Finished Wedding Ceremony Programs

We're in the final stretch of wedding planning and we're tying up all loose ends. The wedding ceremony programs are finished and ready to go!

They were pretty simple to make. I just looked at our ceremony and copied entire chunks of text. Since I'm a visual learner, I like to read along as much as possible. We tried to fit as much of the actual ceremony script as possible, but we had to limit ourselves to 8 1/2 x 11.

I sent the messy document to my best friend, Andy, who dabbles (proficiently) in graphic design. He transformed the messy pile into a real program. Hooray for delegating!

We printed the document on white card stock we had at our house. Oh, now I'm remembering they weren't that simple. The card stock was so thick we had to feed each one individually into the printer and pull it out on the other end (in order to prevent sticking and jamming). For a while there, every copy was coming out smeared and gross. As I ruined copy after copy, my frustration got the best of me. Finally, Matt figured out that the printer needed a break between each copy. Oi vey!

So, then I had to print a copy, go fill up my water bottle, print another copy, feed the dog, print another copy, check my e-mail, print another copy, file some papers, print another copy, check the mail--you get the picture. That part was a major pain in the ass. It reminded me of the time I took an online driver's education course for a speeding ticket and the computer program forced me to stay on each page for a specified amount of time, despite the fact that it didn't take nearly that long to read each page. And there were more than 100 pages! Ew...bad memories.

Anyway, once all the copies were printed, I used our paper cutter (the most handy invention ever!) and cut all the copies in half. Then, I used spray adhesive to spray both sides, press on the wavy wooden fan handle, and carefully press the two sides together. I don't mean to make it sound easier than it was. Spray adhesive is not that much fun. My fingers got sticky, the surrounding surface got sticky, and sometimes the wrong sides of things got sticky.

But I managed to make it through the ordeal relatively unscathed. Once the programs were dry, I tripped off any areas that weren't perfectly aligned. Voila!

I thought about curving the edges or adding some color, but in the end I decided not to stress about it too much. Some people save them, but most people leave them behind or politely toss them in a more discrete manner after the ceremony. We're actually going to set up a box to recycle any that people don't want. I do hope people actually use them to fan themselves during our outdoor ceremony.

Share |