Programs - Good or a Waste?

DaisyMaeMommy · April 2014

So I've heard multiple different opinions on programs, so I'd like to see what some of you lovely Knotties think!

Are programs a waste of money? What are they TRULY used for? Did you have them?

vmj23 · April 2014

I'm skipping them. I don't see them as being necessary, just an added expense and more work!

littlemushroom · April 2014

We are having them. The ceremony is outside in late August, so we got DIY fan kits that double as programs. One side of the fan will be the program, and the other side will probably be something like a word search or some other activity to keep people entertained while they are waiting for the ceremony to start. If the ceremony was going to be outside, I wanted to provide fans. My parents think programs are necessary (I think because they want the keepsake or because they are traditional). Doing the printable program fans was an easy way to make everyone happy.

As for what I actually use the program for when I attend weddings... It is something to read while we wait for the ceremony to start. I don't often know anyone in the bridal party at weddings I attend, so it is nice to see who people are. It is something to play hangman on if we get bored waiting for dinner at the reception or if the ceremony starts extra late. For people I am very close to, it is a keepsake.

Maggie0829 · April 2014

Unless you have a complicated or intricate ceremony with a lot of moving pieces (hymns, prayers, readings, symbolic items, etc) then programs really aren't necessary. I have been to about 20 weddings and I have only ever picked up one program and that was only because it was hot as hell outside and I was using it as a fan.

emmyg65 · April 2014

It depends. We had a Quaker ceremony that we needed to explain, so they were useful for us. But otherwise, you can definitely skip them.

Jen4948 · April 2014

If your ceremony has non-mainstream elements or will be partly in a foreign language, guests will appreciate having something that explains or translates them. Programs are also useful for giving tributes to deceased/absent loved ones.

But if you aren't having any of these things at your wedding, you don't need programs unless you are marrying at a house of worship that requires them.

Maggie0829 · April 2014

Jen4948 said:

If your ceremony has non-mainstream elements or will be partly in a foreign language, guests will appreciate having something that explains or translates them. Programs are also useful for giving tributes to deceased/absent loved ones.

But if you aren't having any of these things at your wedding, you don't need programs unless you are marrying at a house of worship that requires them.

Some places require them? I did not know that. I hope since they require them that they would supply them. If not, that is pretty shitty.

manateehugger · April 2014

Maggie0829 said:

Jen4948 said:

If your ceremony has non-mainstream elements or will be partly in a foreign language, guests will appreciate having something that explains or translates them. Programs are also useful for giving tributes to deceased/absent loved ones.

But if you aren't having any of these things at your wedding, you don't need programs unless you are marrying at a house of worship that requires them.

Some places require them? I did not know that. I hope since they require them that they would supply them. If not, that is pretty shitty.

Ours sort of does; they have a program for every service, including weddings, especially because there's call and response portions. But they did offer to print them for free.

Maggie0829 · April 2014

PDKH said:

Maggie0829 said:

Jen4948 said:

If your ceremony has non-mainstream elements or will be partly in a foreign language, guests will appreciate having something that explains or translates them. Programs are also useful for giving tributes to deceased/absent loved ones.

But if you aren't having any of these things at your wedding, you don't need programs unless you are marrying at a house of worship that requires them.

Some places require them? I did not know that. I hope since they require them that they would supply them. If not, that is pretty shitty.

Ours sort of does; they have a program for every service, including weddings, especially because there's call and response portions. But they did offer to print them for free.

Well that's good because if someone said I had to have a program because they require it and then expected me to shell out my money they would have another thing coming.

manateehugger · April 2014

Yeah, I would have made some noise. But many larger churches print a thousand programs a week; they made it seem like no big deal to print a 100 or so for us, which was nice.

Jen4948 · April 2014

Maggie0829 said:

Jen4948 said:

If your ceremony has non-mainstream elements or will be partly in a foreign language, guests will appreciate having something that explains or translates them. Programs are also useful for giving tributes to deceased/absent loved ones.

But if you aren't having any of these things at your wedding, you don't need programs unless you are marrying at a house of worship that requires them.

Some places require them? I did not know that. I hope since they require them that they would supply them. If not, that is pretty shitty.

Yes, some do. Usually they have a template that just needs to be filled out.

theartistformerlyknownas · April 2014

I'm making programs... call me crazy but I like reading who all the wedding party members are. We're having a pretty big wedding so a lot of people won't know each other. And it's outside in September, so they may need it as a visor or fan. I also wanted a place to call out/thank our parents and his grandparents, and I'm putting a word search in it for when people who don't give a rat's ass who anyone is and are bored. :-p I don't expect anyone to save them and I'll print on recycled/recyclable paper.

