Long after your wedding, when your wedding day is a distant memory, your wedding program will be a treasured keepsake for all your guests. Wedding programs are a gift from the bride and groom to the guests. They provide ample opportunity for the bride and groom to display their unique, individual personalities and the personality of the wedding, be it formal or informal.

You don’t have to have a wedding program, of course. But there are certain situations where having one is a good idea. If you have a large wedding with many attendants, the program is recommended because you can list all the attendants’ names, along with each attendant’s relationship to the bride or groom. Out-of-town guests who may not know the entire wedding party will appreciate the chance to “meet” the attendants via the wedding program.

Another useful purpose for a program is to thank those who have contributed toward making the wedding day special. If friends or family have provided music, photography, flower arrangements or some other service or product to help defray wedding expenses, a mention of the couple’s gratitude for this gift in the wedding program is an appropriate way to express thanks to the donor.

What Every Wedding Program Should Include

At a minimum, every program should include several essential components:

The wedding date; the time of the wedding need not be included.

The name of the bride and groom; be sure to use the bride’s maiden name.

The order of the ceremony: wedding guests will appreciate knowing what’s coming next in the wedding and how much longer they need to remain quietly seated.

Members of the bridal party: here, include the names of the officiant; the couple’s parents, step-parents, and grandparents in attendance; names of the attendants, best man, and maid or matron of honor.

Beyond those basics, the rest of the wedding program is really up to the bride and groom. Some couples include lyrics to songs sung during the ceremony. Others include a special poem or quotation that is meaningful to the couple. Practical wedding programs include the location of the reception, along with a map or driving directions from the church to the reception.

Wedding programs come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some are individual cards, with an elegant border and decorative bow in the colors of the wedding. Other programs are cardstock folded in half or in thirds. Still others are fashioned in the shape of a fan or, for a fun touch, on a popsicle stick handle.

Wedding programs are easy to make yourself. If you or your bridesmaids have experience with paper crafts like rubber stamping or scrapbooking, you can easily create your own unique wedding programs. If you have access to a laser printer, you can print them yourselves. Otherwise, you can easily order programs from your wedding invitation printer.

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