No matter what type of wedding you have, from religious and rustic to red and rainbows, an order of service is a crucial part of your big day. Without one, your guests won’t be able to follow along with the ceremony, and will be unsure when to join in with songs and celebration.
Alongside your invitations, your order of service makes a great keepsake for you and your guests, so it’s especially important to make them look great. Don’t worry, we’re here to help!
Keeping your order of service content clear is key!
What is a Wedding Order of Service?
An order of service is a piece of day stationery that lists all the events of your wedding ceremony from arrival times to when hymns, readings and vows will happen.
It’s a small booklet or single piece of card that can be easily tucked into suit jackets and bags.
You can also create large versions of your order of service that can be placed on boards around your venue. Alongside welcome boards and table plans they are a great way to welcome guests.
Do I need an Order of Service?
Many people think that you only need an order of service for church weddings, but this isn’t the case. Civil ceremonies and other types of weddings still have a schedule to stick to!
If you are having a religious wedding, your order of service will help guests who haven’t been to one before, or if you’re doing it slightly differently. For instance, Catholic weddings have a lot of rites and prayers that happen in a specific sequence; your order of service will list the order of events for anyone who is unfamiliar with the ceremony, meaning everyone can get involved.
What to Include on an Order of Service
There’s a lot of text to fit, give yourself plenty of room!
Before you order your order of service order (try saying that 3 times fast!) you need to decide how much detail you want to include. Usually an order of service is a single page long, but longer or more complicated ceremonies often need a couple of pages – these can still be trimmed down or condensed with the right fonts and wording.
Things you’ll need to include are:
- Hymns
- Readings
- Exchanging of Rings
- Vows
- Entrance and exit of the bride and groom
- Details of the officiant
There’s no need to cram your order of service with content, keeping it simple can help your chosen design stand out. Speaking of which…
How to Design your Order of Service
Now for the fun part!
All of your day stationery should complement your chosen theme, which you first show off with your wedding invitations. As your order of service will have a lot of words, a more minimalist look than your other designs can give you more room. Keep any floral prints to the borders and front cover so you have enough space to work with.
We always recommend including accessories in your day stationery design, but it doesn’t always suit your order of service. This is because they will be carried around all day, meaning ribbons and flowers are likely to fall off or get caught on guests’ fabulous wedding-wear.
All of our designs are built to last; they will still look their best for years after the big day, but even our craft-quality glue has its limits!
Simple designs can still look amazing. Like we mentioned, a floral pattern on the border and shiny lettering can match any theme under the sun, or the moon if you’re having an evening wedding!
Last month we talked all about how you can match your wedding stationery to your chosen flowers, and vice versa. You can complement your floral displays with your day stationery, especially if you print large versions of your order of service. Give it a read for some great tips!
Wording for an Order of Service
The wording of your order of service is the most important part. The text you use needs to be informative, and clear enough to read at a glance. Remember that if you’re expecting a few elderly guests they may struggle with reading tiny text, so at least keep the headings of each section, hymn and reading nice and clear.
Calligraphy looks fantastic, but it’s tricky to read paragraphs of it. We recommend calligraphy for your names and headings with block text with good kerning (space between words) for the rest.
The Best Order of Service Designs
All of our day stationery looks and feels amazing. There’s plenty of designs to choose from too! Check out our galleries for inspiration. We use the best, craft-quality materials so that your order of service booklets are sure to survive the day and be ready to display afterwards.
If none of our existing designs suit your distinct style, why not use our bespoke design service to create perfect invitations and day stationery from scratch? Pick any materials, accessories or other finishing touches you like, and we’ll make your dream designs a reality.
In the meantime, please get in touch with any questions about us or our creations. Or you can check out our blog for more wedding stationery guides and advice.
We look forward to hearing from you!
