7 Easy Ways to Personalize Your Program

Putting a little personality into your programs can elevate them from standard to standout—and all it takes is one unique or playful touch. Besides detailing the order of events, incorporating one of these ideas is a sure way to impress your guests.

A program doesn't have to be a folded booklet bound by a string or ribbon (though those work, too). Instead, play around with presentation: Print the ceremony info on oversize newsprint, à la New York Times; fold and stuff it into a paper pocket that hangs from each ceremony seat; make it into a hand fan at an outdoor summer wedding; or wrap program pages around a wooden dowel for guests to wave as you exit the aisle.

Of how you two met, that is. Maybe it was while in costume at a Halloween party, or perhaps you locked eyes across a crowded subway car—whatever your backstory, include it in your program's pages for the ultimate personal touch.

Yes, weddings are a serious event, but you can still have fun! Give guests a game to play while awaiting your big debut down the aisle, modeled after a children's activity booklet. Puzzle-Maker.com lets you create personalized crossword or word-search puzzles about you and your groom—make sure to provide a pencil!

Say thanks to your family and friends publicly with a short paragraph about what their support has meant to you.

Instead of just listing your bridesmaids, groomsmen, and child attendants, introduce them Playbill-style with fun bios filled with factoids about each. Bonus points for including custom illustrations of all your players.

As your junior-high English teacher said, "Show, don't tell." Throwing a waterfront wedding? Rubber-stamp your program (and other paper elements) with an anchor or sailboat icon. If you're getting hitched in the spring, look to seasonal motifs like birds and bees. Maybe yours is a destination affair that might be represented by a compass or an airplane. Whatever the theme, there's an image out there to match.

If you love the idea of walking out to a flurry of confetti, label a small vellum bag "Toss Me," and fill it up with the good stuff. You can tack either on to your programs with double-sided tape, glue dots, or by simple stitching.