How to Write Your Wedding Program in Microsoft Word
About the Program
Wedding programs can be as simple as a single printed sheet of paper or as complex as a color-printed, bound booklet. What’s most popular? Something in between the simple and the complex, things like several pages folded book-style and held together by ribbon in your wedding colors.
You basically have three options when it comes to how you make your wedding program.
1.Design it on a computer with a word-processing program and print out your copies on nice cotton, vellum, or parchment paper.
2.Design it on complex software like Pagemaker or in a graphics program like Photoshop if you have the skills necessary.
3.Order the programs from an invitation catalog or your local print shop.
Of course, we like doing things ourselves because it saves some money and lets us add our own unique touches that no print shop can give. So as we move on to how we’re going to make our wedding programs in Microsoft Word, let’s remember that a basic wedding program should include the following things:
�Both of your names and the wedding date, either on the cover or at the top of the page if you choose to create a single sheet.
�The names of members of the wedding party (bridesmaids, best man, flower girl, etc.) and the names of people who are performing readings or music.
�The names of both of your parents, and the name of the person performing the ceremony.
�A break-down of the events of the ceremony, so that your guests can follow along and feel more a part of the action.
�If your ceremony includes rituals that some people might not be familiar with, give a brief overview of the significance of the ritual.
�Include any specific instructions for guests if applicable.
Making the Program in Microsoft Word
This is actually very easy to do, and you might be surprised at how much fun you have. The instructions we’re going to work with will create a simple book-fold program that allows you to have anywhere from one to a million pages (yes, I’m exaggerating) and tied down the spine with ribbon.
1.Take some notes and gather any papers that have information on them before you get started. The names of your wedding party, the order that your ceremony will be performed in, and any special quotes that you want to include are all things which you should gather before you get started.
2.Open Microsoft Word.
3.In order to fold the pages in half, we will need to change the layout of our pages in Word. Click “File” and choose “Page Setup”.
4.Page Setup will open a dialogue box. At the top of the box are several tabs, but we don’t need to worry about those. The tab that you are already in should be headed “Margins”. There are two images, with the words “Portrait” and “Landscape” beneath them. Click on the image for “Landscape”.
5.Below the images is the heading “Multiple Pages”. Beside that heading is a drop-down box. Select the arrow in the drop-down box and choose “Book Fold”. Drop down to the next box and choose “Auto” for the “Sheets Per Booklet” option.
6.Click OK – the hard stuff is done.
7.When you come back to the “page” in Microsoft Word, you’ll notice that it looks smaller than usual. What the program has done is let you work like you normally would, page-by-page, without having to worry about the layout. You’ve already set it up so that everything else will work beautifully all on its own. The only thing which might be confusing is how this all prints, so take note:
i.Page One is your outside back cover.
ii.Page Two is your outside front cover.
iii.Page Three is your inside left page.
iv.Page Four is your inside right page.
8.Now, for the easy part – typing. If you like to work from beginning to end like me, you’ll want to start on page 2, and create your front cover before you go further. Your front cover should contain both your and your partner’s full names, the wedding date and place, and possibly a quote to round things out nicely. An example:
The Wedding of
Janet Marie Doe
And
Jonathon Michael Dorn
October 26, 2005
BeautifulCity, Our State
“Nothing is worth more than this day.” ~ Goethe
9.Now, for the inside left page. In Word, that would be page 3. What you would want to include here is the names of the wedding party, the parents of bride and groom, and the names of the person performing your ceremony as well as anyone performing music or readings. An example:
Our Wedding Party:
Maid of Honor:
Jeannie Doe, sister of the bride
Best Man:
James Dorn, brother of the groom
Parents of the Bride:
Jessica and Jerrod Doe
Parents of the Groom:
Jilly and Jim Dorn
Officiant:
Rev. Thomas Stevens
Performing Music:
The Wedding Singer
10. Moving right along, you come to page 4 in Microsoft Word, which is your inside right-hand page. This is the spot where you’ll want to give your guests the inside scoop – the order of events in your ceremony. An example:
Our Ceremony
Prelude
“Longer,” Dan Fogelberg
“Just in Time,” Frank Sinatra
Processional
“Canon in D,” Pachelbel
Welcome
Exchange of Vows and Rings
The Rose Ritual
At this time, Janet and Jonathon will perform the rose ritual, which signifies the romantic union they are embarking on and reaffirms their love and devotion. The white rose which is given is symbolic of the purity of their love, and the promise of many years of friendship and bliss to come.
Reading
“Give All to Love”, by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Recessional
“All You Need Is Love,” The Beatles
Reception begins at 4:30 at BriarRose Guest Lodge. See you there!
11. Finally, you get to scroll all the way back up to page 1 in Microsoft Word and type out the back page to your wedding program. It’s been pretty easy, huh? Just make sure that you’ve saved your work!
12. The back page of your wedding program should be something intimate. Share a note of thanks to the guests in attendance, or offer a few thoughts on what this wedding means to you as a couple. If you have pictures taken of you together, this is a perfect spot to share them, too.
13. Now, you get to go through and make everything pretty. Look at the way that the pages are centered – you don’t want everything hugging the top of the page if there’s a ton of empty space at the bottom of it. Go ahead and center your pages up so that they look nice and professional. Give some thought to the font you’re using, too. Cursive and other elegant fonts are perfect for wedding programs. Finally, if you have wedding-themed clip art that you want to add in, go for it. It’s your program, you make it gorgeous.
14.Time to print! Make sure that you save your work, and print out a sample copy of your pages. If your printer supports it, set the quality of your print to “Draft” so that you use less ink. This first printing just lets you make sure that everything looks the way you want it to. Once you’re satisfied, go ahead and print your programs out. You will want to print pages 1-2 first, reload your half printed programs in the printer so that it will print on the other side of the page, and then go for pages 3-4.
15. While everything’s printing, take a second to congratulate yourself with a nice cup of cocoa or tea. Then, once it’s done, fold all of your programs in half and tie a single length of ribbon around the “spine”. Gorgeous!
Favorite Wedding Program Quotes
Not sure what quotes you want to use? No problem! Take a look through the ones included here – you’re sure to find a couple that you like.
“Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.” – Peter Ustinov
“What do I get from loving you? Loving you.” John-Roger
“The goal of life should not be to find joy in marriage, but to bring more love and truth into the world. We marry to assist each other in this task.” – Leo Tolstoy
“Your embraces alone give life to my heart.” – Ancient Egyptian Saying
“Those alone are wise who know how to love.” – Seneca
“The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved.” – Victor Hugo
“The greatest thing about love is that when it’s there, you know it.” – Bill Cosby
“Love is the only gold.” – Alfred, Lord Tennyson
“Never above you. Never below you. Always beside you.” – Walter Winchell
“Love is something eternal; the aspect may change, but not the essence.” – Vincent Van Gogh
You might also like to read Wedding Planning: Writing Your Music Program.
