Intro & questions

Nhev

Hi, knotties! 

I've been engaged for 1 year and 8 months and just started my official wedding planning. We just booked our venue and are getting married on September 21, 2012 at a local country club. 

A little more info about us: 

We live in Michigan. 

We have a 14 month-old daughter. 

FI is 27 and I'm 26. 

I'm a stay-at-home mom. 

Anyway, I've been lurking for a while and may start posting once in a while, so I thought I'd get that out there!

So, for my questions: What is the point of a wedding program? Do guests actually expect them? I've never even heard of programs for weddings until reading some knot posts and since we're on a budget, I don't plan on having any (our wedding will be semi-formal; groomsmen will not wear jackets, we'll keep things fun, etc.), but I'm really curious about this. 

TIA!

annakb8

Hello!

I think programs are good for longer services, where there is a lot going on and people might not know what's going on without a reference. My wedding was a simple 15 minute ceremony with no readers, songs, etc. so I didn't do a program. 

ahhhitsshannyn

They are definitely not a necessity. Usually for longer ceremonies it shows what is going to happen. Mine was a 5 minute quicky Vegas wedding so I of course, did not need them.

ErinG93

I didn't do a program either. I didn't really think it was that important to print 200 pieces of paper that would get tossed 15 minutes after being picked up. If you have a lot of readers and a longer ceremony you might do a program.

tpender13

Ditto PP. With a simple ceremony, programs aren't needed -- we didn't use them either. I think if you're having something more complicated, especially if it's a religious ceremony that many of your guests are not familiar with, programs are nice idea.

Rosie109

Yeah programs aren't really all that necessary. We did ours through Vistaprint and it wasn't expensive but we had a TON left over.

Nhev

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_intro-questions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:c491c693-9f14-4a20-a010-b3e29d05754bPost:03f5a59a-4e58-4de9-afc7-f1f72d0e19e1">Re: Intro & questions</a>:<div>
</div><div>Wow, thanks for the quick responses everyone! </div><div>
</div><div>[QUOTE]Hiya.  Welcome.  Please be normal.  
Posted by EaglesBride2012[/QUOTE]</div><div>
</div><div>I'm no crazy person or anything. No worries!</div><div>
</div><div>

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LetsHikeToday

Just like Anna. Our ceremony was only 15 minutes so we didn't need them. If you are having a longer, religious ceremony, I think they could be a good idea. I wouldn't have any idea what was going on and it would be nice to have some insight.

Nhev

Oh, ours definitely won't need programs; it'll be quick and to the point. It makes sense now though! 

Habs2Hart

Your daughter is adorable Nhev. 

We had a really short ceremony (like 10-15 minutes) and we did programs, but only because I had leftover paper from the invitations that I wanted to use up.  Otherwise I wouldn't have bothered. 

abt87

I will probably buy somewhat nice and cheap cardstock, use half sheets just to put BM, GM, parents, etc on there. Not a run down of the ceremony, but it might be nice for guests to know who each bridesmaid is, which one is the groom's sister, etc, especially if there isn't much overlap between guests knowing each other. 

Nhev

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_intro-questions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:c491c693-9f14-4a20-a010-b3e29d05754bPost:5b5d1b32-7662-4afd-bfcb-50983ffdf549">Re: Intro & questions</a>:<div>[QUOTE]<strong>Your daughter is adorable Nhev.  </strong>We had a really short ceremony (like 10-15 minutes) and we did programs, but only because I had leftover paper from the invitations that I wanted to use up.  Otherwise I wouldn't have bothered. 
Posted by Habs2Hart[/QUOTE] </div><div>
</div><div>Thank you! </div><div>
[QUOTE]I will probably buy somewhat nice and cheap cardstock, use half sheets just to put BM, GM, parents, etc on there. Not a run down of the ceremony, but<strong> it might be nice for guests to know who each bridesmaid is, which one is the groom's sister, etc, especially if there isn't much overlap between guests knowing each other. </strong>
Posted by at842205[/QUOTE]</div><div>
</div><div>That's a good point; I was in a wedding last August and had lots of friends asking me who other wedding party members were. I will likely pass on the programs to save paper and a little money, but I appreciate everyone's input! 

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