Everything You Need to Know About Writing and Planning a Lutheran Wedding Program

For those who wish to celebrate their special day with a Lutheran ceremony, you can decide how traditional or modern you want to be. Depending on your pastor, church and personal preferences, you can customize what you include in your ceremony if you aren't interested in participating in any specific steps.

In the United States, there are three major Lutheran branches: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). Depending on which branch you are part of, your wedding ceremony wording and services may differ.

As a Christian denomination, all Lutheran churches recognize that Christian wedding ceremonies are an important way to honor your relationship to each other and your relationship with God. When bringing your family and friends together to share your happiness during this exciting occasion, it is important to follow a few guidelines to make sure that your union is fully recognized by the Christian church. A Lutheran ceremony is a worship service for God and can be a very meaningful and special event.

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What To Include in a Lutheran Program?

Here's everything you'll want to include in your wedding program, in order.

• Couple's Names
• Wedding Date
• Location of the Wedding
• Prelude
• Processional Song Titles
• Personalized Greeting
• Prayer
• Scripture Readings
• Sermon
• Marriage Rites

The marriage rites include: wedding vows, exchange of rings, declaration of marriage, lighting of the unity candle and the marriage blessing

• Prayers
• The Lord's Prayer
• The Benediction
• The Recessional
• The Wedding Party

The wedding party generally includes: parents and grandparents of the couple, matron of honor, bridesmaids, flower girls, best man, groomsmen, ushers, officiant and organist

For more details on how to exactly format your program, check out The Knot's example here.

Lutheran Program Wording Examples

Once you've included all of the important information in your wedding service program and have your order of service correctly planned, consider personalizing the front and back cover to include an intro and note of gratitude for your guests.

For your front cover, it's best to stick to something short and sweet that will welcome your friends and family and introduce them to your ceremony. A few examples of what to say on a traditional Lutheran program are:

• "Our wedding day, a new life has its start. We'll share with each other one love, one dream, one heart."
• "As our marriage brings new meaning to love, so our love brings new meaning to life."
• "And the two shall become one..."

Another popular introduction choice would be to include a favorite Bible verse, or to simply thank your parents or any other family who helped throughout the wedding-planning process.

When it comes to creating a note of gratitude for your guests on the back of the program, be sure to include details about the following wedding reception to avoid any confusion.

Examples of how to end your traditional Lutheran program are:

• Please join us at [name and location of reception site] following the ceremony. Cocktails begin at [start time of cocktail hour].

With Gratitude
Thank you for sharing our special day with us! We would like to thank all of our family and friends for their love and support. Without you, our day would not be as special. Following the ceremony, we hope you can join us for dinner and dancing at [name of reception site].

With Love,
[couple's names] and our families

• Please join us for a reception dinner and dance following the ceremony at [time] at [name and location of reception site].

Thank You
Thank you to our family and friends for being part of this special day. As we celebrate our union, we would like to thank you for your love, support and kindness. You have helped make our special day one to remember.

Planning Your Ceremony Prayers and Example Vows

Picking the passages you include in your ceremony and choosing which vows you say are some of the most important parts of your Lutheran marriage service. If you have friends and family who may not know as much about traditional Lutheran ceremonies as you do, consider including some information in your program about the passages you choose to read from the Bible during your marriage ceremony. Couples choose passages that are meaningful for their relationship. Consider sharing why these passages are so important to you and your partner-to-be in your program.

Popular Bible Verses to Include

Isaiah 63:7-9
"I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. For he said, "Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely." And he became their Savior. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old."

1 Corinthians 13:13
"So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

Colossians 3:12-17
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

When it comes to writing your marriage vows, feel free to personalize them to properly reflect you, your relationship, and how traditional you are hoping for your wedding to be. Your vows are what bind you together with your partner, and the words you use to ask for God's blessings and support.

Sample Lutheran Wedding Vows

A few vow examples from Faith Lutheran Church are:

• In the presence of God and this community, I, ___________, take you, __________, to be my wife/husband; to have and to hold from this day forward, in joy and in sorrow, in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live. This is my solemn vow.
• I take you, __________, to be my wife/husband. I promise before God and these witnesses to be your faithful husband/wife, to share with you in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health. I promise to forgive and strengthen you, and to join with you so that together we may serve God and each other as long as we both shall live.

Where to Buy Lutheran Programs

Now that you've gotten some idea of what you plan on putting in your program and how you hope to word everything, picking out the best programs for your day may seem daunting. Luckily, The Knot Invitations offers wedding programs that are completely customizable based on your needs and the ceremony you are planning. There's a style fit for every wedding style and theme. Alternatively, for couples looking to hire a stationer to create fully-custom wedding programs, The Knot Marketplace is a great place to start your vendor search. Beyond stationers, you'll be able to find vendors, from videographers and florists, to fit all your needs.