Planning a wedding can be a bit overwhelming. All the costs, the venue, vendors, flowers, the dress, the rings and much more… If you want to make the most of your budget, you may easily try to save a buck or two with some nice and simple DIY crafts. And one of the things you don’t need to spend a lot of money on is diy wedding program fans.
Actually, a wedding program fan is quite easy to make. This wedding DIY doesn’t need any expensive materials and takes very little time. It can also serve as a get-together activity for your girls. All you need is free wedding program fan templates, some patience, and our diy guide!
How To Make Easy DIY Wedding Program Fans
Source: carleypinn via Instagram
For this DIY project, you will need:
* Wedding program fan template
* Cardstock to print the template
* Glue
* Tongue depressor
* Ribbon
* Computer, printer, scissors.
Choose the designIf you have decided to make wedding program fans yourself, the first thing you need to do is to choose and download a free template for a wedding program fan. Open it in your word-processing program: it will have two identical sides. Decide what you want to have on the front and back of the fan.
Usually, wedding programs include some useful information on the front and some pretty design on the back. Your diy paddle fan can have the wedding date or a photo of the two of you on the back. In addition, most wedding programs include the order of the ceremony (with timing).
If you are going to include any songs or readings in the ceremony, it might also be a nice idea to put them on the program. It would be also great to mention the names of your parents, and add a personal note from the newlyweds.
1) Add a photo or your wedding date on the other side of the template.
2) Print out the design onto a piece of cardstock and cut it out. However, do not cut the strip that connects the sides of the template! You are going to need it! It will help you to make sure the sides are even.
3) Fold the template in half along the strip where the two halves meet. Make sure that the sides are even. Also, the text should be outside and visible.
4) Apply glue to the top part of a tongue depressor. Insert the tongue depressor between the sides of the template and press down firmly.
5) Tie a decorative ribbon around the handle.
Voila! You’ve got your own hand-made wedding fan!
Tips:
Be careful about the wedding program fan size – too big fan won’t work well. Too small won’t fit all of your details.
Therefore, make several extra wedding program fans. As this is a paper-based craft, there is a high chance a couple of them will be lost or broken before or during the ceremony. So, you will need a replacement.
Cool Destination Wedding Program Fan
Source: dreamsandnostalgia via Instagram
diy-wedding-program-fans-romantic-style-destination-dreamsandnostalgia-min.jpg', null)" class="icon-facebook wwm_socialshare_imagewrapper facebook_custom"> diy-wedding-program-fans-romantic-style-destination-dreamsandnostalgia-min.jpg', null)" >Generally speaking, there is no better time and place for diy wedding fans than destination weddings. If you plan your wedding on a far-away tropical island, you’d better make sure your guests are nice and cool. You can make cheap wedding programs for a destination wedding in form of a shell, or add designs of tropical flowers to the card.
Moreover, your wedding program is where you can show your personality and have some fun. Print out a picture of your destination to glue it on the back of the fan. Your programs can provide the details of the ceremony. Also, it would be nice to spare some space to thank your guests for traveling all the way to your wedding ceremony.
For this DIY project, you will need:
* Two sides of programs printed on thick cardstock
* Popsicle sticks
* Blue or green paint
* Scotch tape
* Glue
* Pictures of exotic flowers/ your destination spot
1) Print your double-sided design and pictures of exotic flowers/ destination spot. Of course, you could order the printed cardstock from some enterprise, offering digital printing service. It will improve the quality of your prints a bit, but also make your diy more costly. If you have a printer you can print your programs at home.
2) Paint the popsicle sticks blue or green, depending which suits your wedding colors best, and let them dry. Pick blue for a beach wedding and green for a boho-styled destination ceremony.
3) Tape the stick to one side of the card with enough scotch tape. It shouldn’t move or wobble.
4) Glue the sides of the wedding fan and press them hard to each other. Let it dry under a press (use a book or something similar).
5) Cut out the flowers or your destination spot pictures and glue them to the back side of the wedding fan.
Tips:
For a more relaxed design for a beach destination wedding, you could organize the text in form of a palm tree or a spiral inside of a seashell. You might decorate the fan with little seashells or color sand if the card stock is thick enough. Use some glue and your imagination!
Keep in mind, that every piece of your wedding decor should match. Wedding fans are not an exception! Choosing colors and design is very important. Get creative!
Country Rustic Wedding Program fan
Source: kellydesign.co via Instagram
diy-wedding-program-fans-coutnry-design-kellydesign.co-min.jpg', null)" class="icon-facebook wwm_socialshare_imagewrapper facebook_custom"> diy-wedding-program-fans-coutnry-design-kellydesign.co-min.jpg', null)" >Another kind of wedding, where printable wedding programs could be very useful, is a rustic or a barnyard wedding. In case you’re planning an outdoor country, style wedding this summer, diy wedding program fans are a great idea. In particular, this is your chance to customize your wedding programs without spending a lot of money.
Thus, if you have decided to customize your programs, you could use any style and experiment with your own personal design. By the way, DIY wedding fans are great for any outdoor ceremony – all you need to do is to change the design according to the style of your wedding.
For this DIY project, you will need:
* Two sides of programs printed on a piece of white paper
* Thick cardstock
* Popsicle sticks
* White paper
* Tea or coffee
* Some burlap
* Lace
* Brush
* Paper towel
* Glue
* Scissors
* Oven
1 ) Print both sides of a program and cut out the text
2) Cut the cardstock so that you have two sides of a fan. They should be absolutely identical.
3) Brew some tea or coffee, depending on the darkness of the shade you want for your project. Longer infusion or stronger coffee will make a darker color. You can experiment with different colors and shades to see which one you like best. Let your brew cool down a bit before applying.
4) Preheat your oven to 200F (90C). Put your white paper on an oven tray, make sure it doesn’t overlap the sides and pour down some tea or coffee.
5) Use the brush to spread the solution on the piece of paper. Dab excess solution with a paper towel. The paper should be wet, but without pools of liquid on it.
6) Bake it till it looks rusty. Usually it takes from 4 to 7 minutes. Let it cool before trying to glue it.
7) Glue your aged decorative paper to the sides of your fan.
8) Glue the pieces of white paper with text to the sides
9) Apply glue to the top part of a popsicle stick. Insert the stick between the sides of the fan, make sure that they are even and press down firmly.
10) Glue a strip of burlap and some lace for that chic rustic look! The delicacy of lace is going to look marvelous next to the rough texture of the aged paper and burlap.
Tips:
You can also make your wedding program paper look rusty and aged by using white paper, aged with tea or coffee. Or simply print out a template for old rusty paper!
Another way to add age to your paper is to crumble it a bit before you glue the piece. It will give your project some extra texture.
You can also experiment with different shapes. Heart-shaped wedding program fans look sweet and are very practical, as their shape is very close to a regular fan.
Main Photo: ledgewoodfinestationery via Instagram