Catholic Wedding Programs for a Non-Mass Ceremony

Any kind of Catholic ceremony can be really confusing for some people, and can make them uncomfortable. I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable at my wedding! I wanted to make sure that the ceremony program was easy to follow and informative.

I was lucky enough to be a bridesmaid in a friend's Catholic wedding a few years ago. I kept her ceremony program as a keepsake, and then completely copied it for my own wedding! I'm sharing it here, so that hopefully another bride can copy it and save hours of time putting together the content.

(Click on any image below for a larger version)
Download the Word document here

See the music selections here

Cover
Obviously include who the bride and groom are, but also who is participating in the ceremony! Thank the wedding party, priest, readers, musicians, flower girl, ring bearer, and anyone else who is helping making your ceremony happen.

Welcome Page
Welcome your wedding guests to the ceremony and the church, plus remind them to turn off their cell phones.

Ceremony Order
This has all the parts of the ceremony, including:

• The text of the readings, so that the hard-of-hearing can follow along
• Any responses that the congregation says, including the prompts said by the priest and lector
• The music, including where to find it in the pews' hymnal
• When to sit and stand

Local Activities
I included a list of local activities that could be done in between the ceremony and the reception (there was a BIG 3+ hour gap). I wanted our guests to experience the local flavor! I think everyone ended up taking a nap or hanging out at the hotel bar.

Driving Directions
No one will remember to bring the driving directions you so carefully put in with the invitations, so include them again in the ceremony program.