Creating A Wedding Missalette: A Step-By-Step Guide

A wedding missalette is a booklet or leaflet that guides guests through the ceremony. It includes the script that the priest, couple, commentator, and guests will read during the wedding. It can be designed and printed by a third-party supplier or by the couple themselves. Couples can also ask their church for a standard template to follow.

The cover design

• Keep it simple: You don't want the cover to be too busy or cluttered. Stick to a clean and simple design that is easy to read and aesthetically pleasing.
• Use your wedding colours: Choose colours that complement your wedding colour palette. This will help to tie the missalette into the overall theme of your wedding.
• Incorporate your wedding motif: If you have a specific motif or theme for your wedding, try to incorporate it into the cover design. For example, if you are having a beach wedding, you could use seashells or starfish as a design element.
• Add a personal touch: Consider adding a personal touch to the cover, such as a photo of the happy couple or a meaningful quote. This will make the missalette more special and unique to your wedding.
• Hire a graphic designer: If you are not confident in your design skills, consider hiring a graphic designer to create the cover for you. They will be able to bring your vision to life and ensure that the final product looks professional and polished.
• Proofread and edit: Before finalising the cover design, be sure to proofread and edit the text for any errors. Check for typos, misspellings, and formatting issues.
• Get feedback: Show the cover design to your family and friends and get their feedback. They may have suggestions or ideas that you haven't thought of, and it's always good to get a second opinion.

"The front cover features a picture of one of the rose windows of the Redemptorist Catholic Church. It was processed to look like a drawing. The doves from our wedding logo were enlarged."

The layout

A wedding missalette is a booklet that guides the churchgoers during the ceremony. It is approximately A5 size, or half of a bond paper. It is important to note that the text comes from your church, as churches or priests have their own preference of wording. It is also important to proofread and edit the text before sending it to the printer.

Front Cover

The front cover can feature a picture with the couple's wedding logo and doves.

Back Cover

The back cover can consist of the wedding logo and the couple's wedding website address.

Greetings and Prayer

A prayer to thank God for bringing the couple together and to ask for his blessing on their commitment to each other.

Processional

The order in which the wedding party enters the ceremony.

Introductory Rites

• The priest starts the introductory rites in his own personal words.
• A prayer for God's grace and peace.
• A confession of sins and a request for the Blessed Mary and the saints to pray.
• A prayer for God's mercy and forgiveness.

First Reading

A reading from the Song of Songs.

Responsorial Psalm

The response is "I will bless the Lord at all times."

Second Reading

A reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians.

Gospel

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John.

Homily

The priest delivers his homily.

Rite of Marriage

• The priest addresses the couple and assures them of the prayers and support of the community.
• The couple is asked if they have come of their own free will to bind themselves in love and service to each other.
• The couple is asked if they are ready to raise their children as good Christians.
• The couple expresses their vows before God and the Church, promising to be true to each other in good times and bad, in sickness and health.
• The priest confirms and blesses the bond of marriage.

Blessing of the Rings and Arrhae

• A prayer for God's blessing on the rings and arrhae, symbols of the couple's commitment.
• The groom gives the bride the ring and arrhae as a pledge of his love, dedication, and welfare.

Prayers of the Faithful

Prayers for the Church, the newlyweds, married couples, and all married people.

Liturgy of the Eucharist

• A prayer for God's blessing on the bread and wine offered.
• The Eucharistic Prayer.
• The Lord's Prayer.
• A nuptial blessing.
• The sign of peace.

Communion Rite

• The priest offers communion to the newlyweds and the guests.
• A prayer after communion.

Concluding Rite

• A final admonition from the priest to the couple, reminding them to remain faithful to each other.
• A solemn blessing.
• The dismissal.

Picture Taking

The order of picture-taking with the couple, wedding party, and families.

Signing of the Marriage Contract

The newlyweds, priest, and witnesses sign the marriage contract.

The text

A wedding missalette is a booklet or leaflet that guides guests through the ceremony, allowing them to participate and follow what's happening. It is a wedding program or script that the priest, couple, commentator, and guests read from during the wedding ceremony.

Front Cover

The front cover can feature a picture with the wedding logo and doves.

Back Cover

The back cover can consist of the logo and the wedding website address.

Greetings and Prayer

"When we reach life’s greatest crossroads, the choice of the decision we make must be done with much faith and love. [Couple's names] have approached these crossroads already with a lot of faith and a deeply nurtured friendship and love.

