Wedding Programs 101 – A Basic Guide
You want to make your wedding guests
feel special at your ceremony! Nothing helps get your guests into the wedding
like a program. Wedding programs serve as great mementos, but they also allow
people to follow along with the wedding ceremony and understand your meaningful
readings you are including in your wedding ceremony. A wedding program also can
include your wedding party's biographies to familiarize your wedding guests
with the most important people in your lives.
Think creatively when crafting your
Wedding program. Here are some tips. :)
What
is in a Wedding Program?
The traditional wedding program
starts with the full names of the bride and groom, your wedding date,
and the city and state where you are getting married. After that are the
elements of the ceremony, which includes the names of your wedding songs with
lyrics, and your song performers. You'll also include the titles and authors of
your readings (Poems, Bible verses, etc.) and the name of the person reading each
of the works. Names of the wedding party come next, along with a short
description of each persons relationship to you. You'll also want to include
the name of the pastor or wedding officiant. You can also include a thank you
note to both sets of parents as well. Giving thanks in your wedding program is
a very courteous thing! Try to inform your guests by listing your customs and
traditions behind certain parts of your ceremony. This way, guests reading your
wedding program will know the meaning behind your special readings. Finally,
you can place a message to honor your loved ones who have passed away. You can
do this on the back of your wedding program if you wish by placing a photo or
just a short message. You can also use the back of the wedding program to put a
favorite poem that you both have.
Making
Your Wedding Program
You can have your wedding program
made in one of four ways.
#1: Create them using a computer program like Microsoft Publisher
#2: Make them yourself using your arts and crafts abilities
#3: Hire a professional designer to make your wedding program
#4: Seek an online company on the Internet to design and print your Wedding
Program
Using computer software to make your
Wedding Program is a cheap option but it requires some basic knowledge. You can
buy printshop programs (or download wedding program templates from the
Internet) that have a preset wedding program template built in. This way all
you have to do is type up your wedding program and print them out.
Alternatively, you can give the saved file to a printing shop and have them
print it out on special paper for you.
Utilizing your arts and crafts skill
to make your wedding program takes time and effort. However, with the right
amount of effort you can craft some truly amazing wedding programs from
scratch. For example, imagine a handwritten, calligraphy styled, wax-sealed
wedding program. Granted if you have a huge wedding with over 500 people in
attendance, this may not be the best option time-wise for you. However, if your
wedding size is manageable, it can be a very nice do-it-yourself project.
Hiring a professional wedding
program designer can be expensive. However, in the hands of a designer who has
extensive Abobe photoshop experience with some photography skill, a custom
designed wedding program can be breathtaking. Imagine you and your other half
on the front cover of your wedding program with a brilliantly photoshopped
garden in the background. A professional wedding program designer can also
offer tips on the sequence of your ceremony too. Keep in mind when choosing a
designer that you want proof of his or her past experience crafting wedding
programs. The proof is in the pudding they say...
Searching for a wedding program
online is easy. You can get 100 sheets of nicely printed images for your
wedding programs for as little as 10 bucks. Still some of the better ones will
cost a bit more but there are many companies that specialize in printing your
wedding programs for you. They will ship it to your front door which will save
you a trip to the print shop! Sometimes you can ask a shop for a sample wedding
program. Take advantage of this fact and see what type of work the company does
before placing your order.
Presentation of your completed
Wedding Programs
So you've got the best wedding
program you can dream of, now how are you going to give them to your guests?
Well you can have the ushers hand them out to guests as they walk into the
church. Or you can have woven baskets with them laying neatly inside. You can
present your wedding programs on a candlelit table (be sure to watch for fires
though! ) or you can opt for the most traditional approach of laying your
wedding programs in the seats of your wedding guests. The sky's the limit as
far as your creativity goes.
A
Wedding Program with your personal Touch.
Finally, you should personalize your
wedding program! Nothing is cooler than adding your own spin on your wedding
programs. For example, my bride-to-be and myself are both musicians. We could
design our wedding programs with a music motif. Think music staff behind the
headings and notes for bullet points. My fiancée is also into broadway
musicals. You could try to come up with your own playbill-like wedding program
modeled after your favorite broadway musical. I don't think you can make a golf
motif for a wedding program and if I could, I don't think I should...I mean how
would it fit into the ceremony? ;) So lace your creativity with some common
sense. Make your wedding programs creative yet elegant and you'll have no
problems.
My best heartfelt wishes to you and
your other half in planning your ceremony.
Article by: Richie Truxillo - Your
wedding information resource :http://www.richiesbridal.com
