Wedding order of service: what to include, examples and how to print it
Updated 26 October 2026 · Written by Lysela
A wedding order of service, also called a ceremony programme, is a printed sheet or booklet that shows the parts of the ceremony in the order they come, with hymns, readings, vows and the names of the people who read or play. Guests get it as they arrive and can follow along and sing. Here is what goes in a wedding programme, how it looks for a church and a civil ceremony in Sweden, examples to borrow and how to make it in the print studio.
Try it yourself, no account neededWhat goes in a wedding order of service? The contents in order
Order and names matter more than fine words. Guests read the programme while they wait for something to begin, so a card or a folded sheet is usually enough.
The cover
Your names, the date, the place and the time the ceremony starts. That is the time guests look for first.
The order
The parts of the ceremony in the order they come, one line for each, with a hymn number wherever guests will sing.
The names
Who reads, who plays or sings and who officiates. Guests know who they are listening to, and the reader can see their name is there.
The songs
A song the guests are meant to join in can have its whole text printed, so that nobody has to look for it.
Afterwards
Where guests go after the ceremony and when dinner starts. You can set out the rest of the day in a timeline.
Church wedding programme: the parts of a Church of Sweden ceremony
Rasbo parish in the Church of Sweden (Svenska kyrkan) writes that the wedding service mainly has three parts. Questions, vows, the exchange of rings, intercessory prayer, hymns, a Bible reading and a blessing are always included. The priest and the couple plan the ceremony at the wedding conversation (vigselsamtal) before the day, together with the church musician. You copy what you agree there into the programme. The order can differ between parishes, so ask your own priest where the hymns and readings go.
| Part | What happens | How it can read in the programme |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | The priest welcomes the guests and the couple and speaks about marriage and love. Bible texts about love and marriage are read by the priest or someone else. | Entrance music, words of welcome, reading, hymn |
| The couple's part | You each answer whether you want to marry the other. The priest says a prayer over the ring, you make your vows and the priest confirms the marriage. | Questions and vows, exchange of rings |
| Care and blessing | You receive prayers and a blessing from the priest and the congregation. The priest usually gives a short address too. | Prayer, blessing, address, exit music |
Wedding at [name of church] [day, date], [time] Entrance music: [music], [musician] Hymn [number] Reading: [text], read by [name] Questions and vows Exchange of rings Hymn [number] Prayer and blessing Exit music: [music] After the ceremony we are serving [drink] outside the church. Dinner starts at [time] at [place].
Wedding programme for a civil ceremony
A civil ceremony follows a set form and can be short, so the programme is shorter than in a church. It usually holds the place, the time, who officiates and who the witnesses are, with a line for your own words or your music if there is room for them. Ask the officiant what fits before you write, and whether the witnesses should be named.
Ceremony at [place] [day, date], [time] Words of welcome: [name] The ceremony, led by [name of officiant] Witnesses: [name] and [name] Words to each other Exchange of rings Music: [song] See you at [place] at [time].
Order of service wedding template: wording to borrow
Replace whatever stands in square brackets.
Welcome to our ceremony. The programme shows the order, and where it names a hymn or a song we hope you will sing along. After the ceremony we meet at [place] at [time].
Please let your phone rest during the ceremony. [photographer's name] is taking the pictures, and we will share them with you afterwards.
Thank you for being with us today. [name] and [name]
Wedding programme ideas: card, sheet or booklet
Print one programme per household and a few extra. Go through the names and the order one last time with the priest or the officiant before you print. More printed things for the day are in the guide to menu cards and programmes, and songs to choose from in the guide to wedding songs.
| Format | Works when | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| A card with the order | The ceremony has few parts and nobody needs to sing. | It holds lines and times, not the words of a hymn. |
| A folded sheet | A few songs will be sung and the words fit on a couple of pages. | Decide which side is the cover and in what order the pages are read before you write. |
| A booklet | There are many hymns or songs, or a longer ceremony. | A stapled booklet has a page count in fours, so there may be blank pages at the end. |
Wedding programme printing: the programme card and song booklet
The print studio in Lysela has two papers that suit a ceremony. From Plus you print them at home or save a pdf to take to a print shop. Lysela does not print or send anything for you.
The programme card shows the order of the day, not the words of a hymn. If you want the order of the ceremony and the songs in one booklet, the song booklet is the one that holds them. You can try the print studio with your names before you choose a tier.
The programme card
The day's programme on a long card, 99 × 210 mm, one to an A4 that you cut along the marks. The lines come from the programme on your page: a time, a title and a line of text under it, up to 200 characters. Put the parts of the ceremony there, for example "Ceremony" with "Entrance music, vows, exchange of rings, blessing" under it, and they appear on the card. They then show on the page too. You choose between the looks Line, Centred and Dotted leader.
The song booklet
An A5 booklet with a cover with your names and the date, a contents page and the songs. You enter each song with a title, a tune and the words, up to 40 songs. A chorus is set in italics, a verse is never split across two pages and the page count rounds up to a multiple of four. You print double-sided at home, fold the sheets and staple along the fold. The hymns and songs of the ceremony can go there, but you type the words in yourselves.
The order of service in the print studio
At Lysela the programme card and the song booklet are in the print studio from Plus, in the same look as your wedding website. The programme card takes its lines from the programme on your page, and the song booklet is filled with the songs you enter. You print at home or save a pdf for a print shop.
You start without an account and pay once, SEK 795, SEK 1,795 or SEK 4,900 including VAT, and the site stays up for 12 months.
What usually goes on a wedding website, and what one costs, is in the checklist.
Frequently asked questions
What goes in a wedding order of service?
Your names, the date, place and time, the parts of the ceremony in order, hymns and songs with numbers, and the names of those who read, play or officiate.
Do you have to have a wedding programme?
No. It helps guests follow along and sing, and it is something to keep. For a short civil ceremony, a line on the wedding website is often enough.
How do you make an order of service for a church wedding?
Plan the ceremony with the priest and the church musician at the wedding conversation, copy the order, the hymn numbers and the names, and let the priest read it through before you print.
Can we make the order of service in Lysela?
In part. The programme card prints the day's programme, where the parts of the ceremony can be lines. The song booklet holds hymns and songs that you type in yourselves. Both are included from Plus.
Also read
- What should a wedding website include? Checklist, timeline and cost
- Civil wedding in Sweden: how a civil ceremony works and what to arrange
- Wedding menu cards, place cards and signs that match
- Wedding songs: music for the ceremony, the first dance and the party
- Wedding day timeline: a schedule to start from