FI and I are eloping in May 2013. We're not formal people and the idea of following a traditional wedding service just isn't us... so it'll just be the two of us, the officiant, and the photographers on top of a mountain
While we're not inviting guests to the ceremony, we would still like to have a celebration to bring together friends and extended family members (some of which we haven't met on each other's side). As I've mentioned before on here, we were initially thinking of having a low-key bbq a month or so after we were married, but the idea of a wedding shower keeps coming up as well. I'm just concerned with having a shower because I don't know how to word the invitation to let people know that although there's a wedding shower, they are not invited to an actual ceremony since we are eloping. Is that even the right thing to do? We will be sending photo announcements after we are married, but I'm just not sure how to handle the before stuff.
Questions: Is it appropriate to have a shower if the guests aren't invited to the elopement ceremony? If so, how do we word the invitation to let them know that we will not be having a public wedding?