

I woke up at 7am this past Saturday, my mind in a whirlpool of wedding programs. I can’t stop thinking about them. Against my will, I’m showing symptoms of being a bridezilla.
Time is ticking, and I still haven’t decided if I want to risk the invitation fiasco and make the programs myself (which may possibly mean I’m doing this until mid-June) or find an economical stationer that will make them for me.
However, I HAVE decided that they need to be wedding program fans, as the wedding is in July and I don’t want my poor guests to faint from the sun. I also don’t want silk fans or palm leaf fans, as I know a lot of the attending men-guests would be embarrassed using such feminine goods. I’ve been scouring the Internet for wedding program fan ideas, and it’s surprisingly limited. Here are some of my favorite designs:
Ceci New York. I love the rippled edge and use of multiple ribbons.
Grace Connell Designs. The hand-calligraphy is gorgeous although the curly bracket edge is too Victorian for me.
Unfortunately, Ceci’s prices start at $2000 and I’m sure Grace Connell is about the same, given the work she puts into each piece. My budget is $200, so the missing zero limits my options significantly.
Mr. Tomato suggested this, but I’m not big on the popsicle stick handle. At $2.35 each, they do fit within the budget though…
And then I came across custom-programs.com!
It doesn’t look like much in the photography, but the sample that came in the mail was better than I expected. At $3.50 each, it’ll come right around the $200 mark. Still, I could save a lot by doing it on my own. But how does one create those templates?
FINALLY, I found a DIY version. It looks straight-forward enough. Still, all the cutting is fairly intimidating. And I know that at the end of the day, the programs will be discarded, anyway. But $150 is a lot of money! It’s 150 items off the Mickey D menu…
What do you guys think? Should I save $150 by spending 4-6 weeks on it?