You have invited your guests to witness a testament of love for each other, and the wedding program tells the story of your nuptuals, so why not write that story yourself? Well-made wedding programs don’t require a professional. You can do them yourself. The following 5 steps will illustrate just how easy it is to create professional looking wedding programs for your special day.

1. Choose a color. You may choose your wedding colors as the colors for the program, or any other colour combination. Two contrasting colors or shades of one color make the words pop off the page. You can purchase the paper at your local stationery store, so go have a look at what they offer and see what inspires you.

2. Create a sample program. Create your cover design, choose your lettering, and write up a sample program on plain paper. Proofread the spelling of names and ensure that all fonts and centering are correct before printing the final copy on your program paper.

3. Include all relevant information. Since you are doing the programs yourself, you are creating a beautiful wedding keepsake booklet for your guests. The wedding program lists the couple’s names, the date, time of the nuptials and location on the front. Inside, you have a chance to show your appreciation for everyone that helped. Of course you will have the order of the ceremony including names of those participating and the names of the songs being played or sung. If this is a multicultural wedding or different rituals are taking place from the traditional, you may wish to include a bit of history about the traditions for guests to read. Don’t forget to note the details of the reception as well, including the location and time, and if you want to whet their appetite, why not provide the menu for the evening, as well as the name of caterers and bakers.

4. Have a wedding program party. Gather friends and family together to help put the programs together. You can start a line where each station adds another page to the programs. Alternatively, for a small fee you can take them to a print and copy store and have them bind them together for you to hand out to your guests. Furthermore, if you are not the handy type, you can purchase reasonably priced  online and save yourself the hassle.

5. Present your programs to your guests. How you choose to deliver the completed programs is up to you. An usher or two can hand them out or you can place them in decorated baskets and allow your guests to help themselves.
With little time and effort you can provide those who are sharing in your special day with something to treasure; a keepsake program hand created by you.

When it comes to the music selection everyone’s attention is on the reception, but don’t forget about the ceremony.  After all, the ceremony is what you are going to remember forever.

Traditional Music or a Modern Twist?

When the doors open to the church, everyone stands, and it is tradition to play the wedding march during the bride’s walk down the isle, but there is nothing wrong with breaking with tradition. Let your imagination guide you. Instead of the usual pomp and circumstance, why not play your favorite dating song for your guests to hear? Perhaps an instrumental version for a romantic touch. Songs that are important to you can be easily incorporated into the ceremony. Remember, this is your day and the goal is to make it special to you. Your chosen song may not mean anything to your guests, but it will remind the guy at the altar of the way he felt when he first met that beautiful woman walking towards him.

Recorded or Live?

Decide on the song (or songs) you want to incorporate into the ceremony. Will you have live music or use a recording? Live music can be a little tricky since a solo piece requires a strong unwavering voice in order to pull it off. If you know someone who is capable, and willing to sing at your wedding, go for it. If not, you can either hire a singer for the event, or you may wish to hire a musician for instrumental background music.

Other Ceremony Music

Have as many songs as you deem necessary in your wedding ceremony. Maybe you have a first date song, or a first dance song? A proposal song, or first kiss song? You can strategically place any number of songs throughout the ceremony. If you are using live music you may wish to use the same singer or change up with each song. Mixing instrumental music with singing will add just the right variety, and all your musical friends can have a chance to brighten the day with song.

A wedding song tells a story. It can be a traditional message of love, or a more personal one chronicling your relationship and love of one another. By including a variety of songs and delivery methods, you can provide a story that is both meaningful to you as a couple, as well as entertaining for your guests.

A wedding is a memorable event and one that you will want to do right, but memories don’t need to come with a hefty price tag. A wedding budget allows you to enjoy your special day while keeping some money in the bank.

The wedding budget is not meant to keep you from getting what you want out of your special day. Their purpose, in fact, is just the opposite. A budget allows you to consider alternatives, and provides a guideline that allows you to have what you want on your big day.

The following 5 tips will help you set a wedding budget to get the most for your money:

1. Budget categories.

You will need to make a list of everything you need to spend money on. For example, there is the rehersal dinner, the ceremony, the flowers, the music, the reception and so on. Each category is then assigned a certain percentage of the total budget. There are many great available to help you every step of the way.

2. Budget amount.

The budget amount is made up of all the sources of income you want to devote to your wedding ie. your savings, money your parents and/or future in-laws will be contributing, etc. Nowadays, parents don’t foot the bill like they used to. Weddings have become more elaborate and more expensive, so it is not uncommon for couples to have to contribute a considerable portion of the budget in order to have the wedding of their dreams.

3. Discretionary fund.

Make sure that you devote at least three percent of the budget for those inevitable last minute expenses, after all you don’t want to receive a large bill at the last minute that you can’t pay.

4. Imagination is key.

Decide on what your priorities are when making your budget. Is a beautifully decorated hall a must for you? While it is great to decorate and have party favors, how much money are you willing to devote to them? If the church or venue is beautiful as is, why not consider spending less of your budget on decorating it? And party favors don’t need to be expensive to show your appreciation to your guests. There are plenty of bulk wedding favors available online at discounted prices, all you need to do is spend some time shopping around. Prioritizing your expenses according to their level of importance will allow you to devote a little more of your budget to those items that are more important to you (perhaps the cake or your dress) while less is spent on other areas.

5. Enlist the help of friends.

Do you have any friends who are professionals? Perhaps a florist, or a printer? It never hurts to see if they will give you a discount or even do your flowers or programs as a wedding gift.

Don’t think of your wedding budget as a constraint, but rather a means to narrow your focus. After all, even if you can afford an extravagant wedding, you don’t have to spend an extravagant amount of money to get what you want.