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I think it's nice for people to have something to follow. It's not 100% necessary and you can avoid them. But most people like to follow along, read background about people, inform them of the songs, etc. It adds a little personal touch to the ceremony, IMO.
You can do a simply print/fold type thing - design on the computer and print! No significant cost involved.
I think they only time they're necessary is if the ceremony is complicated or needs explanation (cross-cultural, etc.)
We skipped them as it wasn't worth the paper to us. I don't think any one missed them. Although, if had had them I'm sure people would have appreciated having something with which to fan themselves! But really? Not necessary. I vote it's probably safe to skip them.
This is an interesting one, I've been thinking myself are they really necessary. I'm glad you posted this!
We're doing them ourselves just because I like having something to follow along and know what's coming next. Depending on the kind of ceremony, it's not always necessary but I felt like for ours, a Lutheran ceremony where we have a ton of different religious groups coming, it made sense.
we're not having them. we're having a jewish wedding, which is short so it wont be hard to follow other than all of the traditions, but 98% of our guests are jewish so i'm not worried.
We had a catholic ceremony with the majority of the guests not being Catholic so in our case, I think it really adds to the guests' experience to have a program in hand.
we only have 2 people in our bridal party and doing a small civil ceremony...hadnt even crossed my mind to have programs...kind of feel simple is better.
I don't think their necessary, except if your having a long ceremony (catholic wedding) or a cultural ceremony then maybe you might need them! I'm still on the fence about doing them too because our ceremony is such a simple beach wedding that I don't think I'll need it, but Its nice to introduce the bridal entourage, you know!
My cousin didn't have programs. My boyfriend's coworker's daughter did. Both were pretty small, maybe 75 people at most. Both ceremonies were rather short, and I almost felt distracted by the program.
Then you have the issue of spending the money on programs, and what will people do with them later? I would hope they'd recycle them, or so.
Maybe I'll send all invitations/programs on those plantable cards.
We didn't do them, and I'm glad we decided not to! There was just too much going on in the week before the wedding to complete one more project.
At first we weren't going to do any, but then I got starry eyed after seeing so many really amazing ones. So we'll be making them, purely to feed my paper-addiction and not out of necessity.
My friend had an outdoor wedding and she just glued a sheet of paper with the program info onto her homemade popsicle stick and construction paper fans. Dual purpose!
We made ours and I liked how they turned out but I don't think they're at all a necessity if you have a simple ceremony.
We weren't going to have them since our wedding is going to be so small, but I came up with a cute concept that FH and I loved (they are going to be shaped like sand dollars!! haha) so we are having them only because I'm making them.
I don't think it is something that you HAVE to have but they are nice. What if you only got them for couples with a few extra? That way you only need half as many...I saw somewhere where the bride placed one on every other chair and a fan on the oppisite for an outdoor ceremony. Maybe something like that would be an option for you
We did them b/c we had a crazy-complicated Catholic-Jewish wedding and I thought it was necessary. I don't think they are required if your ceremony isn't too crazy :)
We are not ahving them. We are having a small weding and it will be outdoors and most people will be standing the entire time. It's a little bit of a walk out to the ceremony site, so we want to keep it simple.
They aren't necessary, and I know not everyone wants to keep them after. You could always make half as many & do families/couples only, or have like 25-50 & hand them out to whoever wants one.
We'll be having them but we're making them all.
I made pretty ones on the computer. I needed them to explain my ceremony since most guests weren't familiar with it.
We didn't think the extra cost was necessary, so we didn't do it. While they would have been a nice keepsake, we couldn't justify the extra expense.
We'll be having a Catholic mass so I think programs are a must for our friends and the half of my family that isn't Catholic.
That being said, I think it depends on the length & complexity of your wedding. I really like to see who the wedding party is and read the notes couple's write in their programs. You could always print that information and the outine of your ceremony on a sheet of colored cardstock.
It's a nice to have, not a need to have - in my opinion. We are having a Catholic ceremony, but even so, the majority of people coming are Catholic, so I'm not worried about them being confused. Plus, the guest's don't really have to do anything but sit, stand and kneel (which wouldn't be in the programs anyway), so not too concerned. I'd rather save the money and use it for something else. I can understand why people would have them though if they had guests that weren't familiar with the traditions or ceremony.
We aren't doing them because I don't really feel like there's anything to explain for us.
But surkim mentioned the plantable cards. We just did bookmarks made out of that seed paper for an event at work celebrating our 100 year anniversary. The text on it said something along the lines of "plant this paper and watch the flowers grow, just as we have done for the past 100 years...." Seems like it would translate to a wedding well! "plant this paper and watch the flowers bloom just like our love, etc." LOL Cheesy? Yeah, but still fun!! 
We're having a detailed and culture-driven ceremony, so we're having something more so that people can have lyrics to congregational hymns and read background on why we're choosing to do some of the things that we're doing, but we've been to two weddings recently where they didn't have programs. We went to another where the bride made them herself on the super cheap. In short, necessary for us... but it doesn't seem like in your situation it's necessary, so I say skip them if you don't feel strongly about their presence.
We are skipping them all together. Just felt like they are an unneccesary expense. We're not having anything overly complicated though. If you are, I think it's a nice gesture otherwise, save the cash!
We had programs, but we made them ourselves. I think with the discount coupon I used for the paper (gotta love Micheal's) it ended up costing us $10-$15.
They certainly aren't necessary, but they're a nice touch. I'm glad we had them.
I'd planned on doing them, but it was one of those projects that I ended up dropping in the month before the wedding to preserve my sanity. They weren't missed.
We are having a Catholic ceremony, and my family is generally not religious, so we will have programs to help them follow along. Plus I know for a fact that some of my older relatives will want them as keepsakes! I'm planning on designing them myself to keep them from eating our stationery budget though.
I'm hoping that no one wants me to make them. I think they're one of those things that people spend way too much time on that then just gets thrown in the trash. Hard work!
We're not doing them. Our ceremony will be short and sweet and honestly with all the other million details to attend to, it's not even on my radar to do them. I don't think they are a necessity by any means unless you're having a more complicated cermony with readings etc. or there are cultural traditions you'd like to explain to guests who may not know what's going on.
We're having them. I always appreciate them as a wedding guest, and since we're having a full mass Catholic wedding, so they are needed in our case.
No programs for me! I really don't think we'll need programs for a non-religious super-short ceremony, it'll literally be 15 minutes, TOPS. Hopefully more like 10!
I think we'll have them as long as I have the energy for another DIY... not paying anyone outside for them.
I never even saw FSIL's I was so busy with all my BM business. I think ours will be more important for while the guests are waiting, maybe a little cute backstory and outline of the service.
I have no idea if we are doing programs. Part of me thinks its unecessary for our short, non-religious ceremony. I haven't thought about the ceremony specifics yet, so I will probably decide about the programs once I know what the ceremony will be like.
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Hi bees! Our budget has changed and we're cutting corners where we can. I'm having a med. sized wedding - approx 100 - 130 people expected to show. I know 100 programs aren't that expensive, but every little bit helps!
Is it really necessary to have wedding programs? Can we skip these all together? Do you have a cheap alternative to traditional programs? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks everyone!