creating an order of service

taken from www.wedbykez.com

With a lot of couples choosing a short and sweet ceremony "the order of service" has become less of a requirement at weddings and more of a momento.
It is a fantastic way to give your guests a memory of what was said, and done, at the wedding but something that you may choose to ditch if you are working to a budget.
Some quick googling will give you some examples of how an order of service is laid out but luckily I've done that for you.

The cover page should include:

• Venue of Wedding
• Date and Time
• Name of Bride and Groom

Inside Cover (optional)
The names of the Bridal Party including Bestman, Grooms Men, Brides maids, Flower girls and Page boys as well as the name of the Celebrant or Minister and any musicians or others involved in the wedding.

Following Pages

• Title: Order of Service
• Entrance of the Bride (listing the music used and Composer)
• Welcome
• Hymn (If applicable) (Listing the Hymn title and Composer and words)
• Reading (If applicable) (Listing the Title, Author and naming the person who is reading)
• The Marriage
• Hymn (If applicable) (Listing the Hymn title and Composer and words)
• Prayer (If applicable) (Listing Prayer Name, Chapter and Verses and words)
• Signing of the Register (listing Witnesses)
• Prensentation of Certificates
• Procession of the Wedding Party (Listing Music used and Composer)

You can also include instructions for guests for what happens after the ceremony. For example, BRIDE and GROOM will be leaving for photos directly after the ceremony but look forward to celebrating with you at PLACE, TIME etc

How you create the Order of Service is up to you. You can include as much detail from the ceremony as you like. A great idea is to include your vows in the Order of Service, especially if you are writing your own as you always have a reminder of what was said on the day.. Perfect for 20 years down the track when the whole event might be a little fuzzy.

If you have word or pages you can easily create an Order of Service on your home computer but there are some tricks to keep in mind

• Make sure you use margins so that you allow enough space for folds and staples
• Use text boxes instead of columns as it is easier to manipulate the formatting
• Remember that you are creating a booklet - so the Cover page text should actually sit on the right hand side of an A4 page if you are planning an A5 Order of Service. Even pages are on the Left, Odd pages are on the right
• Don't forget the back cover. This could be a nice spot for a quote or message from the Bride and Groom.

Using Adobe Indesign I've whipped up the following to give you an idea of how to lay the pages out. Both are for an A5 size paper but would be printed on A4.

To download these templates click here