As you begin to finalize details for your wedding ceremony, you will want to make sure to put “making a wedding ceremony program” on your To-Do list. A wedding ceremony program serves many different, important purposes in contemporary ceremonies: it is a guide to the order of the ceremony; it is a place to list the members of the bridal party; it is a way to explain any special rituals or customs in the ceremony to your guests; it is a vehicle for the bride and groom to express their thank-yous and acknowledgements; and it is a beautiful keepsake for couples to put in a scrapbook or their wedding album as one way to always remember their ceremony.

That being said, there are many different ways to create a wedding program, depending on the circumstances of your wedding ceremony and the time, energy and resources that you want to put into creating a program.

What to Include

A basic wedding program includes the following:

•Cover/introduction: The cover or inside introduction includes the names of the couple, the wedding date and location. This is also the place where you might include some art or design element (see “Lay-out and Art” section for ideas).

•The order of the ceremony: This section helps your guests to follow your ceremony. It is especially helpful if your guests are from a different religious or cultural background. List the elements of the ceremony, including readings, candle lightings, musical interludes, prayers, exchange of vows, ring ceremony and other rituals. You may want to include a line or two explaining the custom or ritual.

•The members of the bridal party: This is a list of the names of your bridal party and the roles that they are playing.  Include parents of the bride and groom, as well as grandparents, your officiant, musicians/soloist in your listing.

Additional items to include in your wedding program include:

•Memorials: If the bride or groom has lost a parent or other loved one, the wedding program is one place to include a memorial mention of them, so that everyone present can keep the loved one in mind.

•Thank-you: The bride and groom will often thank their parents, wedding party and those friends/family members who have helped them in some particular way. It is a wonderful way to acknowledge that help to all of your guests.

•Bios: Some couples like to include a line about each member of their bridal party and how they have known them. Especially for a larger wedding, this helps guests to know about the important people to the bride and groom.

•Readings or quotations: You can include a reading that will be included in your ceremony or something that expresses your feelings about love and marriage.

•Song lyrics: If there is a moment in your ceremony when you would like your guests to sing along, include the words to the song/prayer in your program.

•Fun stuff: You may want to include a short description of how the two of you met, a humorous anecdote about your first date or another amusing moment in your dating history that friends and family will enjoy reading!

Lay-out and Design

There are many ways to make your wedding program look beautiful and unique. Depending on your resources, you may simply type up your program text on a computer and print it out on some pretty high quality paper or you may choose to hire a printer to create a professionally bound booklet.

If you are opting for the first route, your wedding program does not need to look “less than.” Find some unique paper at a stationary store or even match your program paper to that of your wedding invitation. Textured paper creates a memorable look; think paper embedded with flowers for spring and summer weddings, paper embedded with leaves for an autumn wedding and paper embedded with a snowflake or ornamental design for winter weddings. Choose a paper color that will match your ceremony décor and style.

If you are able to go with a professional printer, look at samples of wedding programs that they have created to get a sense of what style looks right for your wedding. Choose a font and style that match the aesthetic of your wedding décor.

The cover of your program is a place to be creative. You may want to include an art/design element from your wedding invitation. Or your cover could feature a great photo of bride and groom—easy to do if you are making your cover on your own with a digital image and photo paper. You could also scan in a collage of meaningful items that tell a story of your relationship—theater tickets, matchbook covers from favorite restaurants, postcards sent to each other, etc. This kind of collage design makes not only a interesting design, but also brings your wedding guests closer into the story of your romance. Other cover design ideas include hiring a caricature artist to do a fun sketch of bride and groom; a sketch or photo of the ceremony location; a sketch or photo of the honeymoon destination; or a sketch or photo of the home where the couple will reside together.

Timing

With so many wedding details to think about, make sure not to leave your wedding program to the last minute. Sit down and draft out the text of your program a month or two in advance. That will give you time to think about what you want to include and to revise as needed. Make sure to have a friend with a good editorial eye read your text before you have copies printed.

Ask a friend to hand out programs as guests are coming in and being seated. Another option is to have programs pre-set in a pretty basket near the entrance of the ceremony site. Make sure to put a few programs aside for your scrapbook!

Sample Text

Just as with any decision about your wedding, your program should reflect your individual style. Below is a general wedding program sample text that can help you begin to draft your text. Adapt it, play with it and make your wedding program a clear and helpful guide for your guests:

Cover

The marriage ceremony of
Elizabeth Susan Smith
With Alex Nates-Perez
Sunday, April 16th, 2004
At the Oakwood Unitarian Church
Oakwood, IL

The Wedding Party

Officiant…Rev. Cheryl Wayne

Parents of the Bride…Dr. and Mrs. James Smith

Parents of the Groom…Janet Nates and Marcos Perez

Grandmother of the Groom…Isabella Sanchez Perez

Maid of Honor…Lynn Smith, Sister of the Bride

Bridesmaids…Carol Talor, Cousin of the Bride and Wendy Goldman, Friend of the Bride

Best Man…Jason Lopez, Cousin of the Groom

Groomsmen…Mark Perez, Brother of the Groom and Ian Wendell, Friend of the Groom

Soloist
Linda Ellers

Pianist
Justin Rodgers

Order of the Ceremony

Processional
Come Away With Me, Norah Jones
Opening Words
Exchange of Vows
Exchange of Rings
Reading
On Love, Kahil Gibran
Lighting the Unite Candle
Parents’ Blessings
Pronouncement
Recessional
All My Life, The Beatles

Thank-You's

So many people have helped us to reach this moment!

We wish to thank our parents for their ongoing love and support. Mama Isabella has been an inspiration and help along the way. Rev. Wayne has helped us to clarify our goals as a couple and to help make our ceremony unique and beautiful. Thank you to our wedding party for standing up for us in so many ways! And thanks to each one of you for honoring us today by being with us.