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Inspiration » Ceremony » 33 Creative Wedding Program Ideas For Your Ceremony

33 Creative Wedding Program Ideas For Your Ceremony

by Hannah Huber

Every detail of your big day is a reflection of your personal style as a couple, so your wedding program design should be just as special as your ceremony. Start by thinking about other elements you’ve incorporated into your wedding. Is it romantic? Vintage? Modern and chic? Make a list of adjectives that describe your vibe for a little inspiration. If you find yourself stuck, here are 33 fun ideas to create a unique wedding program your guests will never forget.

1. Make a QR Code

We know you’ve spent some quality time making a wedding website that outlines every minute of your big day. For your modern wedding, create a QR code display at your ceremony entrance that directs guests to a digital wedding program on your website. Bonus: It’s very eco-friendly (and inexpensive).

2. Hand Fan

You can’t control the weather, but you can keep your guests stylishly cool. Print all your details on a wedding program fan that your loved ones can use throughout the ceremony.

3. Get Bubbly

Make the recessional of your ceremony interactive (and picture-perfect) by including a vial of bubbles for guests to blow after you exchange vows. Kids will love it!

4. Design a Monogram

If you plan to take your partner’s name — or even if you don’t — creating a monogram that intertwines all of your initials makes for a romantic emblem. Not only can you print it on your programs, but it can also be adapted to use on items throughout your wedding and in your life together (hello, monogrammed towels!)

5. Acrylic Board

An acrylic board is the modern trend couples are loving right now. If you’re embracing the minimalist wedding vibe, a painted acrylic board is a must for displaying your ceremony details.

6. Chalkboard Sign

The chalkboard trend isn’t going away anytime soon, so use it to your advantage! Hire a chalkboard artist to design a fun board for your guests to view on the way to their seats. Better yet, make this a DIY wedding project with your sweetheart.

7. Design a Timeline

There are several aesthetic ways to incorporate a timeline in your wedding ceremony program. Keep it simple by detailing the night’s events hour by hour or, if you’re feeling creative, show your journey as a couple for a personal touch. Create a timeline that highlights every big event in your love story, ending with your wedding day.

8. Attach Your Favor

Instead of having your favor waiting next to your place cards at the reception, give them to your guests with the program. This is a great idea for a favor they can actually use during cocktail hour, like a Koozie or mints.

9. Minimalist Style

Sometimes, simple is best. Use a black and white color scheme with a minimalist font to bring the most essential information to your guests.

10. Create an Infographic Wedding Program

Infographics are a fun way to pack a lot of information into one small space. Mix up your fonts and colors for each block to keep the program from looking like a corporate brochure. 

11. Use Your Wedding Flowers as Inspiration

Grab some watercolor paint and use your wedding flowers as inspiration! Watercolor is a very forgiving medium and perfect for DIY wedding projects. Practice a few freehand attempts and, when you are satisfied, take your final design to the printer for duplicates.

12. Mini Booklets

Create a mini booklet of your love story for your guests that features characters in your wedding party, a tale of the night’s events, and, of course, the happiest ending.

13. Use a Handkerchief

Handkerchiefs are a great keepsake — and even better when they double as your wedding program. These lacy little napkins come in handy when your guests need to dab the sweat from your brow during an outdoor wedding or happy tears from their eyes as you say “I do.”

14. Create Your Own Newspaper

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! The cutest couple in town is getting married today! Let’s be honest: This is front page news, so why not create a fun newspaper wedding program to tell your own story?

15. Tri-Fold Standing Program

This is a great option for ceremony spaces that double as the wedding reception area. Set each table with a standing tri-fold wedding program that includes the table number and ceremony information.

16. Add Some Hydration

Summer weddings are tough, especially if you’re exchanging vows in the afternoon heat. Present your program with a little bottle of water to get your wedding guests through the ceremony. 

17. Seal it With Wax

If you’re embracing vintage accents in your wedding decor, using a wax seal is the perfect way to bring that theme into your ceremony. Choose a seal with your monogram or design your own emblem. You can also repurpose it for your thank you notes.

18. Elegant Bows

Ribbons are a great way to add a little something extra to a traditional wedding program. Try matching the color of the ribbon to your wedding party’s colors or use a textured fabric like burlap to keep it neutral.

19. Recycled Paper

If you choose to create a traditional wedding program, you can still go green by printing on recycled paper.

20. Use Seed Paper

Seed paper is a great way to give back to the environment and your guests. Include a little note on your program explaining that it can be planted in their garden and your guests will remember your wedding forever as these blooms come back season after season.

21. Incorporate Your Engagement Photos

This is a great opportunity to show off those pre-wedding engagement photos of you and your partner. Pick your favorite and make it the cover of a program booklet in the style of a magazine cover. If you want to keep it simple, just use a photo as the background for your program.

22. Photobooth Fun

Everyone loves a good photobooth at a wedding. Design a program with a small space for your guests to insert their favorite snapshot as a souvenir. 

23. Create Wedding Program Bags

Print your order of events on pastry bags and fill them with rose petals or confetti to be tossed at the recessional.

24. Design a Custom Logo

Creating a logo or crest that you can use beyond your wedding day is a fun way to include your guests in this new symbol of your life together.

25. Cootie Catchers

What’s more fun than a program that’s a throwback to a childhood favorite? Engage your friends and family before the ceremony with a fun game that doubles as a list of events.

26. Attach Tissues

If you choose a bifold for your program, attach some tissues inside for those moving vowels. Your guests (and their mascara) will thank you!

27. Enlist an Artist’s Help 

Have a local artist draw portraits to match the text on your program. It could be a fun, kitschy or even abstract portrait of you and your partner on your special day. It’s a great way to bring an artistic touch to your ceremony.

28. Tie a Fresh Herb Sprig 

The smell of fresh herbs floating through the air as you walk down the aisle creates a scent memory you and your guests will hold dear forever. It also brings an element of nature and a pop of greenery to your ceremony. Pick an herb that ties into elements of your wedding theme, such as floral arrangements or the cake design.

29. Get Inspired By Your Wedding Invitations

If you and your partner are fans of a more traditional look, try matching your programs to your save the date and wedding invitations. The look will be cohesive and clean.

30. Be Inspired By Your Common Interests

Celebrate the things that brought you together by creating a program that’s uniquely you. Love the theater? Make your program into a playbill complete with mock ads, starring roles, and a plot summary of your love journey.

31. Print it on Sheet Music

Every couple has that one perfect song that captures your time together. Share that moment of connection with your guests by printing your program on the back of that sheet music. Pro tip: Incorporate some of the lyrics into the text to bring the sentiment full circle.

32. Play With Fonts

We love calligraphy, but mixing and matching fonts can bring some fun to a traditional program. Try using bold, lacy cursive for the headers and a simpler, playful san-serif font for the body of the text.

33. Get Your Snack On

There is always a lull before the big show. Give your guests a little something to munch on that doubles as a wedding program. Popcorn holders are the perfect touch to a theatrical ceremony.

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