Program Categories?

I'm feeling pretty good because I've designed the layed out of just about all my stationary projects (STD's, Invitations w/ inserts, RSVP cards, Menu, etc.) When it came to the Programs, I was stumped. As I've mentioned before, the ceremony will be a fusion of Persian (tribute to FI's culture) and American traditions. I've known from the start that I wanted to have programs to describe the "Sofreh," the traditional Persian ceremony spread. What else should be included in the programs? List of Bridal Party and maybe "Special Thanks to..." Do you list Vendors? Am I missing anything? Please help.

The only reason we had programs was to explain some of the Chinese traditions we did at our wedding. So, since we were having a program, we had some fun with it. There are a couple of pics in my bio.

Aside from explaining the Chinese tea ceremony and the symbolism behind many of the food items served. We listed the wedding party and their relationships to DH and myself. We listed a play-by-play of the ceremony including the music that was played. One page was a big thank you to our guests, wedding party and our parents. I also had a page explaining a website I had set up through Flickr.com where guests could upload photos they had taken at the wedding for everyone to see. The fun parts were 2 sudoku puzzles and a personalized crossword puzzle about DH and myself and random wedding lore.

Good luck!

Mine are going to be pretty simple. The subtitles:
Bridal party, Reverend
List of family present
Schedule of events
A couple Chinese traditions (although not too many because my mother is planning a second wedding ceremony for whenever we get leave to go back to Taiwan)
Readings/Scriptures (To make my non-Asian family happy)
For our younger guests (We're hiring a lovely nursing student who is a part time nanny and then arranging for puzzles, coloring books, DVD's and pizza)
Since our programs are a little unorthodox in design, I'm considering including a page for the menu as well
My fiance is a big fan of mint juleps (he considers himself a connoisseur of them, its silly if you ask me) but since we're getting married in the South as Yankees, I thought I may add a recipe card in at the end of the program. Not to send the message that we're quite fond of drinking or anything... What do you think, does that send the wrong message?!

I am not listing vendors but my first page is a little thank you letter to our families and friends for being there and making us who we are, that was the gist of it anyhow.

Abattyref - what pretty programs!

Hi nicsknack. Our wedding is very similar...I'm Persian and my FI is American, so we're also blending the two cultures. How long is your program? I also wanted to explain the sofreh to my guests in the program, but i'm worried it'll end up being really long. Were you able to condense at all?
I can't wait to hear/learn more about your plans in hopes to be inspired by your great ideas!! Planning a merged culture wedding adds a whole new set of challenges to an already challening process.

Great suggestions ladies...thank you! Abattyref, your programs are amazing. I remember loving your invites, but this is the first I saw the programs. Missmarjan: Yeah, another Persian/American wedding...hahaha. Yes, it has been a learning experience with the whole sofreh and process of the aghd. I came across a site that was pretty helpful in the basic knowledge of both the sofreh and aghd. http://persianmirror.com/celebrations/persianweddings/persianwedding.cfm From that same site, I used the wording from a program suggessted. Its still a little long even though its a very brief over view. Also, we were really inspired by a persian wedding featured in a magazine. We love that it has a modern twist. Our sofreh will be very similar except for the pink flowers.