A wedding program is a great way to help family and friends follow along with the ceremony and give them a better understanding of your particular wedding traditions and also give them a keepsake from your wedding. One way of having a more personalized wedding is to create your own DIY wedding programs, as it will really individualize your ceremony.
There are several different ways to create do it yourself wedding programs but be sure to include the basics, which naturally include the full names of both the bride and the groom, the date of your wedding day as well as the city, state and location of the wedding. The program should also include the order of events and what music you have selected; if the lyrics have a special meaning for the couple, then the reason should be included as well. Some people also choose to include the composer’s information as well as who is performing the songs or instrumentals. If you are going to include any kind of readings you will want to explain what the readings will be about and who will be orating.
Many times a DIY wedding will include not just the names of the people included in the ceremony, but also a short bio about the individuals and their relationship to the couple getting married. A nice touch to include if it is appropriate is a short thank you not to both sets of parents and possibly another one to the guests. Also, if it is to be any kind of a secular or religious ceremony then you may want to explain any special ethic customs or rituals that may be performed.
Another way of personalizing your programs is to also include one for the wedding reception; you can choose to combine the two or you can make a separate one that will be given at the start of the reception. The reason for this is to give your guests an idea of the order and time of certain important events, such as the cutting of the wedding cake, the toasts or the first dance of the married couple.
You can make your DIY wedding programs in many different shapes and sizes and you can also present them in different ways. If your wedding is going to be outside, then try placing a program on each chair and then holding it down with something unusual like a piece of sea glass. Or, you can have the ushers hand them out as guests arrive. You can also choose to place them in brightly colored baskets, unusual glass containers or anything that goes along with the wedding decorations and have them available when people arrive.
