Do you really need to have an Ceremony program?

Nope.

The only time I think it is important is when there is a long church ceremony that requires people to sing along and/or recite something. Like a full Catholic mass.

My friend got married in a Catholic Church with a mass and no programs. Guess it's just different for all weddings!

At first I was against the idea of wedding programs but after my hubby made them on his computer I was like sure y not.. My MIL and SIL printed them out for us on pretty paper and put ribbons around it..

I think it is nice to give your guests an overview of events as well as the flow of the ceremony. ours were a huge hit - and in fact i had people ask for extras. not a single one was left. ours were way more than just a ceremony program.. it was like a 12page handmade book with the story of us, the significance of the date, a thank you to all our guests, overview of events, ceremony order, wedding party, in memoriam, selected quotes and poems, pictures etc etc.

No. Our ceremony is going to be like 15 minutes. By the time they finish reading the program it will be over.

I'm opting not to have programs, I could use that money somewhere else

I'm thinking of making ours. I already have nice cardstock so i'll just print them out so it'll be very cost effective. Also i think it's nice to name the bridal party and if your doing any special traditions like in place of the unity candle type of thing you can put that on there too.

My ceremony will be short also but I made my own programs,paddle fans, not very expensive to make at all and they are great for the order of the ceremony, naming the bridal party and readers and i added reception info and a thank you from us!

We are having programs...mostly because it's an outside wedding and we are making the program fans. But we bought the sticks for only about $5 and had plenty of card stock left over from other DIY's so it won't cost much to make. Some people do like to keep the programs for scrapbooks. Plus it gives a couple of our little one's something to do so they are included...they'll pass them out as guests arrive.

No.

I hope not because i'm not having one due to the fact that we are having a short ceremony. I DIY a reception booklet of activities and menu.

The only reason I had ceremony programs was because I had extra paper from making my invitations.

We are doing a giant chalkboard program as the guest walk into our outdoor ceremony.

Not necessary, but we did them, even though we had a short secular ceremony. We wanted to list the wedding party/reader/musician/parents. We also had a section that thanked the guests. I think the main reason we did them was because we wanted to name deceased loved ones, such as H's father and our grandparents. That section said something like: Our thoughts are with those loved ones who could not be here with us today, but are here in spirit: Names

A friend made them though and they were incredibly cheap.

You totally don't need them -- most people know what to expect in a wedding, and unless there's audience participation involved (like everybody has to sing a song or recite a prayer or something), there's no need for that extra piece of paper (which they'll probably just throw out anyway).

Nope. We had them, because we had a very participatory Jewish ceremony with several nonJewish guests. The program provided the full text of the ceremony, transliterations and translations of the Hebrew, and an explanation of the Jewish customs. But if what you're having is a fairly simple ceremony, they're not necessary.

When I go to weddings I like to keep them as momentos. The best program I got had short BIOS of the bridal party, which was super nice to read during the long ceremony when you can't hear anything, lol Its your preference tho, also keep in mind if your ceremony venue will be hot, people like to use em as fans!

I've never been to a wedding that didn't have them, but I don't think they're absolutely necessary. But, I always enjoy reading them and learning a little something about the wedding party. It's nice to know their names and relationship to the couple. But I think it's completely up to you as to whether you have them or not!

Our ceremony is only going to be 20 minutes with no singalong, so I don't think I will have them made.