What are wedding ceremony programs?
Ceremony programs are printed programs that include important information and elements of your ceremony. The programs are handed to your guests at the ceremony before they are seated. As a keepsake as well as a guide, wedding programs can enhance the wedding for your guests by allowing them to follow the service more closely.

What should be printed on the programs?
The standard information in a wedding program usually includes the following...

wedding date, location and time names of those in the wedding party officiant musicians or soloists and the titles of music performed readers or readings

There is no rule for how long your program should be. Your program can be a single page or a multi-paged booklet. You should include as much or as little information as you wish.

Here are some extras you may wish to include in your program.

Identify the order of the ceremony. Describe any special traditions or rituals to be performed in the ceremony and give their meaning. Identify the members of the wedding party and any other participants. You may even want to include a short paragraph about each member of your wedding party, such as how you know the person and other information. Thank you to your guests, family and friends for their love, support and for coming together to celebrate your special day. A tribute to a deceased relative or friend. Add personal touches such as a favorite poem, quotation, or prayer. You may even wish to share a special memory or two about how you and your fiancé met, how he proposed or what your future plans are. Add any rules or stipulations on the program. For instance if your ceremony site doesn't allow flash photography or you don't want pictures taken during the ceremony, be sure to include a polite warning in the program, such as

Please, no flash photography during the ceremony. Thank You!

Necessary or Not?
Wedding programs are by no means necessary, but they do add a personal touch to any wedding ceremony! And the program gives your guests something to read while they wait for the ceremony to start. Also, if done well, your ceremony program will be a great keepsake for years to come.

Even if you are on a tight budget, you can have a great program. Programs do not need to be professionally designed and printed to be elegant. Anyone can make their own wedding programs right at home. First use a personal computer or have someone with great penmanship create a sample program. Then simply make photocopies onto some pretty paper for the rest.