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Martha Kelly came up with a pretty cool program alternative for her down-home cookout/wedding. She explains,
Although I didn't want a super traditional wedding, I did like the idea of recognizing important people who have played a part in your life and the wedding. Traditional programs did not fit the bill for me because I wasn't having a wedding that needed all the bells and whistles explained, and I hate the idea of making all those pamphlets that will just get thrown in the trash.
So she decided, instead, to make one BIG photo program, using rolls of carpenters paper (the kind they put down not to mess up the floors), a Sharpie and some family photos…
Martha's husband welded up the stakes to hang the posters and they used bailing twine to anchor everything.
Martha attached the pictures with photo corners, so after the ceremony, the photos were then handed out to family members to take home.
Thanks to Martha for this affordable, low-impact, program-alternative! This idea has a lot of potential, I'm curious to see all the different ways you OBBs could take this idea and run. And if anyone else out there has cool program-alternative ideas… leave 'em in the comments…
About the Author: Megan Finley Horowitz
When Megan's not writing, traveling, and sleeping, she's eating like the fate of the world depends on it. (You're welcome, world!) You can snoop into her personal life over on her website The Dash and Dine!
I too am keen to avoid printing lots of paper that will get thrown out and look forward to hearing others’ ideas 🙂
In the meantime, I’m having a hard think about what people really need to have written down for them and what information could be given orally instead or on a posterboard (thanks, Martha, for reinforcing that for me!), while still making sure that people have something to take home as a souvenir, if that’s what they really want.
My beau and I were planning on getting a sweet antique-y frame with a white, cork, or black board that we could reuse at home for organizing the household, no paper needed!
This is a great idea! My partner and I have considered this
idea for a “message center” in our future home so it would be great
to make a giant blackboard for our wedding since we would
definitely keep using it. Here’s a great link about how to make
your own:
http://www.joydevivre.net/Joy_de_Vivre/Blog/Entries/2009/12/2_DIY_Chalkboard_Signs.html
You can also make your own chalkboard paint (hello, wedding
colors!):
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/make-custom-color-chalkboard-paint
Maybe blackboards with a similar thing?! I love the look of blackboards… Plus, I’ll be a teacher by then, and whiteboards don’t really have the same appeal. 😉 Still, I hadn’t considered not doing a program-for-everyone until now, so thanks!
I’d love to hear more about Martha’s wedding… especially the “cookout” part!
Hopefully I will have some time soon to post some more about the wedding. I have a little more post on the tribe right now if you are interested. We were hoping everyone would enjoy coming to a cookout with a few minutes of a wedding thrown in!
Congrats!! I’m so excited to see your pictures becasue the Rhinecliff is a venue I’m looking at. I’d be interested to hear how you felt about the venue itself.
Congratulations!
This is an interesting idea…
Love this idea! I have to admit that my program alternative was born out of laziness along with the desire to create a bit less waste. I bought a multi photo frame from a craft store and printed pictures of each member of the wedding party with their name and role underneath. We placed the frame on the guestbook table so that each guest would see the wedding party and be able to put a face with a name. Not only did it save paper, it was easy to transport and now sits on a bookshelf in our home. Thanks for sharing!
I LOVE this idea.
I haven’t priced this out yet, but since our wedding is outside in the July heat of Tennessee, our programs are going to be printed on fans! Useful and people can take them and use them again.
That’s awesome!
I’m going the fan route too, being married in the middle of summer will mean it will be used all day and night!
we are getting married in April, the day after Arbor Day. (I am a bit of a tree hugger) We have chosen to e-mail as many wedding invites as possible as well as use only 100% recycled paper or seed paper for the things we do need to print. For our Program we are doing a power point presentation on our church’s media screen to cut on the use of paper. The plan is for the presentation to be played as we process in. 😉
Love this idea! So glad we saw it and so going to give it a try out. I really wanted to use butcher paper as table runners but the future Mister did not like the idea. But with this program idea he’s all for using it, so I get my butcher paper incorporated after all 🙂