 Programs for the wedding ceremony were originally used to explain the rituals and order of the ceremony. Today, they can really take any form you'd like, from a brief description of the ceremony to a breakdown of every detail --- from a summary of each wedding-party member and an explanation of how the couple met, to the name of those involved "behind the scenes," such as florists.
Wedding programs should be given to each guest as they enter the ceremony. It is not necessary to give them to young children, but have extra on hand in case some children ask for them specifically. If you are using ushers, they can hand out the programs. If you have children in the family who would like to be involved, you may have them hand out programs. Or, the programs may be placed in decorative baskets in the entrance to the ceremony, or on the chairs or pews.
There are some typical guidelines to follow for the order of elements on a traditional program. Generally, the program has four parts: the introduction, the ceremony order, the wedding party and the closure or special note.
The introduction includes the names of the bride and groom, the day and date of the ceremony, time, location, city and state.
The ceremony order outlines the segments such as the prelude, seating, vows, readings, processional, etc.You may also list the titles of the musical pieces, selected lyrics and wording of prayers here.
The wedding party section lists all participants in the wedding. Use full names rather than nicknames, and use titles such as Miss, Ms. and Mr.
In the final section, used for a closure or special note, you may want to thank your guests and those who are hosting the wedding. This is also the place to honor a deceased friend or member of the family. You might end with a poem or quote, and you may also want to include directions to the reception, if it's being held elsewhere.
Check out these Sample Weddding Programs for ideas to design your own. You will need adobe acrobat reader to view the following files. If you do not have it installed on your computer you can download it for free at Adobe.com
Sample 1
Sample 2
Sample 3 - Booklet
Sample 3 - Tr-Fold
|
