Wedding Programs
I’ve remained tight-lipped about our wedding plans but today I’m going to share a little about the wedding programs. Please don’t take offense if my opinions differ from the programs you have or will have.
Programs are definitely not required for the ceremony, just as so many other parts of day are not required. But they do provide something to read while waiting for the ceremony (I would rather see people turn around and talk to each other like they do in church down here.), give you something to follow along during the ceremony, and act as a fan if the day is particularly warm. Hopefully we won’t have to worry about a heat wave. The problem with programs I’ve seen in the past is that they focus on information I don’t find very valuable.
First, I don’t see value having every persons relationship to the couple listed next to their name. Holly agreed with me and added that in devalues the relationship between some people. Kelly is not only Beth’s cousin, but is also one of her best friends. I just don’t need to know that the third groomsman is a “friend of the couple.” Most of the times it is going to be obvious, but it isn’t a tragedy if it isn’t obvious. I think it gives those people a little further away from the family something to think about.
I also don’t like seeing every single person that lifted a finger listed in the program. Reading the names of the shy & quiet children that handed me the programs takes up valuable space in a program that can provide so much more than programs I’ve seen in the past. I have listed everyone that is part of the ceremony in a very logical order that doesn’t make the program a reference, but an integral part of the ceremony. No. We’re not having anyone pass out programs.
My biggest problem with wedding masses in general is that the readings are not in the current missal, so no one can follow along as they do during church. So I have added the three readings. It’s super sweet. I’ve also added references to where the hymms can be found in the pew’s music books. That’s even sweeter.
In the end we created a program that provides more for everyone.
We found an program in a magazine that had a layout we really liked. So, instead of dropping $975 on an undisclosed quantity, we ripped off the design and created a unique layout of multiple pages by cutting 8.5”x11” sheets in half vertically, and then folding over each piece. Three pieces were then nested to construct the pages. Moving and flipping around the text was a pain in the ass but it turned out great with the help of Staples. We stopped in there last week to ask about file formats and what else they could do. I was thrilled to learn they could cut our sheets for us for a crazy price of $2/stack. Those few dollars were going to save us so much time cutting. Actually the biggest pain would have been moving all of the sheets around and getting them out of order.
I dropped off a CD yesterday morning, along with a master copy of what I wanted printed. I had flipped the text myself and wanted them to know that I needed the back side flipped. That master copy was very appreciated by the manager when I placed the order. That afternoon I picked up a box of beautifully printed, stacked, and collated sheets. I didn’t even think about asking about collating my sheets! That may have been a better thing to have than the cutting.
So all we needed to do is pull out three sheets at a time, punch holes, and bind them. The $60 we spent there was worth the time it would have taken to print them ourselves. I’m willing to bet that we would have actually spent more money on ink and paper doing it ourselves. That is excluding the price that Beth & I put on our own time. Punching, cutting, and binding took around 4-5 hours but it was a good time as we watched TV together.
