What goes in a wedding order of service, page by page

An order of service is the booklet guests hold during the ceremony. It carries a cover, the order of the ceremony, the words of each hymn and reading, the names of the wedding party and a short thank-you, with the reception details on the back. Print one for each household, and a few spares.

What is a wedding order of service?

It is the programme for the ceremony. Ushers hand it out at the door, or it waits on each seat. It tells guests what happens next, when to stand and when to sing, and who is reading the poem that has made your aunt cry. Afterwards it goes home in a handbag, which is why couples take more care over it than its few pages suggest.

Your invitation and your order of service do different jobs. The invitation tells guests where to be and when; our checklist of what to include on a wedding invitation covers that. The order of service tells them what happens once they sit down.

Do you need an order of service for a church, civil or humanist ceremony?

At a church wedding, the order of service carries the hymns. The Church of England says there are usually two or three hymns at a wedding: the first near the beginning and the last just before the final blessing (2026). Its walk through the wedding service adds that every church wedding has a Bible reading and a short talk from the vicar, and that other readings can be added.

A civil ceremony has a firm rule. GOV.UK says it can include readings, songs or music, but nothing religious, such as a hymn or a Bible reading (2026). Registrars ask to see your choices first: Oxfordshire County Council, for one, asks for readings at least four weeks before the ceremony (2026). So the order of service waits until the registrar has said yes.

A humanist wedding is legal in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In England and Wales it is not yet, so couples also hold a short legal ceremony at a register office. Humanists UK says the government announced in October 2025 that it will give humanist marriages legal recognition, as part of a wider reform with no date set (2026).

What goes in an order of service, and in what order?

• The cover: your names, the date in words, and the church or venue with its town. A line drawing or a monogram is optional.
• The order of the ceremony: each part as it happens, with the name of whoever leads it, and the words “Please stand” and “Please sit” where they belong.
• Hymns and readings: the full words of every verse you will sing, printed where the hymn falls. For a Bible reading, the reference and the reader’s name are enough.
• The wedding party: parents, the best man, bridesmaids, ushers, readers, the musicians and whoever marries you.
• A thank-you: two or three lines to your guests, and a line for someone who has died, if you wish.
• Reception details: the address, the time drinks begin, where to park and the church’s rule on confetti, if it has one.

Many couples put the wedding party inside the front cover, so guests can put names to faces before the music starts. Either place is correct.

Check the words of each hymn before you print them. The Church of England’s hymn guide marks which texts are free to reprint and which are still in copyright (2026). A text in copyright can be printed under the church’s Church Copyright Licence, if it holds one, or with the copyright owner’s permission. Ask the parish office which applies.

What does a church order of service look like?

Most Church of England weddings use the marriage service from Common Worship (2000). Here is a running order to discuss with your vicar. Your vicar decides where the signing of the register falls.

What does a civil ceremony order of service look like?

Shorter, and often a single folded card. The registrar leads the legal words, and GOV.UK says you need at least two witnesses (2026). The rest is yours to arrange, with the registrar’s approval.

How many orders of service should you print?

One for each couple or household, one for each guest who comes alone, and about ten spares for the vicar or registrar, the readers, the musicians, the photographer and your parents, who will each want one to keep. A guest list of 100 ceremony guests with 40 couples and 20 single guests needs 60, plus ten: 70 in all.

Print one for every guest if most of your congregation will sing. Two people sharing one booklet over a shoulder sing the first verse and give up on the second. Evening guests need none.

When should you order the order of service?

• Three months before: meet your vicar, registrar or celebrant and agree the order.
• Ten weeks before: choose the hymns, readings and music, and send them for any approval.
• Eight weeks before: ask your stationer for a proof and the latest date for changes.
• Three weeks before: send the final words, with every name spelled out.
• One week before: collect the copies, count them, and give them to the ushers on the day.

These dates are our suggestion. The order of service is one of the last pieces of paper to settle, so it sits near the end of our UK wedding planning timeline. Ask a friend with sharp eyes to check the readers’ names on the proof. They will find the one you missed.