What is a wedding program?
A wedding program is a written record for your guests to follow the order of the wedding ceremony. It is a great way to make your guests feel included and will help them to participate should the need arise, for example, if you are singing hymns and require your guests to join in, then you would need to include the wording for each hymn in the wedding program and possibly an instruction for your guests to all sing along.
Do you need a wedding program?
Wedding programs are not a compulsory item on a wedding checklist but it is a lovely personal touch, a thoughtful gesture and a great souvenir.
It is however not always necessary as it depends on the nature of the wedding, if you are having a casual country garden wedding with a short civil ceremony, then don’t break the bank ensuring that each guest gets a program.
However for the more traditional and sometimes ‘long winded’ of ceremonies, it might be worthwhile to have programs printed so that you can keep your guests engaged and included in the ceremony.
What is in a wedding program?
Items to include in your wedding program are-
- Your names, wedding date, location, and time, that way the wedding program will make a lovely keepsake.
- The order of events - list what will happen during the ceremony in the order they will occur, including processional music, readings, prayers, hymns, exchange of vows, additional ceremonies like the unity candle ceremony , recessional music.
- Members of the bridal party which should include- -The minister -Parents of the bride -Parents of the groom -Maid of Honour -Best Man -Bridesmaids
Wedding program examples and wording
Here is a beautiful example of an informal wedding program-
Photo courtesy of junkaholique.com
You can convert your program into a functional keepsake like this fan program below, if your ceremony is being held during the height of summer, this is a great idea for keeping your guests cool and comfortable.
Photo courtesy of stylemepretty.com
Integrate your wedding theme and overall design into your wedding program. We absolutely love this circus inspired design.
Photo courtesy of bridalguide.com
A modern play on fonts makes this program both informative as well as esthetically pleasing
Photo courtesy of etsystatic.com
No need for separate programs and confetti bags, when you combine the wedding program on brown bags with confetti for the wedding toss. Such a simple idea.
Photo courtesy of underconsideration.com
A great spin on depicting the members of the bridal party, very creative!
Photo courtesy of secretstoves.net