programs - are they necessary?

twinklen--> another Catholic bride skipped making them b/c she felt her non-Cath guests would be too busy reading the programs to be paying attention to the ceremony...

but i'm with you--> one less step and few pennies saved!!  (p.s. i never cared as a guest! yikes does that make me bad guest??)

We're not having them.

I had them and am so glad I did.  I got many compliments on them.  Mine were booklet style.  In mine, I had the ceremony order, a funny anecdote about our friendship with each member of the bridal party, a description of the unique elements of the wedding, a memorial to the people who have passed, a thank you to all guests, info for my photo sharing site, and an explanation of my something old, new, borrowed, and blue.  It did take me time, but it gave people something to do as they were waiting for the ceremony to start and made a nice keepsake for us and our family.

That being said, it is not necessary at all.  Dirty said it best.  My only qualification to that is that if there are unique elements to your wedding that the officiant does not explain, it is nice to clue the guests in on what is happening.

My church prints them up for free for the couple. If you need help structuring it, here's how it usually works (in a bulletin format):

LEFT SIDE:

Bride and Groom's Names

Parents' Names

Bridal Party (differentiate MOH and BM from other attendants)

Flower Girl/Ring Bearer

Ushers and Readers

Officiant

Musicians and their respective instruments

RIGHT SIDE:

Preludes

Music for each processional (mothers, bridesmaids, bride)

General service outline (readings, unity/sand/rose ceremony, music, prayers)

Pretty basic. Just list the important people on one side and have the service order on the other. I'm having a church service with a lot of music (a couple of songs will be printed in the program) and various prayers that not everyone may know, so a program is important. For a more casual outdoor wedding, I don't know that it matters as much to have a program. It really depends on how much your guests will be participating/following the service. I'm having a friend design the cover- I don't think it has to be a huge production- Kinko's would probably suffice if you really want them.

Were werent going to have them initially. I hate seeing things in the trash, and I just know my family...they would be in the garbage. We are having a short ceremony, not much to explain. But then FI left town for three weeks, and I got bored. Needless to say...I'm almost done with them =) But NO, they aren't absolutely necessary..most people will probably not even notice you didn't have them

Were going to have them. We are having a full mass...I use to find them helpful when I was a teen. Only to see how much longer we had to be in church! lol No, but really....we are having them. I think it helps the guests understnad whats going on. Plus, our fams are huge catholics. I do not plan to spend a fortune...this is the least of my worries. 

We did them, but then again I'm one of those guests who love programs and keeps them afterwards. We had a lot of non-Catholics at our wedding so the program showed them what we were doing. We also did a lot of Filipino traditions, so in our programs we also explained what each tradition meant. Plus we included a list of formal portraits which helped organize and mobilize our guests after our ceremony. And it's a great keepsake!

I'm making program fans- more for the fan part considering the wedding is going to be outside in Atlanta in June.  I'm DIY all the way, and it will be less than $40 total- def worth it!

I wasn't going to have programs, but I thought that they would make a nice touch to let my guests know exactly what is going on.  I am going to DIY them though.  I am going to buy the supplies from The Paper Source.

Personally, I think they are sort of unnecessary?  I never read them myself, I'm gonna save the trees (and the funds) and skip that step haha :)