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Tips for Planning a Baby Baptism Reception


If you have a new baby, you may be planning to have a baby baptism in the near future. Whether you are having a special Catholic baptism or the protestant version, called a baby dedication, having a reception after the event is traditional, giving you time to celebrate the event with friends and family members as well. When you are planning your baby baptism reception, you want to be sure to remember that this is a religious ceremony and you want to keep the solemnity of the occasion while still celebrating in happiness. So, to make your baby baptism reception a wonderful occasion, here are a few tips to help you out.

Tip #1 – Choose Appropriate Invitations – First of all, you are going to want to choose some appropriate invitations for the celebration. In the invitations make sure that you let guests know what church the baptism will be at and also where the reception will be held. There are many great designs that you can choose from; however, usually a more formal religious invitation is a great idea for this occasion.

Tip #2 – Pick a Great Location for the Reception – You’ll also want to make sure that you pick out a great location for the reception after the baby baptism. Of course you’ll want to be sure that your location is not too far away from the church where the baptism will be held. Consider using a church hall, your own home, a nice park, or even a nice restaurant for the reception. However, one important thing you need to keep in mind is the number of people who will be attending, so you pick a place that will be large enough for everyone.

Tip #3 – Offer Entertainment Options for Children Too – When you hold a baby baptism reception, there is a good chance that children are going to show up at the reception, so you need to be sure that you offer some entertainment options for the children as well. Consider having some games for the kids or even having a television set up with great kids’ movies to keep them occupied for a bit.

Tip #4 – Serve Tasty Food – Food is an important part of any baby baptism reception, but you have a lot of choices when you’re picking out the food. You can make the reception formal with a nice catered dinner, or even a backyard barbecue is appropriate. Even a nice buffet lunch, a brunch, or even just a small dessert reception will work. You can get as fancy or as low maintenance as you choose. Just make sure that the food you choose is tasty and presented in a nice fashion, and everyone will be sure to enjoy it.

Tip #5 – White Cake and Drinks for Toasting – It is traditional at most baby baptism receptions to have a white cake that has white frosting on it. You’ll want to have the baby’s name on it and perhaps even the date of the baptism as well. You may also want to consider having some drink available if you want to have toasting for the health and well being of your baby. If you don’t want to get too fancy with your reception, consider just serving the cake and the drinks for a simple, yet fun, time.

Tip #6 – Themed Party Favors – Themed party favors always make a great addition to any baby baptism reception as well. This way you can say thank you to your guests for coming with a nice favor that they can take home and enjoy. There are many great party favors that you can choose for the reception. Some great baptism reception favors to consider include Bibles, crosses, angels, candles, doves, and a whole lot more. Make sure that you pick out favors that your guests will cherish so they will remember the big day of your baby’s baptism.

So, if you are working to plan your baby’s baptism reception, keep these tips in mind. Follow these tips and you’ll have a wonderful reception that you and your guests will enjoy and remember for the years to come.

Your Wedding Scrapbook


Your wedding day goes by so quickly, it’s just obvious that you’ll do everything in your power to preserve your memories! I can’t think of a better way of doing this that with a Wedding Scrapbook.

Its important to decide what your goal is before you enthusiastically approach your first page. Would this book only tell your wedding day tale or do you want it to include everything from the engagement to the honeymoon? Decide on a look and feel (romantic, vintage, clean) as well as on the colour scheme before you start this exciting project.

The most popular way is to go with your wedding colours, but it might be interesting to add a bit of extra colour, for example if your wedding colours were white and lilac, you can add silver and a deep purple to this, even a slight touch of pink. As long as the colours don’t overpower your photos – the extras should be subtle in order to make your photos the primary focus (the majority of the memorabilia can be stored in a nice memento box). You wouln’t want to look at this in 15 years and shreak, therefore its better to keep it simplistic, which will definitely guarantee a timeless and elegant look.

It would be wise to do your planning before you hit the shops. This would include how many pages your album would be, what photos and memorabilia you’d like to use etc. To create a personal, intimate feel, use the more spontaneous photos for scrap booking, the more posed photos can be framed or sent to family members, the remainder of the photos can be stored in a separate album. It’s a good idea to print a duplicate set to work with – this would give you peace as you’re working, knowing that your originals are safe.

Memorabilia you might want to include:

- Wedding and bridal shower invites

- Fabric from your dress (as well as any other fabric samples)

- Receipts

- Bridal registry

- Napkins

- Any form of printed material (menu, song-list etc, congrats and thank-you cards)

- Honeymoon tickets and extras

- Congrats and thank you cards

The foundation of a scrapbook is the journaling, sit down somewhere where you won’t be disturbed and go back to that special day – What did you feel when preparing for this big day, when the minister declared you husband and wife, sitting at the reception looking at your guests? When writing, be real and be yourself. We so often forget these very special moments, this way your memories will be preserved as long as you both shall live.

Bring in some of your friends or family’s thoughts – ask a few people you are close to, to write down a sentence or two on what it was that stood out for them on this day (supply them with nice paper or a colourful pen). Start the book with a dedication page – why you are creating this book, why your wedding day was such a special day etc. Some other pages you can add is “what I remember” or “what I was grateful for” or even “what didn’t matter at this stage” – as women we often plan this day and want it to be absolutely perfect, but when we are in the moment, we realize that that’s so not the point of this day.

As you create your book, be real and true – don’t only choose the perfect pictures – being real when choosing your photos and writing your love story will show throughout your book. And most of all, enjoy making this book and enjoy this season!

For info on wedding photographers in South Africa go to SA Wedding Photographers