Imagine that you’ve just had a beautiful elopement ceremony in the mountains, explored a trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway with your partner as the sun set, and now you’re gathered around a table with your closest loved ones to enjoy a delicious meal together. Sounds pretty perfect, right? Many couples are planning intimate elopement dinners to spend time with their closest loved ones on their wedding day. Once you’ve decided to have a small wedding, you can say goodbye to spending thousands of dollars on a mediocre meal for hundreds of guests. And instead, you can invest your money in a more intimate, relaxed, and maybe even luxury celebration with the people that you love most.

Asheville is one of the best places for an elopement day like this, with a variety of different options for elopement dinners. From a picnics on the Blue Ridge Parkway, to fine dining experiences downtown, there’s an option for every type of couple.

In this blog post, I’ve listed the top 5 types of elopement dinners and answered the most-asked questions about planning an elopement celebration!

5 Elopement Dinner Ideas in Asheville, NC

1. Catered or Private Chef Elopement Dinner at Your Airbnb

If you’re thinking about staying with your family during your elopement weekend, you can consider hiring a private chef to cater an elopement dinner at your rental home! I grew up in a home where my family gathered around the dinner table every night to enjoy a home-cooked meal together, so it makes total sense that this is one of my absolute favorite ways that couple’s choose to celebrate after their ceremony. Elopement dinners at Airbnbs are private, casual, and convenient. In the Asheville area, you can find many Airbnbs and family homes to accommodate 10-20 guests. Make sure you look for a home that has a large kitchen and dining space for all of your loved ones to gather comfortably.

*Always check with your host to get approval before hosting an event. Many Airbnb host’s don’t allow events, while other rental companies like Carolina Cabin Rentals usually have systems in place that make it easier to get approval for your event!

2. Private Dining Elopement Dinner in Downtown Asheville

If you’re dreaming of a 5-star luxury experience, beautifully decorated space, and incredible meal for your elopement dinner, private dining in Asheville is the way to go! Many of the fine-dining restaurants in Asheville have a private event space, completely separate for the main dining area. These spaces can usually accommodate up to 30-40 guests, depending on which one you choose! Some of my favorite restaurants in Asheville for elopement dinners are Posana, Curate, and Rhubarb.

Many Inns and hotels also have private dining spaces, so this is another great option if you’re considering staying with your family and friends! In this case, everyone could have their own rooms at the Inn, travel together to your ceremony, and then travel back to the Inn for a dinner in their event space.

3. Small Venue Reception

If you’re planning on inviting 30-70 guests to your elopement dinner, a small venue is a great option. Venues like Reverie offer reception-only packages so that you can get married in the mountains, and have your reception at the venue later that evening! You could also consider a venue like Laurel Falls in Asheville, where you could get married with a beautiful mountain view and have your reception at the same place.

4. Elopement Picnic

Pop-up picnics are trending now more than ever! Pop-up picnic companies like Parkway Picnics will come to your chosen location and set up a luxury picnic. Including beautiful spreads of local foods and desserts, seating for 2-10 guests, and decorations for a casual and fun experience with your loved ones.

5. Post-Elopement Party or Celebration

A post-elopement party or celebration is a gathering that usually happens a few weeks or months following your elopement day. If you’d prefer to keep your day super small and celebrate with additional family and friends later on, this gives you the space and freedom to plan your day around whatever you want to do – think epic adventures, hikes, camping, or maybe even a destination elopement! Then, you can host, or ask a family member to host, a post-elopement party a few months later.

You may be thinking… but isn’t a post-elopement party just like planning a big wedding? And the answer is… it’s doesn’t have to be! One of the big reasons you probably decided to elope was to avoid the stress and time-consuming tasks of planning a big party, so try to keep this simple. A post-elopement party can be a simple gathering like a house party, or you could even rent out a private event space at a coffee shop or restaurant for a night. You can also use this as a time to show off your gorgeous photos and elopement video to all of your friends and family, so that they can see what an incredible experience you had!

Elopement Dinner FAQs – Everything you need to know

1. How Many Guests Can You Invite to Your Elopement Dinner?

Most Asheville restaurants with private event spaces can accommodate 10-40 guests, and I’ve found that 50+ guests will work best in a small venue. Before you start looking into locations for your dinner, you will need to figure out an estimated guest count. Under each option, you’ll see an estimated range of guests so that you can easily find what’s best for your day! If you’re struggling with deciding who to invite to your elopement day, check out this blog post about eloping with family & friends.

2. How Far Will We Have to Drive?

Once you’ve chosen your ceremony location, and any other top priority locations for your day, you’ll want to decide how far you’re willing to drive for your elopement dinner. Within Western North Carolina, you can get to the bigger cities within an hour drive from most trails. This is one of the top reasons why many couples will choose full-day photography coverage for their elopement day. With full-day coverage, you don’t have to stress about time and can easily fit a dinner into your day.

3. How Much Does An Elopement Dinner Cost?

Your total investment will depend largely on the number of guests that you have, but you can expect to pay anywhere from $500-$3,000 for your elopement dinner. Elopement picnics will be your cheapest option, starting in the $500 range. For catering, private chef-services and private dining spaces, you can expect to spend around $1,500+. Smaller venues are going to cost the most, at upwards of $2,500.

4. What Should I Wear to My Elopement Dinner?

Many couples will wear their wedding attire! If you’re wearing a dress, make sure it has a bustle so that you can comfortably sit and walk around during dinner. If you’d like, you can also have a reception dress, jumpsuit, or outfit to change into after your ceremony. This adds variety to your photos and the style of your day! One of my brides, Madison did this for her elopement dinner:

5. How Can We Involve Guests in Our Elopement?

In addition to sharing a meal together, there are many other ways to include guests in your elopement day. You could invite close family to your ceremony, plan a group activity, or have a loved one officiate. For more ways to include guests in your full elopement day, check out this blog post!

6. What Should We Do During Our Post-Elopement Party?

Some of my favorite ideas are… sharing your elopement photos and video, speeches from loved ones, dances, cutting a cake, lawn games, and having a campfire! Or, it can be as simple as enjoying time around the table together sharing stories and memories.

Planning a dinner or reception can feel overwhelming, and it will likely big one of the biggest tasks that you complete for your elopement day, but it’s so worth it when your day arrives and you get to relax and enjoy a meal with your loved ones. And you don’t have to plan it all alone! I’m Erin, an elopement photographer & planning expert based in Asheville, North Carolina. I help couples plan a wedding day with both the adventure of an elopement, and the company of their closest loved ones. As a local expert, I’ll provide you with all of the best options for your elopement locations. You can click here to learn more about working with me, I can’t wait to hear from you and start planning your dream elopement day!