AlinaBradford on How to Make a Wedding Program

fact, I didn’t even know that you were supposed to have them until a few weeks before the wedding.

The realization sort-of put me into a tailspin. Thankfully, though, I am a crafter at heart, and with a little research and some creativity I whipped up about eighty programs in a couple days.

First, I decided they must match with the theme of the wedding. Our wedding was held in a big two-story mansion beside a lake in my hometown. Naturally, our theme was water. In keeping with that theme our wedding color was a turquoise blue.

To add these elements to my programs I went trolling on photo sites like Stock.xchng for images of lakes, boats, sea shells…anything that had a water theme. Finally, I settled on images of several sea shells.

Using my photo editing software, I cut out each shell from the pictures and pasted them in a row in a new project area. I added a transparent blue layer to make the shells and the surrounding area wedding color blue. I cropped this image so that it was 2” wide and five inches long.

Next, I opened a new document and used the same type of text that was on my wedding invitation to type out my program’s details. I started the program by thanking people for coming. I added that the guests should ring their “wedding bells” after we were announced as wed. Then, I added the time when the first dance would be held, when the dinner would start and when to expect the toast. I centered all of the text on the page by selecting it and choosing the “center” option. At the top and the bottom of the page I pasted the shell design.

I printed the programs out on white cardboard stock, but decided I didn’t like how they were square, so I cut each one into a long, curvy strip. I thought they looked a lot like waves, now.

To add three-dimensional interest I added some “bling” to the top of the program. I cut leaves off of silk flowers and hot glued them to the top along with some ribbon and a blue marble.

These types of marbles can be found in the floral section of craft stores in a variety of colors. They are flat on one side so that they can be glued to objects. (I saved some to decorate tables with.)

We got so many complements on how original our wedding programs were. It just goes to show that you don’t have to follow the crowd when it comes to your wedding. You can make something with your hands that will create a stir and make you feel proud. My wedding programs certainly did that for me.