how many ceremony programs to print?

strawberrybee9

Seems like a simple question, but... how many ceremony programs should we print?

Some couples are probably only going to take one. Some people may take more than one.

We're having 140 guests. Should we print 140 programs? Fewer? More?

Thank you!

Maggie0829

I think 100 would be more then enough.  I never take a program when I go to weddings.  I just don't see the point.  I know who the bride and groom are and sorry but I really am not that interested in which songs you chose or which readings you are doing or if a special hymn or prayer is being said.  I just take all my cues from the officiant and just listen.

labro

I printed about 100 programs and had pretty close to a 100 programs left that I got to take home at the end of the night.

It really just depends on your crowd/if you actually have someone passing them out. Programs are 100% not necessary unless your ceremony is complicated or unknown to most of your attendees. I just wanted programs for the sake of having them, and really I should've just printed out a few for a keepsake item for myself.

lyndausvi

I would do 70-80.

I had 147, printed 80.  Still had a good 10 or more sitting in the basket never touched.

[Deleted User]

I printed for the number of guests I had. I had a lot left over. I did put some aside for everyone in the bridal party. Not sure if they wanted one or not for memory purposes. I errored on the side of having to many instead of not enough.

strawberrybee9

Thanks, all, this was really helpful.

We decided to get 85 printed, but even with that number, I feel like you saved us money! Thanks!

notdoingitbythebook

I've been thinking about this as well. I just want to a sign with all this info but I have been told that people want the programme as a souvenir so I guess I'll design one. This thread has been helpful to get an idea of the percentages of what's taken versus how many guests.

lyndausvi

strawberrybee9 said:

Thanks, all, this was really helpful.

We decided to get 85 printed, but even with that number, I feel like you saved us money! Thanks!

I think this is fine.  I'm assuming most of your guests are couples/families.  Most couples/families do not take a program per person.    Sure some do, but it's not often.  

Unless your program doubles as a fan then 1 per guests is mostly a waste.

augsum15

I'm glad someone asked this, I'm doing mine on Vistaprint, and with the rack cards (cuz they're cheaper than "programs") you have the option of 50, 100, or 200. I wanted to order 150 (cuz I'm crazy and I'll only have around 100 guests including wedding party, and wanted to make sure I'd have TWO left over [because front/back] for when i do a memory collage or book or whatever i decide on).... so that would be really ridiculous of me to order 100 and then another 50... teamwork!

southernbelle0915

I think we printed 150 (we had 175 guests). We have a box in our basement that has about 50 programs in it. We WAY overestimated. 

Jen4948

Probably not more than 3 for every 4 guests.

spglsp

I'm really glad someone posted this because I've been considering skipping programs altogether (short, simple ceremony, no readings, etc.) and this sealed the deal for me

ILoveBeachMusic

Would you also say fewer programs than guests for a Catholic Mass? My daughter is getting married in the Catholic church. She is Catholic but no one else in our family is and a lot of friends aren't. She was planning on printing a program with the Mass in it so that non-Catholics would know what responses to make. I thought this was a good idea. Yes or no? Sorry to highjack your post OP!

strawberrybee9

ILoveBeachMusic said:

Would you also say fewer programs than guests for a Catholic Mass? My daughter is getting married in the Catholic church. She is Catholic but no one else in our family is and a lot of friends aren't. She was planning on printing a program with the Mass in it so that non-Catholics would know what responses to make. I thought this was a good idea. Yes or no? Sorry to highjack your post OP!

No prob! So our wedding was Sunday, and we had a Jewish wedding, but a good portion of our guests (some family, most friends) aren't Jewish. We thought they could follow along a bit in the program, but we still had a fair number of programs left over -- printed 85 for 140 guests, and I'm not sure how many programs were left over (my in-laws still have them), but there definitely were leftovers.