Maggie0829 · April 2014

lolo883 said:

I'm making programs... call me crazy but I like reading who all the wedding party members are. We're having a pretty big wedding so a lot of people won't know each other. And it's outside in September, so they may need it as a visor or fan. I also wanted a place to call out/thank our parents and his grandparents, and I'm putting a word search in it for when people who don't give a rat's ass who anyone is and are bored. :-p I don't expect anyone to save them and I'll print on recycled/recyclable paper.

I would love that!

ETA: Not saying your ceremony will be boring but leading up to it a word search would be great.

theartistformerlyknownas · May 2014

Maggie0829 said:

lolo883 said:

I'm making programs... call me crazy but I like reading who all the wedding party members are. We're having a pretty big wedding so a lot of people won't know each other. And it's outside in September, so they may need it as a visor or fan. I also wanted a place to call out/thank our parents and his grandparents, and I'm putting a word search in it for when people who don't give a rat's ass who anyone is and are bored. :-p I don't expect anyone to save them and I'll print on recycled/recyclable paper.

I would love that!

ETA: Not saying your ceremony will be boring but leading up to it a word search would be great.

Our ceremony could be the awesomest thing ever and they'd still be bored waiting for it to start!

Jean0715 · May 2014

I like crafting and programs are an easy craft for me. Plus I can do them for cheap. (Bulk paper online, already have the embossing stamp) In addition, his grandmother will be marrying us and it might be a bit off-beat.

In one sentence: They are by no means necessary, but if you want them have them.

KGold80 · May 2014

lolo883 said:
I'm making programs... call me crazy but I like reading who all the wedding party members are. We're having a pretty big wedding so a lot of people won't know each other. And it's outside in September, so they may need it as a visor or fan. I also wanted a place to call out/thank our parents and his grandparents, and I'm putting a word search in it for when people who don't give a rat's ass who anyone is and are bored. :-p I don't expect anyone to save them and I'll print on recycled/recyclable paper.

Mind if I steal the word search idea? I've been thinking of putting some little activity into the program and a word search would be good.

theartistformerlyknownas · May 2014

KGold80 said:

I'm making programs... call me crazy but I like reading who all the wedding party members are. We're having a pretty big wedding so a lot of people won't know each other. And it's outside in September, so they may need it as a visor or fan. I also wanted a place to call out/thank our parents and his grandparents, and I'm putting a word search in it for when people who don't give a rat's ass who anyone is and are bored. :-p I don't expect anyone to save them and I'll print on recycled/recyclable paper.
Mind if I steal the word search idea? I've been thinking of putting some little activity into the program and a word search would be good.

Not at all @KGold80 ! I used the puzzle maker here <clicky!> and used all wedding related words - marriage, vows, aisle, veil, bride, groom, our names, etc. You can do crosswords and other types of puzzles on that site too!

KGold80 · May 2014

lolo883 said:

KGold80 said:

lolo883 said:
I'm making programs... call me crazy but I like reading who all the wedding party members are. We're having a pretty big wedding so a lot of people won't know each other. And it's outside in September, so they may need it as a visor or fan. I also wanted a place to call out/thank our parents and his grandparents, and I'm putting a word search in it for when people who don't give a rat's ass who anyone is and are bored. :-p I don't expect anyone to save them and I'll print on recycled/recyclable paper.
Mind if I steal the word search idea? I've been thinking of putting some little activity into the program and a word search would be good.

Not at all @KGold80 ! I used the puzzle maker here <clicky!> and used all wedding related words - marriage, vows, aisle, veil, bride, groom, our names, etc. You can do crosswords and other types of puzzles on that site too!

Awesome! Thanks so much!

aspoonfulofsugar · May 2014

FI and I are choosing to have them since we're having a full mass and we'd like to have it available for our guests to follow along (if they'd like to).

If you think it's something you could get away with out, then forgo the programs.

Lately I've been seeing a lot of these on Pinterest, and personally, I just don't see the point.... but to each their own.

ETA: sorry, ipad hates paragraphs today =(

provocajade · May 2014

I don't think a paper is necessary for MY wedding, but based on the type of wedding sometimes it's a good idea.

Last Wedding I went to was traditional Catholic and the program at the ceremony had all of the passages and there were songs and call/answers. Then at the reception they had a program because there was a large wedding party, plenty of older relatives that sponsored the wedding and also a whole itinerary of stuff happening.

Compared to my upcoming nuptials thats a lot of keep track of! I'm keeping it simple. As a compromise, I have a giant frame that will have a approximate times and lists of activities for the day just for a FYI (IE when the ceremony is, when is the cake cutting, when does the dancing start, etc).

