When I first began the daunting task of looking for a wedding program template for my co-officiated Jewish-Christian wedding, I looked online in all the usual places for inspiration. I found many lovely designs, but what we needed was a multiple page booklet—and that proved difficult to come by. Since ours was an interfaith ceremony, we wanted to include elements and traditions from both our faiths, and that would mean extra pages.

Given that I couldn’t find a template with more than four pages, I decided to create my own. I used Microsoft Word, and created an 8-page 8.5 X 11 bi-fold booklet. Here is a step-by-step guide to creating your multiple page wedding program. You can see the final product of my program here, to get ideas.

Open up Microsoft Word, and choose NEW and CREATE.
• In the page layout tab, click on the “size” icon and select 5.5 x 8.5.
• Now you are ready to begin entering the content.

Essentials to Include

1. Program cover: This should include your full names, wedding date, venue name and location (city and state). We included an emblem at the top, and a quote from our ketubah at the bottom.

2. Acknowledge wedding party attendants: Include officiant(s), parents of both partners and wedding party. List your affiliation with members of the wedding party. Note: We didn’t have room to add our ceremony musician or reader, but added them into the ceremony order section.

3. Ceremony order or order of service: Include details about the ceremony, cite the readings (and reader’s name) and list the music being played during the processional and recessional. Here is an example of the breakdown of what to emphasize:

o Processional
o Welcome
o Breaking of the glass
o Opening remarks and introduction
o Readings
o Exchange of vows and rings
o Unity candle ceremony (if you’re having one)
o Final blessings
o Recessional
o The kiss

4. Elements of service: Incorporate background about any religious or cultural traditions that your guests might not be familiar with.

5. Other Highlights: A wedding program is a great way to honor special loved ones who have passed, convey special thank you’s, add meaningful quotes and give directions to the reception. You can also include other info such as your wedding hashtag or let your guests know if you’re having an unplugged ceremony.

Printing and Assembly

Our programs were ordered at Staples with their online form to be picked up at our store location. It was 8 pages, folded and stapled down the middle. TIP: Order it as a document to make it less expensive than ordering as a booklet. Go to: How-to: documents.staples.com.

How-to:

1. Documents Printing/Black and White/Buy Now/Select Standard Black and White
2. Upload your file
3. Select Job Options
   Media: 8.5×11
   Color: You can select the color for your paper (we chose gray)
   Checkmark: Fit contents to paper and click “ok”
4. Print Options
   Sides: Double-Sided (head to head)
   Folding: Fold in Half
   Stapling: Left Edge: (2 staples)

Save your document and complete your order. Just to be safe and make sure everything looks good, I printed a very small quantity before printing enough programs for the wedding.

There are other options you can choose such as adding vinyl or clear plastic to your covers, but these were the specs we used, and it cost $.88 per booklet. Not bad for a DIY wedding program!

Once we received my final order, I tied satin double-faced ribbon through the middle of each program to pull the final look together. I used plum and lilac as those were our wedding colors.

A program can set the tone for your wedding, so get creative! It can be a fun way to personalize your ceremony and keep guests engaged.

Looking for a fun wedding program but don’t want to make it yourself? Check out this one.