Let us then offer our thanks to God for having led them together in this love. Let us pray that He may bless and consecrate their commitment to each other and that [couple's names] may freely and lovingly take upon them the task the Lord has entrusted to them, to live for each other and their future children, their family, their relatives and friends on their road through life to God. Let this day be memorable for all of us for the Lord has given us the blessing in witnessing this."

Processional

Gentlemen march with ladies at their left in the following order:

[Names of wedding party, e.g. parents of the groom/bride, candle/veil/cord sponsors, bridesmaids/groomsmen, ring/coin/bible bearers]

Introductory Rites

"Everyone rise as the choir sings.

Glory and praise to our God,

Who alone gives light to our days. Many are the blessings He bears,

To those who trust in His ways.

We, the daughters and sons of Him,

Who built the valleys and plains. Praise the wonders our God has done,

In every heart that sings.

Glory and praise to our God,

Who alone gives light to our days. Many are the blessings He bears,

To those who trust in His ways."

"This is the part where the priest starts the introductory rites in his own personal words."

"May the grace and the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you always.

My brothers and sisters, we prepare ourselves to celebrate this Sacred Mysteries, let us call to mind our sins.

I confess to Almighty God, and to you my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own faults, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do. And I ask the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, all the angels and saints and to you my brothers and sisters to pray for me to the Lord, our God.

May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life.

May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy."

"Almighty God, hear our prayers for [couple's names] who have come here today to be united in the Sacrament of Marriage. Increase their faith in You and each other, and through them bless Your Church (with Christian children). We ask this through Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever."

First Reading

"A reading from the Song of Songs.

Hark! My lover! Here he comes springing across the mountains, leaping across the hills. My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Here he stands behind our wall, gazing through the window, peering through the lattices. My lover speaks; he says to me “Arise my beloved, my beautiful one and come! O my love in the clefts of the rocks, in the secret recesses of the clift. Let me see you, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet and you are lovely.” My lover belongs to me and I to Him. He said to me, “Set me as a seal in your heart, as a seal on your arm, for storm as death is love, relentless as the netherworld as devotion, its flames are a blazing fire. Deep waters cannot quench love nor flood sweep it away.”

This is the Word of the Lord.

Let our response be: “I will bless the Lord at all times.” (Please repeat)

I WILL BLESS THE LORD AT ALL TIMES.

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall ever be in my mouth. My soul will glorify in the Lord that the poor may hear and be glad.

I WILL BLESS THE LORD AT ALL TIMES.

Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

I WILL BLESS THE LORD AT ALL TIMES.

Look to God that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame. When the afflicted man called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress He saved him.

I WILL BLESS THE LORD AT ALL TIMES.

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them. Taste and see how good the Lord is, happy the man who takes refuge in Him.

I WILL BLESS THE LORD AT ALL TIMES."

Second Reading

"A reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians.

Set your hearts on the greater gifts. I will show you the way which surpasses all the others. If I speak with human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and with full knowledge, comprehend all mysteries, if I have faith great enough to move mountains but have no love, I am nothing. If I give everything I have to feed the poor and hand over my body to be burned, but have not loved, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. Love is not jealous, it does not put on sins, it is not snobbish. Love is never rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not prone to anger, and neither does it brood over injuries. Love does not rejoice in what is wrong, but rejoices with the truth. There is no limit to love’s forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure. Love never fails.

This is the Word of the Lord."

Gospel

"Everyone rises for the reading of the Holy Gospel.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet

And a light unto my path.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet

And a light unto my path.

You're the light unto my path.

Reading of the Holy Gospel

The Lord be with you.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John.

Glory to you Lord Jesus Christ!

Jesus said to His disciples, “As the father has loved me, so I have loved you. Live on with my love. You will live in my love if you keep my commandments, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and live in His love. All this I tell you so that my joy maybe yours and your joy maybe complete. This is my commandment; love one another as I have loved you.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ!"

Homily

"Everyone sits down while the priest delivers his Homily."

Rite of Marriage

"And you, dear brothers and sisters, may I ask you to help them with your prayers and accept them as a new couple in our Christian Community.

[Couple's names], may I now ask you to answer truthfully the following questions.

[Bride's name], did you come here today in your own free will to bind yourself forever in love and service of your husband?

[Groom's name], did you come here today in your own free will to bind yourself forever in love and service of your wife?

