wedding ceremony stationery in blush pink and grey

Wedding Ceremony Stationery Checklist: a complete guide

What wedding ceremony stationery you need will depend a little on what kind of ceremony you are having. If it’s a church wedding you may need an order of service booklet. For a civil ceremony you might want something similar to this, called an order of ceremony. Apart from that, most items will be very similar if not the same. Read on for my complete wedding ceremony stationery checklist.

wedding ceremony order of service booklet with a navy blur floral print
Order of service from my Navy Blue floral collection

Order of service for a church wedding

For a traditional church wedding, it’s very likely you will need an order of service. This can simply be a folded card, printed on both sides. Or it can be more involved with pages stapled inside too. The content of an order of service will depend on your church, minister, and service. Generally, though, brief titles and descriptions of what is happening throughout the service are helpful. Highlight any parts where your congregation needs to participate i.e. responses to prayers or singing hymns. I recommend ordering at least one order of service per couple.

What should you include in a wedding order of service

Order of ceremony for a civil wedding

For a civil wedding, you can choose to have an order of ceremony instead of an order of service. It can contain much the same information as the church wedding version; music, readings, etc. But of course, you won’t need words for hymns. You can also add interesting things about the history of your venue, who are in the bridal party, and a personal thank you note if you wish. I would suggest at least one order of ceremony per couple.

wedding order of the day sign with a navy blue floral design
Wedding order of the day from my Navy Blue floral collection

Wedding order of the day

An order of the day is different again. It is basically a timeline or agenda of what is happening through your day with approximate timings. It can be presented in a number of ways: as a page within either your order of service or order of ceremony, displayed on a board at the ceremony and/or reception venue, printed onto individual cards, or perhaps confetti bags for each guest. Some couples also choose to include an order of the day in their invitations, if the details are finalised early enough.

Find out what goes in a wedding order of the day

Welcome to our wedding sign with a pretty floral design

Don’t forget a Welcome to our Wedding sign on your wedding ceremony stationery checklist

It’s becoming increasingly popular for couples to display a ‘welcome to our wedding sign’, either at the ceremony venue, the reception, or both. It can be a standalone sign or could be incorporated with an order of the day timeline. Other messages can also be included, such as “Pick a seat, not a side we’re all family once the knot is tied’. Or, more and more couples are opting for an unplugged ceremony so why not include something like: “Please honour our wishes with no photos until we’re announced as Mr and Mrs!”

See designs for wedding welcome signs

a reserved seating card for a wedding ceremony with a pretty woodland theme design
Reserved seating tag from my Woodland collection

Reserved seating cards or tags

Wherever your wedding ceremony is, it’s likely you’ll want to save the best seats for your VIPs. Perhaps the front two rows for your bridesmaids and groomsmen. Parents of the happy couple should also have priority. You may have ushers that will take care of this for you and allocate seating to your VIPs. In case you don’t, why not employ some elegant, bespoke tags personalised with names and the wedding date.

personalised wedding confetti bag filled with dried flower petals
Confetti cones and bags can be made to match any of my stationery collections

And the finishing touch on your wedding ceremony stationery checklist: confetti cones or bags

If your venue allows confetti then what better way to present it than in beautiful, personalised cones or bags. Little, glassine bags can be printed either with a personal message or your order of the day timeline. You could place them on every other seat for the ceremony to make sure they’re evenly shared out amongst your guests. Or opt for the more traditional confetti cones. Personalised with your names and date, filled with naturally dried flower petal confetti, and displayed in a bespoke tray, these are the picture perfect way to ensure your guests have a handful of petals each for that all important confetti shot.

Confetti ideas for your big day

That’s your complete wedding ceremony stationery checklist. 

6 things you should definitely consider as part of your ‘on the day’ wedding stationery package. 

  1. order of service for a church wedding
  2. or order of ceremony otherwise
  3. order of the day
  4. welcome & other signs
  5. reserved seating cards 
  6. personalised confetti cones or bags

To keep your theme consistent throughout, have them all designed and made together along with save the dates, invitations and wedding reception stationery.

This blog is part of my Wedding Stationery Guides series, read more of them here:

Click here for my Complete Guide to Wedding Invitations

Click here to see what’s on my Wedding Reception Stationery Checklist

Click here to download your complete wedding stationery checklist

If you’d like to talk more about how I can help you with your wedding stationery from save the date cards right through to thank you cards, get in touch – I’d love to chat!

Want to find this wedding ceremony stationery checklist again later? Pin this image to your wedding planning board, and don’t forget to come and follow me on Pinterest too.

wedding ceremony stationery checklist graphic to save to pinterest