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The Wedding Newspaper

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What to put in a wedding newspaper: 30 ideas, page by page

A wedding newspaper works when it borrows the parts of a real paper and fills them with your own story. Here are thirty things to include, and how to fit them into 8, 12 or 16 pages.

By Chris, The Wedding Newspaper

The front page

  1. A masthead with your name on it. The Marsden Mercury, The Patel Post, The Saturday Vows. A surname and a classic newspaper word is all it takes.
  2. The lead story. How you met and how you got here, written as news. Open with the most surprising fact.
  3. One strong photograph. A single large picture works better on a front page than a collage.
  4. The date line. The wedding date, the venue, an edition number and a cover price of "free to guests".
  5. An "inside today" panel. Three or four teasers with page numbers, so guests open the paper.

The stories

  1. The big interview. Both of you answering the same questions separately is reliably funny.
  2. The proposal in full. Told from both sides, including what nearly went wrong.
  3. A timeline. First date, first flat, first holiday, the dog, the ring.
  4. How the families met. Parents and siblings enjoy seeing their part in the story.
  5. A report from the hen and stag weekends. Keep it suitable for grandparents.
  6. An opinion column. A best friend on why the two of you work.
  7. Letters to the editor. Short messages from family, gathered by email beforehand.

The practical pages

  1. Order of the day. Timings from ceremony to carriages.
  2. Order of service. Readings and hymn words, which saves printing a separate booklet.
  3. The menu and drinks list.
  4. Who's who. The wedding party with a line about each person.
  5. The table plan. Or a guest directory with a fact about every table.
  6. A venue map. Where the bar, the toilets and the photo booth are.
  7. Travel and taxis. Last orders, coach times and a local cab number.
  8. The hashtag and photo sharing details.

The fun pages

  1. A crossword. Clues from your story get tables talking to each other.
  2. A quiz. Who said it, the bride or the groom?
  3. A wordsearch for younger guests.
  4. Spot the difference. Two versions of an old photograph.
  5. Horoscopes. Rewritten to predict dancing and second helpings.
  6. The weather forecast. Whatever the sky does, the outlook is sunny.
  7. Small ads. "Wanted: one groom, punctual." "For sale: single life, barely used."
  8. A sports page. A match report on your five-a-side team or a preview of the first dance.
  9. In memory. A quiet notice for people who are missed.
  10. A thank-you from you both. The natural last word on the back page.

How to fit it into 8, 12 or 16 pages

Newspapers are printed in multiples of four pages. Plan fewer items than you think you need, because a tabloid page holds one main story and one small one comfortably.

8 pages

Front page. Pages 2 and 3: the interview. Pages 4 and 5: order of the day, menu and who's who. Page 6: timeline or letters. Page 7: crossword. Back page: thank-you and notices.

12 pages

As above, with the centre pages given to a photo spread and two further pages for the proposal story and messages from family.

16 pages

Room for extra interviews with family or friends, the table plan, a second puzzle page and the spoof weather, horoscopes and small ads.

Three rules that make it read like a real paper

  • Write headlines as news, in the present tense: "Local woman agrees to marry man who cannot parallel park".
  • Quote people directly. Real quotes are what separate a newspaper from a programme.
  • Check every name twice. Someone's aunt will notice.

More help with each part

Would you prefer someone else wrote it?

That is what I do. I interview you both, write and design the whole paper and have it printed and delivered. See how it works or check the prices.