Thoughts on programs for the ceremony?

[Amanda.Rx]

Hi ladies!

I''ve been contemplating programs for the ceremony lately. I''m not completely convinced that the information on them justifies the cost, time, and effort put into making them.

Any thoughts on this? Anyone NOT doing a program? Anyone insist on having a program? Thanks!

 

[Laila619]

I definitely wanted programs. Our pastor said they are nice to have because you can look at them in ten years and still remember exactly what readings you had at your ceremony. We had a nice perk though in that our church does the program for free! We were given a choice of covers and then they type everything up and print them.

 

[mrscushion]

Well, my ceremony will be bilingual, so I''m insisting on having programs so both sides (languages) can follow along.

I don''t think you need them. They can be a lot of effort, for sure.

That said, at the weddings I''ve been to, it has helped me as a guest to get a sense for what was happening and who''s who.

 

[AmberGretchen]

I think that if you have put a lot of thought into customizing your ceremony and/or have traditions that might not be familiar to a lot of guests, then programs are a really nice thing to have.

But if neither of those is the case, they are certainly not necessary.

I also don''t think they have to be expensive - I handmade ours, and so it was only the cost of the materials and my (and my mom''s) time. If you really want them but want to minimize cost, I think you could do them very inexpensively by doing them yourself and keeping them very simple.

 

[alli_esq]

Hi, Amanda!

Take it from a recent bride who just "HAD TO" do a lot of things she didn''t do--if you don''t know if you need it, chances are, you probably don''t. I didn''t do programs because my ceremony was short, personal and not religious--and I don''t regret not doing it.

There is no doubt that they can be a nice touch, but as a guest, I would not even notice if they were absent. I am a big proponent of not doing all those little extras (if you are on a budget, which nearly all of us are) unless there is something really different about the ceremony that might be confusing to your guests (I honestly can''t even imagine what that would be), or something really special about the programs...

There were friends of my mother who thought it was appalling that I didn''t have programs, but I told my mom that if they thought it was so important, they could cough up the $250 it would have cost to print them (does that make me a brat?)

 

[zoebartlett]

We did our own programs, and although I''m glad we did, we had way too many left over. We planned on one program per person, which wasn''t really necessary, and I think that''s why we had so many extras. And really, you''re not going to keep them afterwards, so in that sense, it could be a waste if you don''t plan correctly. If you do choose to have them, think about how many you''ll realistically need. Doing them yourself can save $, which is nice, and it can be a fun project to work on (it was for me anyway).

Programs definitely aren''t necessary though, and you would save $ by not having them, but it does give something for guests to read while they''re waiting for the ceremony to begin. I know I''ve liked looking at them before and during the weddings I''ve been to. It''s nice knowing who is in the wedding party, and I''ve always enjoyed reading about the connections that the bride and groom have with those in the wedding party.

There are so many different ways of doing them also, and they can be done at a minimal cost. You could go with black text on white paper and have one sheet of paper instead of two+. That''s one way to save $. I printed out one and brought them to Kinko''s (now Fed Ex Office I think) to have printed, folded, and boxed. That saved me a lot of time and to me, it was worth the money to have someone else take care of that.

Sorry for such a long answer Amanda, but I hoped it helped a little!

 

[Elmorton]

I LOVE programs. As a guest, I have a hard time sitting still when the wedding is starting or when the parents are walking or if there''s a solist, or if the couple is lighting candles...so I''ll re-read the program to remind me what the bride''s parents'' names are again, what relation the MOH is to the bride, what this song is that I kinda recognize, etc, and I will re-read a program about 30 times during the course of a wedding. My favorite wedding as a guest was the one where the program was 8 pages long. Since I was attending that wedding solo, it gave me something to do when I was sitting in the pew alone for 20 mins before the wedding started. When I got married, we also went with the ultra long program.

