On The Roster...

This project is one of those unnecessary things that if you don't have the time, well then don't do it. I had the time, and our officiant got our scheduling of the ceremony done early so I made them. Programs are also one of those projects you can make as intricate or as plain as you want. There are so many things you can do to make your program unique: incorporating ribbons, twine, fancy papers, hole punches (in various shapes)... Your possibilities are endless.

Now depending on where you get married, they may require you to used one of their church programs as a layout, but talk to the person in charge (no, not God, the one below him, usually a pastor/priest/etc) about having your own programs. Not that church programs are hideous, usually they are just standard. Typically looking something like the ones pictured. A flower, some scripture or poem. And then the insides are just standard Times font with all your wedding party information and/or the itinerary of your ceremony.

When you make them yourself you have all the creative control. What you do with it is up to you. You can go relatively plain, letting the words do all the talking. Multiple page programs can become cumbersome, not only for the guests but for you as the assembler, so the more you can condense it the better. Now this isn't to say you should make it a size six font because anyone (no matter their age) will have trouble reading it.

In the one pictured to the left: The front cover had the announcement (whose wedding it is) and the location, along with some frill flourish. It opened to reveal the schedule and the remembrance note on the left side and on the right side the description of the wedding party, including roles, names and relation to the new couple. On the back was a note of thanks. All these elements are considered standard to a program.

Next well see a couple of multi-page programs that handled it well, and managed to get fancy with it. The program on the left was professionally printed. You can tell because, first of all, not many standard home-office printers offer a silver ink cartridge. It was part of their wedding stationery and matched the rest of the decor to a T. It was a thick card stock (for those artists tuning in, more like a bristol board) in their deep purple, with the announcement on the front. The announcement and flourishes were the only thing printed on the entire thicker page.

The rest of the program was printed on ivory paper with a deep purple ink. The first page was the itinerary and the remembrance note. Page two was the roles, names and relationship to the happy couple of the wedding party. Pages three through five were extensive descriptions of how the couple met each member of their wedding party and a favorite memory. Page six was a page of fun bridal party trivia, while page seven was the thank you note, and a note about their new address post-ceremony. The last page had directions to the reception and the answers to the trivia from page six. It was held together with an ivory ribbon laced through two holes punched in the spine.

The other multi-page program is thinner so it had to have more pages. The picture looks funny because the first page is printed on vellum so I had to put some paper in there to avoid the other pages showing through. The pink was one of their wedding colors.The vellum page held the announcement of the ceremony. Page two and three had the schedule of the ceremony, finishing it with a favorite scripture and a note from the pastor. Page four held the names, roles and relation of the wedding party while page five held the thank you/note from the couple. All pages, other than the vellum one were on standard white card stock and held together with a sheer pink ribbon. Notice how its not tied in a bow (if you can see that in the picture)... instead its woven through so it wouldn't become undone easily.

Now for our program... Ours was printed on "resume paper" from the local office supply shop, and leftover card stock from the invitation set. We printed two per page. Our programs were only one page long, using both the front and back. We used a wider, easy to read font that we could make small while it still being legible. Some may argue that we made it too small but any larger and it wouldn't have fit on one page--not even-- a half a page. We then took vellum and wrapped it around the programs. It was clear so it wasn't necessary to even open them to read the program, although that option was there.
$AVINGS TIP: Use hand-me-downs for your programs (and other parts of the big day). Our vellum was extra from my aunts wedding a few years before.

Now we had a VERY short ceremony (ask anyone who was there) so it wasn't hard for us to get all the agenda on one page. The front of the program was our 'K' logo, our note of thanks, and the names/roles/relationships of the wedding party. On the back was the agenda, a remembrance note, and a quick note about the reception.

We put our programs in a basket by the guest book at the church. $AVINGS TIP: If you need to buy your baskets you can get colorful ones on clearance after Easter! Or you can get them at the Salvation Army or garage sales. Ever garage sale has some sort of basket on clearance. If it's the wrong color, salvage it with spray paint. We got this blue one and a brown one (you'll see it later on) super cheap. Like a quarter a piece. 

Have someone from your group take the remaining programs to the reception. Some people like to get them as souveniors, and if they weren't at the ceremony they may have trouble tracking one down. 

Anyway, the long and short of it is wedding programs are not meant to be the showpiece of the ceremony. And no one will remember if you don't have them (unless your ceremony seems to drag on), so don't fret if you remember three days before that you don't have any programs. Its not the end of the world. Relax. 

Until next time... Happy wedding planning... Tune in for more Wedding on the Cheap!