A quick guide to creating your own Wedding order of service booklet

Just about everybody loves a wedding! It’s always an exciting and vibrant day – but, usually, with it comes masses of organisation!

There is, these days, a variety of wedding services and celebrations you can choose from – the traditional, formal church ceremonies, and now many alternatives in regards to venues, styles and formats of wedding ceremonies. Whichever style of wedding you favour, it is always necessary to extend a courtesy to your guests to inform them of exactly what the day will compose of, and the ‘running order’, as such, of how the ceremony will unfold.

The best way to do this is to create order of service booklets for your guests. These booklets detail the agenda for the ceremony and day, as well as acting as a keepsake for your guests of the happy occasion.

So, what should you include in your wedding Order of Service?

Depending on the specific culture, religious faith or otherwise, of the intended couple, the wedding ceremony will have different aspects and rituals included. They will typically include readings and musical selections, perhaps poetry – they will nearly all, though, include some common elements – here are the options you may want to include as a basis, when considering your order of service printing:  

• Details about the couple getting married – Usually the full names and details of the intended couple.
  Details of whomever is officiating (priest, vicar, civil celebrant) over the service.
• Timeline – A ‘map of the service’, as such – what time the ceremony starts, the order of the readings, songs/hymns, the exchange of vows and rings, the pronouncement and the recessional – all the different aspects of the service.
• Family members – Details of close family and anyone taking part in the ceremony in any official capacity – Best Man, Maid of Honour, Bridesmaids and such.
• Reception details – If there is to be a reception, or ‘wedding breakfast’, where it is to be held and details of attendance to the event.
• Song titles and readings – it might be useful to include the complete words of hymns, readings or poems. These allow the wedding guests to follow, and participate in, the ceremony more inclusively.
• The names of any guest readers or musical performers who may be participating in the ceremony.
• Thank you note, or reference, to all those attending the wedding.
• Photographs – It is always good to include photographs of the couple, and perhaps family, from earlier days.

Your ceremony may include some family traditions – perhaps particular songs or prayers – but it is up to the couple to decide, along with their ceremony officiant, exactly what they want featured in their wedding. It is a good idea to have ushers, or other ceremony officials, hand out the orders of service to wedding guests as they arrive at the venue.

Keep it simple. Choose an easy to read font and bold lettering to make the headings clear and concise for people. Remember, when considering your order of service printing needs that many of your family and guests will want to keep these booklets as reminders of the happy occasion, so it is important that they look professional and smart.

Whatever form of ceremony you decide upon, printed wedding order of service booklets will allow your guests to more fully participate in your special day!

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