DIY {fanned} Wedding Programs

"I'll just make my own programs for the ceremony!" she says. How hard can it be?

Having programs at your ceremony is not a must, but can be a nice thing for guests to have so they can follow along with the order {or mentally check off each item as it's completed, counting down the minutes until they can get to the bar}. We chose to have programs, and chose to make them ourselves, and it took SO much more work and time than I had ever expected.

This is not meant to discourage anyone from creating your own programs, it is more meant to forewarn you of some of the unexpected, let's call them hiccups, we encountered so that maybe you can avoid the same issues.

Our programs were 3 pages {page 1 for ceremony information, page 2 for wedding party and participants information, and page 3 was more for a little distraction and entertainment during the ceremony}

I created each page in Microsoft Word, downloading some of the fonts I wanted to use from websites like this one {link here}. With a ton of trial and error, I found the exact fonts I liked and sorted out the formatting to fit everything we wanted to include in our program.

Each page was printed on plain white cardstock {4.5x6.25, sold in packs of 100 at Michael's or Hobby Lobby, and no where else in ALL of nyc, but more on that later}

Then I glued each page onto either a navy, grey, or chevron background. I did this to add some stability and a little color flare.

Adding a hole punch to the top left corner, I then tied a small ribbon through each hole and voila! We were finished!

One of the things I liked so much about this project was that if it was super hot on our wedding day, the program could be fanned out to provide a little breeze for guests to cool themselves during the ceremony.

Ok, so why was this project such a huge pain? Well, first the printer {he shall be known as Mr. HP from here on out. Throughout this process, we developed enough of a relationship that I feel he was worthy of a name. And I needed to curse at something other than printer in my head}. After testing on regular printer paper several times, we were ready to print the programs on the carstock. However, our printer all of a sudden decided to print the navy font we were using in lime green. Perfectly fine decision, Mr. HP. I understand you may have had differing opinions on the colors we choose for the wedding, however deciding to present those opinions so drastically, and only 2 weeks before the wedding, was not a cool maneuver at all {attempt #1}.

Attempt #2: We were able to get Mr. HP to calm down and print the correct color, however about 25 programs later, he ran out of ink. Whether that's the printer's fault or mine is still up for debate, but a trip had to be made to Staples .

Now we were ready for attempt #3 to complete the programs. Printer ink filled, paper loaded, and away we go. Apparently now Mr. HP was just a little peckish and decided to eat a few {approximately 15} pages of cardstock. After the lime green ink, and paper binge, it was time to resupply the cardstock. Another trip to the store.

Some of you may find me foolish with this but maybe others will learn something new. Cardstock is not sold in Staples, Paper Source, Papyrus, Hallmark, Cursive, Paper Presentation, or any other paper store in a convenient Manhattan location. As far as I know, cardstock is only sold at Michael's {there is no Hobby Lobby in NYC, yet. Pity me}. This is perfectly acceptable, however, Michael's is 60 blocks North and 9 avenues West, plus a Central Park. It's not impossible to get to, but it sure as heck is not a quick trip to the store when you're trying to finish programs before the end of the day.

Annnnnyway... Attempt #4, with ink, paper, and minimal patience, we're ready to go. We print everything and started gluing the cardstock to the colored paper.  I asked Brit to start hole punching the corner so that we can make a mini assembly line for program development.

Glue. Punch. Glue. Punch. Glue... Hole punch broken. Why not? Another trip.

Attempt #5. I'll just cut this one short. We ran out of ribbon for the little bow. Another trip. Not to just anywhere though, alllllll the way back up to Michael's, because the ribbon that I had been using to put together the first half of programs was not sold anywhere else in a convenient location {trust me, I looked}.

Attempt #6. We are now down to the day before we leave for our wedding. What I thought would easily be completed within a weekend was taking over a week and a half, and we still were not finished. The day before we left I had to make a decision whether to finish up the packing, or complete the programs. Remember how I talked about not sleeping before your wedding? We didn't get much sleep, but I did decide not to prioritize the programs over anything else that was really important. This was tough though because of the amount of time {blood, sweat, and tears} that had gone into them.

Not to worry though, the programs were completed. In the car. On our way to South Carolina. Who knew a glove box would make such a perfect craft desk.

And still making programs into the night. Thank goodness for the flashlight feature on my iPhone.

Turns out, putting programs together for an 8 hour leg of a road trip is really effective for passing the time. One more little hiccup the programs tried to throw at me, almost ran out of glue. The last two programs were glued together by me digging glue from the tube like you would when your favorite lip balm is finished.
Programs: 6 Stef: 1

Overall, the project was a learning experience for sure, but I am still so glad that we decided to DIY our programs, and if I was to do it all over again, I would still make them myself.

Money Saved: $300, if using the same suite as our invitations and RSVP cards.
Time: I don't really want to talk about it...

Thanks for visiting!