What to Include on Your Wedding Program

Your wedding program not only lets your wedding guests know what is happening over the course of your wedding day, but it is also a great keepsake for your guests and a way for you to convey important information to them. The following items are not at all necessities, but they each make a valuable contribution to your wedding program. It is up to you and your spouse-to-be to discuss and decide what elements you want to include on your wedding program.

Your Wedding Program: Special Paper, Ink, and Layout

You will probably want your program to be printed on a heavier weight paper that has a luxurious feel to it, and you can also use colored, embossed, or shiny ink to make it more special. If you are good at layout on the computer, you can put the wedding program together yourself, or you can find a friend or a professional service to do that part once you have decided on the elements below that should be included on it.

Your Wedding Program: Date and Location of the Ceremony

These elements will help the wedding program to be a keepsake, by reminding your guests when and where it took place. It will help tie the piece of paper to a specific time and memories that took place there. Most couples choose to put this information on the front page of their wedding program.

Your Wedding Program: Photo of the Couple

This can be a nice touch, and you don't even have to splurge on special colored ink. A nice black and white (or another color and white, if you are printing your text in color) photo of the happy couple is another feature that will remind people years later of what the day was about.

Your Wedding Program: Names of Important People

Somewhere on the wedding program, you should list the names of all the important people involved in the ceremony. Obviously, the bride and the groom should be listed on the wedding program, as should the names of their parents. You should also list all of the wedding party: your bridesmaids, groomsmen, ushers, flower girl, and ring bearer (make sure to include special indications by the maid of honor and best man). If you wish, you can list where they are from and what their relationships are to the bride and groom. Also include the name of the person officiating the ceremony, and any special thanks to people who provided a lot of support in making the wedding happen.

Your Wedding Program: Schedule of the Ceremony

To help your guests know what to expect, you can include a schedule of the different pieces that will occur during your ceremony, such as the vows, message, rings, and presentation of the couple. You can also include things such as the words to any songs being sung, and any content such as prayers that the guests should be invited to read together. This part of the program can be as detailed or as basic as you desire.

Your Wedding Program: New Mailing Address

When you are moving to a new home after getting married, your wedding program is a great way to provide your guests with your new mailing address. Of course, you can also get it to them as the return address on the thank you cards, but they are much more likely to save the wedding program than the envelope your thank you card comes in!