[Couple's names], are you ready to raise as good Christians the children whom God will give you?

[Couple's names], since you wish to contract Holy Matrimony, please join your right hands and express your intention before God and His Church.

[Bride's name], do you take [groom's name] here present to be your lawful husband according to the rite of our Holy Mother, the Church?

[Groom's name], do you take [bride's name] here present to be your lawful wife according to the rite of our Holy Mother, the Church?

Now please say together.

Grant us, O Lord, to be one heart and one soul from this day forward for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."

Confirmation of the Marriage Bond

"And I, by the authority of the Church, calling on all those present here as witnesses, confirm and bless the bond of marriage which you have contracted in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

Blessing of the Arrhae and Rings

"Ring, Coin and Bible bearers will come forward assisted by the Best Man and Matron of Honor and will stand at the right side of the priest.

[Couple's names], we shall now bless your arrhae and ring. Our help is in the need of the Lord.

Let us pray. Bless, O Lord, your servants [couple's names] with sufficiency of material possessions which these arrhae symbolize so that they may use them to attain eternal life through Christ, Our Lord.

Bless, O Lord, these rings so that your servants, [couple's names] who will wear them may live in mutual love and unbroken loyalty through Christ Our Lord."

Giving of the Wedding Rings and the Arrhae

"Now give this ring to one another and say your vows.

[Bride's name], wear this ring as a sign of my love, and loyalty, in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

[Groom's name], wear this ring as a sign of my love, and loyalty, in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

[Bride's name], I give you this arrhae as a pledge of my dedication to your welfare in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I now present to you our newlywedded couple in our Christian community. Let us welcome them with a big hand."

Prayers of the Faithful

"Dearly beloved, let us now pray for the church and for our newly wedded couple whose marriage reflects their union with Christ. Let our response be: “GRACIOUS GOD, HEAR OUR PRAYERS.”

For the Holy Church spread over the world, for its leaders and for the rulers of our nation. Let us pray to the Lord.

GRACIOUS GOD, HEAR OUR PRAYERS!

For the poor and the sick and all those in trial and afflictions. Let us pray to the Lord.

GRACIOUS GOD, HEAR OUR PRAYERS!

For [couple's names] that they may keep their hearts united forever and all married couples. Let us pray to the Lord.

GRACIOUS GOD, HEAR OUR PRAYERS!

That He may stir up the grace of the sacrament in all the married couples here present. Let us pray to the Lord.

GRACIOUS GOD, HEAR OUR PRAYERS!

Almighty, Eternal God, look down with favor upon your servants. Grant them to remain faithful to You and to one another. At the end of a long well-spent life, reward then with eternal happiness together with all those who love them. This we ask through Christ, our Lord."

Liturgy of the Eucharist

"Blessed are You, Lord, God of all creation. Through Your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life.

Blessed be God forever

By the mystery of the water and wine, may we come to share on the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.

Blessed are You, Lord of all creation. Through Your goodness we have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of our human hands. It will become our spiritual drink

Blessed be God forever!

Lord God, we asked You to receive us and be pleased with the sacrifice we offer You with humble and contrite hearts.

Pray my brothers and sisters that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God, the Almighty Father.

May the Lord accepts this sacrifice from your hands, for the praise and glory of His name, for our good and the good of all His Church.

Lord, hear our prayers and accept the gifts we offer for [couple's names]. Today, You have made them one in the Sacrament of Marriage. May the mysteries of Christ’s unselfish love which we celebrate in this Eucharist help them in their journey through life. We ask this in the name of Jesus, the Lord."

Eucharistic Prayer

"The Lord be with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

Father, all powerful and ever living God, we do will always and everywhere give You thanks.

By this Sacrament, your grace unifies man and woman in an unbreakable bond of love and peace. You have designed the chaste love of husband and wife for the increase of the human family and of your family born in baptism.

You are the loving Father of the world of nature. You are the loving Father of the new creation of grace. In Christian marriage You bring together the two orders of creation, nature’s gift of children enriches the world and Your grace also enriches the Church

Through Christ, the choir of angels and all the Saints praise and worship Your glory. May our voices blend with theirs as we join in their unending hymn.

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord. Heaven and earth are filled with your glory, Hossana in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosssana, Hossana in the highest."

