedding announcements, just throw in something about wanting a reception to celebrate in the next months. Then if you feel like you need to, you can follow up by sending out invitations to the reception, because by then at least a few weeks will have elapsed.

Answer 2

You're right, three announcements/invitations, back to back, in a matter of a couple of months, will likely be raise some eyebrows and might even interpreted as a very crudely disguised request for gifts for both a wedding and a new baby.



While it is considered customary to send out announcements after an elopement, there is nothing inappropriate in not doing so. A few phone calls to those who are particularly close to you, as well as those among your friends and family who you know are particularly good at spreading the word (and you know who THEY are!), should get the word out sufficiently, that your later announcement of the birth of your child will not create any surprise at your name change.



Then a simple announcement of your child's birth, followed by a party to celebrate your new family, seems perfectly appropriate.

Answer 3

That really is a pickle. I need to think about this and edit my answer! Congratulations on the marriage and the new baby!



Here is a good one that takes care of announcing the marriage (eloping) and the reception in one.



We've Eloped!

Join us at a

Brunch Reception

on Sunday, July 27 at 1:00 p.m.

Southside Hotel

145 South Avenue

Los Angeles, California



Here is another one:



We've Eloped!



Please be our guests at a

casual reception in our honor

on Friday, June 20th, 2014

at 5 o'clock in the afternoon

Our Home

1519 Pebble Creek

Pebble Creek, Michigan



Jenny Hardin

and

Carl Dender,

the newly married couple!



And I think the baby's birth announcement should stand alone.

Answer 4

You can send the wedding announcement and invitation to the reception under the same cover, and mail the birth announcement separately.