Wedding Ceremony Program Ideas and How Tos
Unique Tips and Suggestions for Making Your Own Wedding Programs
Mar 17, 2008
Great ideas for stylish wedding programs - from the paper to the size to the wording to simple embellishments to all the details for dyi wedding programs.
Church wedding programs are handed to guests when they arrive at the ceremony, outlining the schedule of events. Here are some fun and trendy ideas to consider if designing your own ceremony program.
Wedding Program Samples
Before designing a wedding program, inspiration is needed. Collect theater playbills, church bulletins, wine lists, pamphlets, brochures, restaurant menus – just to get ideas about size, fonts, and paper.
Wedding Program Paper and Embellishments
- A paper of thicker quality, such as scrapbooking paper, will make a more impressive program.
- For one-page programs use a decorative paper as the background and spray glue a plain sheet with the details over it, just leaving an inch or two of the paper showing at both the top and bottom or all around the edge.
- Glue a band of paper ribbon (try Paperlaces.com) along the bottom of a plain sheet to liven it up.
- Further embellish the program with velvet or organza ribbons around the fold, or simply adding on dried flowers or vellum stickers (try Joann.com).
- A simple but more costly solution is to use a set of blank decorative note cards and spray glue the agenda inside.
Wedding Program Layout and Size
- The program can be a rectangular shape, usually 5” x 8 ½”, a perfect square 5” x 5”, or long and narrow at 4 ¼” x 11”.
- It can be one page or a fold-out, depending on how much text there is. Or the cover page could be put on top of the details page with a decorative eyelet or brad (try Makingmemories.com) at the top to make the top page swing up.
- Cut around the perimeter using pinking scissors to give it a scalloped edge for more interest or play with the shape of the program, such as the shape of a heart for a Valentine’s wedding.
Wedding Program Images
- Many couples use one of their engagement photos on their program, but there are other graphic elements to consider. Use wedding images such as interlocking rings, confetti being thrown, or seasonal images such as leaves for a fall wedding or snowflakes for a winter one.
- For a simple decorative, use a damask pattern at the bottom, a scroll or garland down the side or an ornate monogram of the bride and groom's initials.
Wedding Program Typeface or Font Selection
- For title text, such as names and the date, use a decorative script font. Scriptina and Dear Joe are good choices. For the remaining text, use a stylish block font such as Goodfish or Echelon.
- The least expensive option is to use black ink on a light color paper, however, a fancier option would be colored ink such as brown ink on light blue paper, if it relates to the wedding colors. If the paper is really dark, white text is the best option.
Wedding Program Wording
- The program should start with some sort of greeting for guests such as Welcome to the wedding of… or Thank you for joining us at the marriage of…
- The bride and groom's names should be on the cover, or at the top if it is just one page. Just first names can be used – Steve & Jen – or the full, formal name – Steven Jeffrey Taylor and Jennifer Marie Jones.
- List the date, location, and time the ceremony starts. Think of interesting way to write the date and time, like 6.19.08 or the fourteenth day of October, two thousand and eight, or six o’clock in the evening.
- List the order of events, such as processional music (especially for bride’s progression so they know when to stand), opening prayer, readings, songs, vows, rings, signing of the registry, and so on.
- A lot of wedding programs just list the wedding party members. Make it more personal by writing it as a paragraph instead. For example: The maid of honor is the bride’s sister Megan Howard. Her bridesmaids are good friends, Karen Smith and Cindy Taylor, and her future sister-in-law, Fiona Jones.
- Other things to possibly include are parents' names, the clergy, readers, musicians, special thank-yous, dedications, remembrances, where the reception is, if guests are required to do something – such as remain outside the church for a group picture, and so forth.
Whether it is the wording, the paper, or the images you decide upon, hopefully these ideas will make your wedding program personal and unique through its original design. For unique wedding ideas, download the free e-book, Weddings with Style.
The copyright of the article Wedding Ceremony Program Ideas and How Tos in Wedding Planning is owned by Gail Oliver. Permission to republish Wedding Ceremony Program Ideas and How Tos in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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