"Eucharistic Prayer II

Lord, You are Holy indeed, the fountain of all holiness. Let Your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Before he was given up to death, the death He freely accepted, He took the bread and give You thanks. He broke the bread, gave it to His disciples and said:

“TAKE THIS ALL OF YOU AND EAT IT. THIS IS MY BODY WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU.”

When supper was ended, he took the cup. Again, He gave You thanks and praise, gave the cup to His disciples and said:

“TAKE THIS ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK FROM IT. THIS IS THE CUP OF MY BLOOD. THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND EVERLASTING COVENANT. IT WILL BE SHED FOR YOU AND FOR ALL MEN SO THAT SINS MAY BE FORGIVEN. DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME.”

Let us proclaim the Mystery of Faith.

Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. Allelujah, Allelujah!

In memory of His death and resurrection, we offer You, Father, this life-giving bread, this saving cup. We thank You for counting us worthy to stand in Your presence and serve You. May all of us who share in the Body and Blood of Christ be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit.

Lord, remember Your Church throughout the world, make us grow in love together with Benedict, our Pope, Ricardo, our bishop and all our clergy. Remember our brothers and sisters who have gone to their rest in the hope of rising again. Bring them and all the departed into the light of Your presence.

Have mercy on us all. Make us worthy to share eternal life with Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, with the Apostles and with all the Saints who have done Your will throughout the ages. May we praise You in union with them and give You glory through Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Through Him, with Him and in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is Yours Almighty Father, forever and ever."

Lord's Prayer

"Our Father, Who art in heaven Holy be thy name Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who sinned against us. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, And the power and the glory, Forever Amen."

Nuptial Blessing

"My dear friends, let us ask God for his continued blessing upon [couple's names]:

Holy Father, creator of the universe, maker of man and woman, in your likeness, source of blessing for married life, we humbly pray to You for this man and woman who today are united in the sacrament of marriage.

May Your fullest blessing come upon them so that they may together rejoice in Your gifts of married love and enrich Your Church with their children. Lord, may they both praise You when they are happy and turn to You in their sorrows. May they be glad that You help in their work and know that You are with them in their needs

The printing

• It is recommended to create a layout for the missalette to ensure that the pages are in the correct order. This can be a challenging and time-consuming task, especially when printing papers back-to-back.
• Consider the number of copies needed and the cost of printing. Printing companies may charge per set of missalettes, so it is important to compare prices and choose the most cost-effective option.
• Some printing companies offer additional services such as cover design and layout approval, which may incur additional fees. It is important to communicate with the printing company to ensure that all requirements are met.
• The minimum order quantity for missalettes may vary, with some companies requiring a minimum of 20 booklets.
• The lead time for layout and printing can vary, but it is generally around 1-2 weeks.
• It is important to proofread the text and make any necessary edits before sending it for printing.
• The cover design of the missalette can be created separately and provided to the printing company as a layered file.
• The text of the missalette should be finalized and approved by the church before printing. This includes the readings, sayings, and other content.
• Some printing companies may offer discounts or promotions, so it is worth inquiring about any available deals.
• It is recommended to provide clear and concise instructions to the printing company to ensure that the missalette is printed correctly.
• After the missalette is printed, it is important to review and proofread the final product to ensure that there are no errors or mistakes.

The distribution

• Quantity: It is essential to print enough copies of the missalette for all guests. Consider printing a few extra copies to accommodate unexpected guests or mishaps.
• Placement: Place the missalettes strategically at each guest's seat or in a designated area where guests can easily pick them up as they enter the ceremony venue. Ensure there are enough missalettes at each seating area or row.
• Timing: Distribute the missalettes before the ceremony begins to allow guests to familiarize themselves with the order of events and any readings or responses they may need to participate in.
• Ushers or Wedding Party: Enlist the help of ushers or members of the wedding party to distribute the missalettes, especially if they are placed at each guest's seat. This ensures an efficient and organized distribution process.
• Collection: After the ceremony, ushers can also assist in collecting the missalettes, especially if they are meant to be kept as souvenirs. Alternatively, you can provide a designated drop-off point or box where guests can return the missalettes as they exit the venue.
• Communication: Ensure that your wedding party and ushers are aware of their roles in the distribution and collection process. Communicate the number of missalettes to be distributed and the timing for distribution and collection.
• Leftover Missalettes: In case of extra missalettes, you can choose to keep them as souvenirs or mementos for yourself, the wedding party, or close family and friends. Alternatively, you can offer them to guests who may want to take an extra copy as a keepsake.

Frequently asked questions