If you''re having a very short, active ceremony with a very small "cast" that everyone in the congregation knows already, sure, you can probably live without it, but remember that guests do show up about 30 mins early for weddings and often just sit there waiting for the ceremony to start. And, programs are a nice way for your Aunt Lydia to remember that your new FIL''s name is Bob not Bill.

 

[Kelli]

I''m definitely not doing programs. But I''m having a very short ceremony and they''re just not important to me.

 

[FrekeChild]

No programs here. For a 30 minute ceremony and 22-23 guests who are all close friends or family it''s just a waste if you ask me. Then again I''d have to be the one to put them together, so take that for what it''s worth!

 

[honey22]

We had a tiny wedding (16 people total) but we felt that it was important to have programs for a few reasons, including the fact that people can read along with our vows, readings etc, and also to have a keepsake of the day. They were a winner.

I didn''t spend a ton on mine and they still looked great. We used plain white paper inside and printed them ourselves. We used nice cardstock as the cover and sneaked into Paddy''s work and used the colour laser printer. All up we probably only spent around $20 for 20 programs.

I also wouldn''t make one per person either. You can get away with one per couple and then a few extra so the Mum''s, Nana''s can get an extra one if they wish to keep.

 

[LilyKat]

I only think you "need" them if it''s a very long and complicated ceremony in a culture unfamiliar to most guests (especially if it involves guest participation). Otherwise, people just have to sit back and watch the show

I think they''re a nice touch, but by no means necessary.

 

[caribqueen]

I think for a small and short wedding, then you can probably get away with not having programs. Mine I think will need it because it''s a religious ceremony and many people may not be familiar with the denomination. Our church will do them for us and we won''t put much thought into it other than possibly some colored ribbons to match our theme. I do think that most of the guests might not really care and that it''s mostly myself and family who may treasure it.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

We made our own and and I think they cost about $0.20 each. We designed them in photoshop and printed them on heavy linen card stock. They were gorgeous and really simple and inexpensive.

 

[lala2332]

i''m doing my own.
we are having a really small and short ceremony, but I think its nice for the guests to know what is going on.
AND it will have directions to the dinner afterwards on the back, because you know people will forget theirs!


I went to Pearl''s yesterday and they have a huge selection of nice papers. I''m leaning toward a long thin single sheet on cardstock, with two holes punched in the top for a ribbon.

I''m going to type it all up on my computer in brown script and then have Kinko''s copy it on the nice paper. Since the paper doesn''t come in the shape I''m looking for, I''ll just use a paper cutter and create the shape, I want slightly wider than half of a normal sheet of paper.

something kind of like this:

http://www.antoniaroseprinting.com/program_scroll.htm

 

[jstarfireb]

I really like programs, and I think guests appreciate having an outline of the ceremony, titles of songs and readings, names of the bridal party and family, etc. It doesn''t have to be fancy or expensive. I designed my own programs and printed them at home on single sheets of card stock paper folded in half (double-sided). It doesn''t have to be costly or time-consuming, but I know as a guest I appreciate having them, and as a bride I enjoyed making them.

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

Date: 12/29/2009 12:17:18 PM
Author: Elmorton
I LOVE programs. As a guest, I have a hard time sitting still when the wedding is starting or when the parents are walking or if there''s a solist, or if the couple is lighting candles...so I''ll re-read the program to remind me what the bride''s parents'' names are again, what relation the MOH is to the bride, what this song is that I kinda recognize, etc, and I will re-read a program about 30 times during the course of a wedding. My favorite wedding as a guest was the one where the program was 8 pages long. Since I was attending that wedding solo, it gave me something to do when I was sitting in the pew alone for 20 mins before the wedding started. When I got married, we also went with the ultra long program.


If you''re having a very short, active ceremony with a very small ''cast'' that everyone in the congregation knows already, sure, you can probably live without it, but remember that guests do show up about 30 mins early for weddings and often just sit there waiting for the ceremony to start. And, programs are a nice way for your Aunt Lydia to remember that your new FIL''s name is Bob not Bill.

This exactly.