Wedding Program Wording

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Wedding programs are nice to include for your guests, not only to be guided during your marriage ceremony and reception, but also to serve as a nice souvenir for the occasion. Going through the program will bring back many wonderful memories for you, your new spouse and the beloved friends and family who were there on your special day. There are many beautiful design inspirations for these wedding materials online. Many programs often look and feel like proper representations of the wedding that took place. Of course, wedding program wording is something you have to consider and spend time on. Read on and learn to make the best program for your wedding.

What to Include in Wedding Program

What exactly are the contents of a wedding program? Here are some of the important parts that you might want to consider.

  • Names of the Couple and Parents. Full names of the couple and their parents are a nice way to know the lineage, as well as know the relation of all people in the wedding.

  • Names of the Wedding Entourage. Especially for large wedding entourages, we don’t want to get mixed up during the program, so it’s nice to acknowledge friends and family here.

  • Wedding Ceremony Itinerary. Whether it is a religious ceremony or a more casual, civil affair, providing a guide to the timeline of the program will be helpful for guests who want to prepare tissues, come the time for vows!

  • Readings and Songs for the Ceremony. Religious readings are good to read along and reflect upon. Songs and poetry that are read during the ceremony may also be best appreciated by the audience if it is in the wedding program wording.

  • Brief Biography of Couple. A short biography of the bride, the groom, and their love story would be a nice insert for the guests to read.

  • Message from Couple to the Wedding Guests. You might be able to send thank you notes for all your guests, but the note here is also a helpful way for all to read about your overflowing gratitude.

  • Map and Itinerary for the Reception. More often than not, the reception is found in a separate place from the wedding. A hard copy of the map is good to have. An itinerary is also good because it will help guests decide when they will schedule their bathroom breaks!

Wedding Program Wording

The program wording will evolve along with the theme and feel of the wedding. In general, it should include the following sections:
1

Introduction

The front cover details the main information, like the names of the bride and groom, the date, the venue, the city and state.

The Holy Matrimony of

<Name of Bride>

And

<Name of Groom>

<Day>, the <Date> of <Month>

<Year>

<Church or Venue>

<City, State>

2

Order of Ceremony

The program should include a short outline of the events. A copy of the readings within the ceremony will be a nice touch.

Processional

Welcome and Opening Prayer

Wedding Message

Exchange of Rings

Exchange of Vows

Declaration of Marriage

Recessional

3

Wedding Entourage and Participants

It would be nice for people to know the names of the special people who came up on the stage to symbolize something in your wedding. It is also a nice way to socialize, whether the married families are your relatives or friends.

Parents of the Bride

Parents of the Groom

Officiant

Maid of Honor/Matron of Honor

Best Man

Bridesmaids

Ushers

Groomsmen

Flower Girl

Ring Bearer

4

Special Extras

You might want to include some extras that will make it special to the event. Stories, genealogies, and thank you notes are some good ideas, but don’t try to put too much. Keep it simple.

Our Deepest Gratitude to the Beloved Guests

<Message>

<Bible Verse or Quote>

Wedding Program Themes

The content of the program would be very similar, it is just a matter of the nature of the ceremony. In general, wedding program wording can be categorized by the following themes:

  • Religious Wedding. This calls for the inclusion of religious references, as well as the holy readings and symbols used in the ceremony. Make sure to quote Bible verses or other sacred doctrine properly.

  • Civil Wedding. This could be the same format as the religious wedding, but no reference is needed. This is very simple and practical in tone.

  • Casual, Non-traditional Wedding. This format leaves a lot of space for any desired extras that you might have. Since the main focus will be less on the traditional inserts to wedding programs, the wedding program wording is more casual. The only rules in play are the rules of spelling and grammar!

Is Wedding Program Necessary

You might be thinking, is the wedding program really necessary? After all, you want all eyes on you, the blessed couple, and not in a book, right? Besides, wedding program wording can be a handful to deal with. Even through there is clearly some effort to be put into this endeavor, it might be worth it because your guests would appreciate a guide to the ceremony and it’s also a great keepsake for everyone to remember how they shared your special day with you.