HisGirlFriday13 · May 2014

We did them only because we knew the majority of our guests would not understand what was going on in our Catholic Mass wedding.

I did them myself in MS Publisher and we printed them at home on paper we bought on clearance at Office Depot. Total cost was <$40.

ashleyep · May 2014

We're doing them because we're having a Catholic ceremony and a lot of of our guests aren't Catholic (no mass though). I'm doing really simple two sided ones and I'll print them at work. Really it will just be the paper cost. I'm doing them in Adobe InDesign

This shape (but not that style, much more traditional). That way I can get two to a sheet of paper. One side will have the order of the ceremony, the other will have the bridal party, our parents, a brief thank you, etc.

ShaunaSproull · May 2014

One thing to think about, I decided against programs because they are an added expense and I don't really care about them when I go to weddings. My DJ announced the bridal party later anyways so I figured I didn't need to bother. I was really glad I didn't because one of my bridesmaids got really sick before my wedding and I had to sub in another friend as a bridesmaid. I am a bit of a control freak perfectionist and I would have hated for something to have been wrong on the program. I had 1 special prayer so I printed those out at home and put one on each seat.

ericav123 · May 2014

Our is a Catholic ceremony, so yes. We are listing the readings, order of ceremony, and the response to the songs and all that on the program so people can follow.

I'm doing the same long rectangle style Ashely posted, with ceremony order on one side, bridal party on the other. I am printing them front/back so will get 2 per sheet of cardstock. (The size is literally the cardstock cut in half. I also have a huge paper cutter because I am a book binder,

Literally the time it took me to type it, pick fonts,etc, is all that went into mine... and will cost maybe 8 bucks for a couple packs of the fancier shimmer cardstock.

To me this was cheap and easy. I think just like favors,programs are something you could definitely skip, spend alot of time/money on, spend a little on, will be ignored/forgotten by some, appreciated/kept by others.

Maggie0829 · May 2014

ShaunaSproull said:

One thing to think about, I decided against programs because they are an added expense and I don't really care about them when I go to weddings. My DJ announced the bridal party later anyways so I figured I didn't need to bother. I was really glad I didn't because one of my bridesmaids got really sick before my wedding and I had to sub in another friend as a bridesmaid. I am a bit of a control freak perfectionist and I would have hated for something to have been wrong on the program. I had 1 special prayer so I printed those out at home and put one on each seat.

Wow. So just because one of your BMs got sick right before your wedding you decided to replace her? That must have been a nice kick in her ass. And I can only imagine what the replacement felt like.

amy3080 · May 2014

We went back in forth between having them or not, in the end we made them for about 20.00 our selves and I loved the way they came out. One side is all the wedding details and the other side I made a word search of things from our wedding. Attatched a golf size pencil to the program to do the word search. Plus being an outdoor ceremony they can double as a fan.

theartistformerlyknownas · May 2014

ShaunaSproull said:

One thing to think about, I decided against programs because they are an added expense and I don't really care about them when I go to weddings. My DJ announced the bridal party later anyways so I figured I didn't need to bother. I was really glad I didn't because one of my bridesmaids got really sick before my wedding and I had to sub in another friend as a bridesmaid. I am a bit of a control freak perfectionist and I would have hated for something to have been wrong on the program. I had 1 special prayer so I printed those out at home and put one on each seat.

That's the rudest thing I've ever heard. "Hey, I didn't like you enough to ask you the first time, but you're just the right size for this dress that sicky over there bought, so want to be a bridesmaid now?" What a jerk.

PureMelody · May 2014

I think that you should keep it simple ! i have the pleasure of working in banquets and often people just leave the programs behind! if you do it..do it for select family maybe the older people in your family that want to keep it.

naymerica · May 2014

We're having them and printing them ourselves. 3 packs of paper at $6 a piece is really setting us back! Seriously though, menus? Yeah, waste of money. Programs? I've never been to a wedding that didn't have them, and I always thought they were more so that people could see who was in your wedding party...I know that's why I like them, to figure out who the heck is standing up there!

mosweettreats · May 2014

We are having them. At first I wasn't until I found this DIY program online and created my own. And I love them! Ours is just a 1 piece front/back but it's super cute! Check this website http://freebies.about.com/od/weddingfreebies/tp/free-wedding-program-templates.htm

[Deleted User] · May 2014

For my ceremony I think they'd be a waste. We aren't having a wedding party, and my hope is to keep it simple- walk down the aisle, vows, I-do's, and walk back down. And I can't stand the idea of that much paper getting tossed after a 20 minute ceremony.

If we do anything it will be some kind of large sign for people to see as they walk in; less waste.

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