What to prepare for Baptismal?

Baptism is the first major event of our child that we joyfully prepare.

Sharing with you the factors that we've considered and prepared for our daughter's baptismal which may give you idea for the different expenses to incur. We had three weeks to prepare all of these. You may opt to skip other things and just stick to what is essential.

1. Date

First and foremost, setting the date as to when is the baptism must be decided first then everything else follows.

2. Ninongs & Ninangs

We gathered a list of our ninongs & ninangs immediately which we carefully chose because you need to fill-up the form in the church stating the major sponsors & names of other ninongs & ninangs so it must be readily available.

We selected our brothers and relatives and certain friends and we came up with 6 pairs of Godparents.

3. Church

Reservation for the church on the date you chose including submission of the church requirements such as form, marriage certificate and birth certificate of your child.

For us, we held the baptism on a Saturday to make it special.

4. Reception Venue

Reservation must be done ahead of time. In our case, it was held December and since it was peak season, most venues are fully booked on the said date but God is good that our first choice was still available and we chose the place that is also near in the church.

On the other hand, reception in the house will do, it will save a lot.

5. Guest List

We had a target of 150 pax to be invited and we still listed down our guests to make sure we won't get over and we won't forget to invite people as well as chose who we really wanted to be part of the event.

The list will finalize the total no.of guests.

6. Caterer

Booking must be done of course ahead of time in order to decide the menu to be served. This is the most needed budget that incur huge amount, well, depends also on the no.of your guests. Most venues already have their  in-house caterer.

7. Invitation

Another diy for me. I made my own layout and have it printed in the cardboard I bought from National Bookstore together with the envelope. I prefer always doing my own. Some invites were sent online.

8. Gift for Godparents

Aside from our souvenir, we gave each one of them a large box of puto flan (25 pcs/box) as a token for agreeing to be one of the Godparent and spending time to attend the baptism as well as token in exchange of their pakimkim. hehe!

9. Souvenirs

Since it has been a tradition to provide souvenirs for the guests, we were eager to find something useful and not just a display or another clutter for them. After walking along the street of Tabor in Divisoria, we found this heart shaped tin can jewelry box. They already have their own stocks so we purchased it right away so we don't need to go back there again for pick-up. It's quite far from our place. I was the one who printed the thank  you label.

10. Baptismal Dress

We bought the white dress (my mom's gift)  at SM department store so Jelise can fit it. Finding the comfortable dress that suits her well is very important.

11. Photographer

If only my brother is here in the Philippines I would have asked him to take the photos but I since he is away, I've hired a photographer since I wanted to invest in good quality photos for this once in a lifetime occasion and have the whole event covered.

12. Photobooth

Since we don't have any activity for the reception because I just wanted a lightened and relaxed one, I decided to hire a photo booth so something can also occupy the guests time. Another addition also to our souvenir.

13. Cake

My aunties ordered the cake from Goldilocks as a gift for Jelise.

14. Photo Gallery

I really wanted a canvass with standee but it didn't push through due to lack of time plus some suppliers I have inquired said it was part of their event package and can't be bought separately. So we came up for another diy. My mom used the standee from our wedding and hanged the photos. Jelise was 4 months then when she was baptized and I wanted them to see how she grows from newborn up to 4 months old.

15. Decorations

We added some decors. We ordered balloons in a stick with a Happy Christening message and we bought in Divisoria the Happy Christening banner, letter balloon name of Jelise and another 30 pcs. balloons for the backdrop.

Again, this is just based on what we did for our daughter's christening. The actual preparation really depends on your budget. No matter how simple or lavish it is, what matters most is that our child to get baptized as christian.

What did you do about yours?