Ceremony programs - what did you include?

We are getting married outside at a golf course so are doing a funny fan program. It will have all the info on it and details of what to do and were to go and whos who. But also functional becuase it will be hot.
Found some great ideas and tenplates on Pinterest!

View Quoted Comment What a fun idea!

We skipped programs, they're unnecessary.

Why would your guests have down time to explore? That's not really information that belongs in a program.

View Quoted Comment I don’t think they’re required either, but I’d like to do them.

We might end up with up to half an hour between the ceremony and cocktail hour that was unavoidable. We will be doing a receiving line and mingling with guests, but some may choose to walk around before or after the ceremony. It might be unnecessary, but I don’t think it hurts either.

We’re doing a variation of these (removing the design at the top and changing the colors). You could do a layout like this and include a brief blurb/paragraph about the park at the bottom of either side? If you go wider, you’d probably have room for a little map, too.
My Mom and her side of the family are old school and expecting programs. It’s not that much of an added expense and it’ll make them all happy, so I’m fine with doing them. We’re also going to be placing them with bubbles on all the guest seats so it ties everything together nicely for the ceremony.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/233202918/printed-wedding-program-two-sided

View Quoted Comment I love that, thank you! I didn’t even think of a map.

I agree that it’s a small expense that doesn’t hurt. I’m no graphic designer, but I do have some photoshop/design training and I can easily put something together and print it myself.

We had a few sections for our programs for guests who arrive early or want to know a little more about what is going on. We have a lot of older OOT guests who really appreciate this sort of thing and it was in our budget. We have the bridal party info of who is who, the menu for cocktail hour and dinner, the ceremony outline of events, a reminder for our giant families to stick close by for pictures, a little blurb about our honeymoon plans (my grandma is big on this cutesy stuff. She's 93, I'm not going to argue with her), and a thank you for coming message.

I think if you WANT to do programs, you should. And don't be afraid to make them fun. But programs are one of those things that can definitely be skipped if you aren't in love with the idea

We decided to not do programs because most people don’t keep them. We’re going to do a chalkboard with order of events in the front of our venue

Is your ceremony religious, and would it have elements in it that might be unfamiliar to guests? That seems like good information to have on a wedding program.

I’ve been on and off with the idea of having them but I might include in a large form like PP has, not sure about chalk board (doesn’t fit our event style at all) buy maybe some distressed wood. Still on the fence since our wedding guests are about 40 only, so I can also just spread the word about events.
if you have a gap I would include the program, it’s very helpful so peopl don’t get lost without knowing where to go next.

Oh and just to add / Etsy has super cute templates for less than $10 it’s worth taking a look

Haven’t even thought of ours yet but FH and I went to a wedding last summer that had the ceremony info on one side and then some fun facts about the guests and bridal party on the other. They had the guest who traveled the furthest. The couple married the longest. Listed how many cousins total in the family (Italian- so a lot!) it was super cute and fun! And kept us entertained while waiting for it to start.

I decided to do them because, it helps create an illusion of control, for the bride/groom and guests. Also, they serve as a memento and its an opportunity to thank guests if you aren't big on giving speeches. We included an acknowledgment of passed loved ones and a thank you section.

We are doing them for my daughter's catholic ceremony. It will include the mass elements as well as list the wedding party and include a thank you for guests.

Ours has the name and dates and time and location, then a quick note saying like thank you for supporting us and also please shut off your phones (in a nicery well worded way), and then we put who's who on the back. Our ceremony is short and sweet, I was thinking about putting a timeline on there but I didn't really want people to be all uptight if Dinner was served late or early and the DJ will help guide everyone. Plus I wanted ours to just be cheap 1 pagers so that's why I didn't add more.

Thanks for all the ideas! I decided to go ahead and design a program but I’m just going to post two large versions of it as a sign to avoid wasting paper. I’ll post it when I finish!

Following - would love to see your finished products. I'm also thinking of doing 1 or 2 large versions, but I'm debating spending any money on it.

View Quoted Comment This is what I have so far! Needs a lot of work with the formatting but a solid first draft I think.
My dad does woodworking as a hobby so I was thinking of asking him to make the stands for the signs, similar to something you might see outside a restaurant. And I will probably print and laminate from home.

Mine are super similar to that! I printed mine on white paper bags because we are going to do a flower petal toss. So rather than waste paper, we printed the program on the bag and everyone will have one on their seat. Super simple, just ceremony info, our names, and WP names