Quick Guide to Wedding Ceremony Program Wording

Quick Guide to Wedding Ceremony Program Wording

Wedding ceremony programs, simple as they may seem, are a very important part of the wedding day. Ceremony programs inform your guests not only of the order or the ceremony, but also other important details, such as the wedding party, honoring loved ones, and thanking you guests for being there. Here is the traditional outline of a wedding program, along with pointers on how you can customize the wording to fit you and your fiance's own personal style. And click here for a free download of programs from real weddings with sizes.

1. INTRODUCTION 

Let's start with the basics! The introduction will be the most straightforward part of your wedding program and should include the following information in order: the Bride's first and last name, the Groom's first and last name, month/day/year of the wedding, start time and the ceremony venue. This is basically a snippet of the information on your invitations.

2. ORDER OF CEREMONY 

This will likely be the most detailed portion of your wedding program, and will vary based on ceremony. For example, catholic weddings usually have a longer ceremony than a more contemporary ceremony. But regardless of religion, the order of ceremony usually outlines the processional, ceremony, and recessional for your guests. Again, there are many variations to this, but formally it looks something similar to the below. Your planner or officiant will know with the order of your ceremony.

• Prelude: the music playing while guests are seated. Make sure to include the song title, composer, and musician playing the piece (if applicable)

• Processional: the music playing while the grandparents, parents, groom, and wedding party proceed down the aisle

• Bridal Processional: the music playing while the bride makes her grand entrance and proceeds down the aisle

• Opening Greeting or Prayer by the officiant

• Readings: if you choose to have readings during your ceremony, you will outline which passages will be read and who will be reading them (typically a family member or close friend)

• Wedding Message: the officiant will often give a message honoring the couple

• Exchange of the Vows: the exchanging of the vows and rings

• Presentation: you and your fiance kiss, the officiant announces the couple as husband and wife, and the crowd cheers!

• Recessional: the song playing as the newlyweds and bridal party walk back down the aisle

Feeling a little overwhelmed? No worries. Your planner or officiant will know with the order of your ceremony. Or you can choose to keep it super simple, similar to this:

• Prelude

• Seating and Processional

• We get married!

• Recessional

3. WEDDING PARTY   

In this section, you will want to outline all the family and friends who participated in the ceremony, almost like a casting list of a broadway play!  This should include:

• Full title and name of your officiant

• Parents of the bride

• Parents of the groom

• Grandparents of the bride

• Grandparents of the groom

• Maid/Matron of honor (you also have the option of including relation to bride- sister, cousin, or friend)

• Bridesmaids (list in alphabetical order or standing order)

• Best Man(same rules apply as maid of honor)

• Groomsmen(list in alphabetical order or standing order)

• Flower girls/Ring bearers

• House Party

• Ushers

You also have the option of adding the organist or ceremony musicians. And when in doubt, it is best to air on the side of formality when listing the names in your wedding program.

4. FINAL MESSAGES 

Here is where most couples will choose to include a thank you message to share their appreciation of attending the wedding. Example: Thank you so much for the love each and every one of you has shown us throughout our relationship. We are so grateful to have you in our lives and honored you have traveled near and far to be with us on this special day. We couldn't imagine our wedding without you! Final messages can also honor family members who have passed in loving memory. Example: On this special day, we honor those who are not with us today, but are forever in our hearts. or We remember those who cannot be with us today, but are present in spirit. 

5. MORE OPTIONS

All programs are unique to every wedding. You can add fun facts about you and your fiancé, fun facts about your venue, your wedding hashtag, your new address as married couple, or information about your reception following the ceremony. More program ideas can be found on our Pinterest page specifically for programs we've pinned to inspire and give you even more ideas! 

We hope this helps you put together the perfect wedding program content!