Do I need ceremony programs?

[themagicofdisney]

My fiance, bridesmaids, and I are exhausted from putting together all our homemade invitations and now as we embark on trying to put together ceremony programs, I found myself asking, "Do we really need them? Do people still use them?" and it's one MORE thing I have to ship down there.

So that's why I wanted to ask people's suggestions. Do you think I should make programs? If so what is the cheapest/less stressful way?

Thanks!

 

[dhay]

We did not use them and it was perfectly fine.

 

[Tink901]

We did them the night before our wedding - I bought them at Michael's made by Brides....they went quickly we did 55 of them. Took about 2.5 hours with 1 person printing and 2 people putting them together.

I think it's a personal choice.

 

[lurkyloo]

At first I wasn't gonna do them cuz I thought it was yet another unnecessary thing the magazines tell you are essential. But then I realized that - if your ceremony is more than, say, 10 minutes long - programs keep your guests involved and interested in what's going on. We also used ours to thank our guests and put in lyrics to a hymn since we couldn't fit it in the service.

 

[OceanGdss]

I agree with Carrie....I wasn't going to do them, but then realized it would be nice to have them for several reasons:

1) It introduced all of our wedding party with names/relationships to bride/groom printed in program. You'd think everyone would know the other person, but mine were mostly college friends, so no one knew them. And on his side he had friends & family, and his maternal & paternal families had never really mixed a lot before, so they didn't know each other. It also gave a place to 'highlite' the grandparents' & parents' names.

2) It kept people involved in the ceremony with an order of events.

3) It explained who our musician & officiant were (2 of DH's uncles)

4) It listed details regarding bible passages for future reference

5) It gave a place for us to thank all guests for coming

6) It allowed us to explain the rememberance flowers on the front chairs for our grandmothers that had passed away

7) It is a nice memento for everyone to have


We bought ours at Michaels, printed them at home. Then DH and I spent an evening watching a movie and folding/punching/tying ribbons on them. It took about 2-3 hours...but well worth it!!

 

[disprincessatheart]

We had a very small group and nothing in particular that required explanation, so we skipped them. I think if you have a reason for them, do it. If you're doing them just to do them, skip it. I had also been planning welcome bags for all the rooms which I wound up skipping. No one seemed to notice or care. We did do an extra tier to our wedding cake and sent everyone with a very large portion of cake at the end of the night - for our families extra cake was the best thing the could have possibly recieved.

 

[RangerPooh]

We skipped them. Most of our guests knew who each other was so there was no need.

 

[OceanGdss]

We had a very small group and nothing in particular that required explanation, so we skipped them. I think if you have a reason for them, do it. If you're doing them just to do them, skip it. I had also been planning welcome bags for all the rooms which I wound up skipping. No one seemed to notice or care. We did do an extra tier to our wedding cake and sent everyone with a very large portion of cake at the end of the night - for our families extra cake was the best thing the could have possibly recieved.

I spent the $ on welcome bags at the last minute because someone on our guest list commented on how they 'expected' them, so I was guilted into it. Looking back, I would have skipped them! Such a waste. No one even said 'thank you'

 

[Bride-to-be]

We are skipping them. Mainly because my Mom doesn't like them. But at the same time we really don't need them. Hopefully by the time the ceremony happens everyone will already know everyone and we are trying to keep the ceremony under 5 mins. So hopefully people won't get too bored..

 

[rumrunnergirl]

.

 

[kcampbell]

I agree with Carrie....I wasn't going to do them, but then realized it would be nice to have them for several reasons:

1) It introduced all of our wedding party with names/relationships to bride/groom printed in program. You'd think everyone would know the other person, but mine were mostly college friends, so no one knew them. And on his side he had friends & family, and his maternal & paternal families had never really mixed a lot before, so they didn't know each other. It also gave a place to 'highlite' the grandparents' & parents' names.

2) It kept people involved in the ceremony with an order of events.

3) It explained who our musician & officiant were (2 of DH's uncles)

4) It listed details regarding bible passages for future reference

5) It gave a place for us to thank all guests for coming

6) It allowed us to explain the rememberance flowers on the front chairs for our grandmothers that had passed away

7) It is a nice memento for everyone to have


We bought ours at Michaels, printed them at home. Then DH and I spent an evening watching a movie and folding/punching/tying ribbons on them. It took about 2-3 hours...but well worth it!!

Totally agree with all this. I too did NOT want to do programs (literally my mom made me)! But for reasons very similar to yours, I did them as well. Even though we had a tiny wedding party it was nice to credit Ken, our planner, Rev. Tim, and our friends. Also, it told everyone that the candle was burning in memory of my dad and what all of our ceremony music was. (ok- most- "Another One Bites the Dust" was a surprise )

Looking back, I am glad we did them. The ceremony would've been incomplete without them.... "Thanks Mom!"

 

[CharacterFan]

I'm planning on having them, and making them myself. I haven't fully figured out how. mainly because I can't find the vellum I want to use.
I want to think everyone for coming to the wedding.
and a place to explain the sand ceremony as no one has seen one before, unless our friends who find it an odd thing steal it for their ceremony (it's a sore subject...sorry)

 

[BriarRose Bride]

I agree, the programs feel like a waste of money and a hassle when you have so many other pressing things on your mind during the planning process. However, for your guests, having a program does keep them involved. As a wedding guest, I look forward to them because I like to know who is who, what to expect next and I love to have a take away to scrapbook with. If you decide to do it, know that most of the time they are cherished as a keepsake and do not go to waste.

 

[DisneyFairy19]

My ceremony was about 25 minutes, we had a reading, we had 25 in our bridal party, we did everything you see at a Catholic mass except for the receiving of the bread… SO I wanted my guests to know what was going on and who was in the wedding and how they were related to us…

We also put in the back of the ceremony program a spiritual honor to our deceased grandparents..

Its totally a personal thing to do

 

[rpmdfw]

I was at a wedding recently where they had a program and everything was listed in precise order and in great detail.

Then nothing went right and it was VERY obvious that things weren't going according to plan.

If we hadn't had the programs, we'd never have known. It was a lovely service and having the progrms with incorrect information ended up being distracting and sadly it made us giggle as things veered further from the printed schedule.

It made me really glad that we decided to skip them for our ceremony.

So I'd say if you're going to have them, make them as simple as posssible and make sure that any "order of events" in the program gets stuck to.

 

[Luvmyfam3]

I wasn't going to have programs, but after seeing everyone's comments, I'm reconsidering. It's just family, but it may be a nice touch. I appreciate reading everyone's thoughts on this!

 

[Cinderella&Dopey]

I made my own programs!

I don't have a pic of the inside but I had Disney love quotes!

 

[wendy46001]

We skipped them, mainly because i didn’t think they'd make it to the end of the night

Our event schedule was so that the guests went right from the ceremony to the Cocktail hour for illuminations and then to AAR for the reception...between buses and shows and three different venues...

we made the call that no one would keep them longer then the 25min of the ceremony...

No one noticed they were missing....
i look at them kind of like cocktail napkins...they are a nice touch
but not a necessity