Who Needs a Program?!
August 9th, 2006 @ 4:42 pm by Mrs. Bluebell
While my title may sound flippant, I’m asking genuinely! It seems to me that there are certain types of weddings (cathedral ceremony, ballroom reception) where you may need a program (not technically of course, but it’s usually expected). Then there are less formal weddings, to downright untraditional ones. Do they all require a program? Or does the level of formality of your wedding dictate whether you “should” have one or not?
A program traditionally includes the names of the wedding party, readings, etc., but what about all those other things people are putting in these days? Pictures, stories of how the couple met, biographies of the wedding party, games, puzzles, favor CDs…
While I love all these ideas, it seems a bit more than I need for my pretty unconventional, informal wedding. At the same time, I do like the idea of listing the order of events and naming the wedding party. But if I’m going to bother having programs at all, I might as well go all out, right? I’ll add some pictures and stories and….then it’s the complicated type of program again.
Do you think all weddings should have a program? How much does a program register in your mind when you’re a guest?
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10 Responses to “Who Needs a Program?!”
I never figure that I need one at a wedding - but they are nice to read through while waiting and even nicer to use as a fan when I get warm.
Oooooh, the fan comment is a good point! I had forgotten about that very common usage which might make programs a bit more necessary on a hot day….
I think that we’ll be having a program; there’s a congregational response at at least one point, and I don’t want people to feel flustered.
Also, we have a wide variety of religious traditions in our families. I’ve been to weddings where most of the ceremony was in a language that I didn’t speak. It was really helpful to have a program then, so we could follow along more, make the proper responses, and so on.
If it weren’t for those things, though, I’d probably skip a program.
We had a mini-newspaper with the story of how we met… that was a HUGE hit, because it gave people something to read while they were bored and waiting for things to get going. That’s where programs really shine, I think…
Our programs were shaped like fans, so people liked that, plus practically every aspect of our ceremony was chosen for a specific reason (the flowers in my bouquet, my godmother was the officiant, I was named for one of our musicans, etc.) so I wanted people to be aware of all those aspects. Otherwise, I definitely would have skipped it!
i’ll be making a program to explain the korean wedding customs/traditions that the guests [majority are non-koreans] will be watching just so they’re not lost. plus, since i know that we’re going to have 2 ceremonies [we're not officially engaged either way...just planning out in the future] i figure that would be a good place to explain the two ceremonies deal too.
plus, i know a lot of people don’t always bring the map with them, so i thought i’d include a second set of directions to the reception venue too.
I would say that having a program is up to couple, but I would add a word of caution with that. People should have explicit instructions if they want their guests to do certain things like stand when the bride enters, or wait in their seats for dismissal etc. I once went to a wedding where these things weren’t specified and people were really confused. Programs are sometimes nice sources of information about what the guests are supposed to do.
I wasn’t too excited about writing, printing and stamping heaps of programs, but, they turned out to be one of our most favorite details of the wedding. My fiancee’s father passed away when he was just a child and I lost my grandfather. And it was so important to us that we were able to honor their memory with a little personal statement on the program. also, we used the program to write a brief, but very sincere thank you to all of our guests for attending — and i can’t tell you how many people came up to me after the wedding and was touched by the program.
I think we’ll probably have a program. Of course, have the usual stuff, but also, like Lulu said…a little something to honor the memory of my grandmother.
Mrs. Bluebell, New York
Age and Occupation in 07: 26, Finance Manager
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Playing with the cat and/or Consulting
Engagement Date: December 25, 2005
Wedding Date: June 2007
Venue: Bride's family summer home in the Adirondacks
About Me: Trying to find the perfect balance between family tradition (marrying at the house everyone else in my family gets married at), making our's modern, interesting and different from everyone else in my family's, and incorporating some Chinese tradition for my Chinese fiance. I really have no idea what it's going to end up looking like!
Also, I picked Miss Bluebell for my name because I have blue eyes and I'm a loser like that.
Is it sad that I’m totally lazy about the programs? We’re only having a MOH and a best man, so there aren’t that many names to confuse. Also, we’re just having a regular non religious ceremony, no readings, just basic. It’s going to be a half hour long, do I need a program?