How to make a wedding newspaper

To make a wedding newspaper, decide how guests will use it, choose a format, gather your content, write it, lay it out, and print one test copy before you order the full batch.

1. Decide what the newspaper is for

A wedding newspaper can be a save the date, an invitation, an order of service, a welcome-bag itinerary or a thank-you. The purpose decides what guests need to read first.

2. Choose a format

One double-sided sheet suits a short program. Four pages give you a cover, a story spread and a back page. Before you choose, check which paper sizes your printer can handle. A folded four-page edition with US Letter pages needs 11 × 17 in paper, and A4 pages need A3.

3. Gather your content

Collect your names, date, venue, schedule, menu, photographs and a few stories. Rough notes are fine at this stage. Our page-by-page guide can help you decide what to keep.

4. Write it

Short headlines and short stories work best. Check every name, date and time, then ask someone else to read it. Fresh eyes catch mistakes you have stopped seeing.

5. Lay it out

You can build it yourself from a template, work with a designer, or let us write and compose it for you. See how they compare. If you lay it out yourself, export a PDF and check it closely, because exported files can differ from what you saw on screen.

6. Print one test copy

Print a full copy, fold it and check the page order, faces, small text and colors in daylight. Then order the batch. See our printing guide for settings and paper, and our guide to estimating printing costs.

When should you start?

A useful rule of thumb is to start about four weeks before you need the printed copies, and earlier for a large batch. Ask your print shop for its turnaround first. Our wedding newspaper page includes a planner that works out suggested dates from your wedding date.