Before I get into the preparations I made for this magical day, all the steps I took and all the DIY projects I finished, I wanted to start off by saying how much fun we all had, including my little bean!! Everyone was so impressed by how smiley and happy he was throughout the day, considering the fact that he took NO naps.
Ok, now that that is all out of the way, let us get straight to it.
STEP ONE:
Set the date + Make Reservations + Order Invitations
We set his baptism date based on the season of the year that would be easiest to celebrate, dress nice and get from point A to point B to point C easily. Since Lukas was born in November, we planned to have his baptism in the summer so that transportation would be easy-breezy, no thick outwear would be required and just to have some sun shining all day long. We ended up settling for July 17th. Once this was done, I made a phone call to our church and then to the restaurant to make reservations. Then, I ordered our invitations with +Vistaprint by mid-May. This is probably the time you will need to start thinking of colour scheme you would like to incorporate in the christening, as you will most likely choose an invitation that reflects that. We chose white, mint and gold/champagne.
And generally, it is a good idea to have your invitations sent out about a month before your event, so I sent these out mid-June with an "RSVP by" one week before the event. Vistaprint often has good sales, so if you are planning an event and are organized, wait until you see a deal. (Why not try saving a penny here and there?). By the way, they ship SO quickly!!
Click here to view the invitation I chose!
STEP TWO:
What am I going to wear?!
Remember how I told you to choose a colour theme? Well, I personally think you should stick to that notion when choose your outfit. Daddy can wear a suit with perhaps a tie that matches you, and baby wears all white of course.
I found Lukey's cute little outfit in Little Italy. They always have good taste in clothing and the quality is fantastic. Next, I found my dress at +BCBGMAXAZRIA. I went for a pure white, goddess-like dress that was flowy and absolutely gorgeous. And I paired the dress with stunning aqua +ALDO Shoes featuring gold detailing at the front. Add some nude/white +OPI nail polish, and you have got it all covered, mama!
STEP THREE:
Online Orders
If you are planning on doing the decorating yourself, make sure to purchase online order about a month and a half to two months before the baptism. Why? Oftentimes, certain items come from places like China, where they may take extra time to arrive. Personally, I ordered a few items that arrived TWO WEEKS after the baptism, making them useless. Thank goodness for sites like Kijiji though. So be smarter than me, and order ahead of time.
Items I ordered included:
- champagne sequin tablecloths for my dessert and gift tables;
- birdcage set for envelopes;
- cupcake wrappers;
- cross-shaped cookie cutter;
- chalkboards-on-a-stick display signs;
- elegant tasting cups for small portions of a custard dessert my mommy made; and
- elegant mini spoons.
Everything but the wrappers and the display signs arrived on time. That was a bummer, but at least my birdcages and tablecloths made it on time!
The total of all these items including shipping came up to approximately $250 CAD. And something I had forgotten to mention is that I looked into hiring a decorating team to help decorate the dessert table, and they were quoting me at $500 to START, and that did not even include the cost of the actual desserts. Now, the company in question does fantastic work, but with the ideas I had in my head, I was afraid that would turn into more $$$ spent, if you know what I mean (just add a few more $$$$$ and you will get the picture). So I thought it would be wiser to challenge myself and do what I could!
STEP FOUR:
Guest Favours
I had seen this beautiful idea on Instagram of spelling out a name using soap. Unfortunately, I could not find a soap-maker in my city who could do this for me, so, you guessed it, I made them myself! This, I must admit, was VERY time-consuming. But, I saved about $145 doing it myself. In other words, it only cost me about $75 to get the soap supplies and the tulle + ribbons. Can I get a high-five?!STEP FOUR:
Guest Favours
So for sure, if you try something like this, do it ahead of time!! If not, you are better off. Lol.
STEP FIVE:
Decorations
Thanks to +Pinterest, I had known for a while that I wanted to use baby's breath flowers in the centerpieces. They add an angelic, delicate touch. So the questions I was asking myself at this point were:
- Should I hire a florist to make my centerpieces?
- What is my budget?
- Do I think I can make these myself?
- Can I actually save a significant amount of $$ if I make these myself?
- Ok... Where can I buy these flowers from in bulk?
- And vases? What kinds of vases should I use?
Being the research freak that I am, I quickly took to the internet to find inspiration, +YouTube tutorials, blog tutorials, anything tutorials to figure out how I would make centerpieces.
 |
| This was my initial inspiration. How pretty!! |
I soon found out that Costco actually sells baby's breath in bulk. What's nice ordering flowers from Costco is that you get to choose a date for them to arrive. They just do not deliver on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays, but they give ample plant food. And besides, there is a plethora of tutorials online on best ways to keep flowers fresh. Luckily, this type of flower is known to look fresh and stay in bloom for two weeks, give or take.
Like I said before, you can order baby's breath in bulk. And folks, does it ever come in bulk. A received 14 t h i c k bunches of baby's breath for $150 CAD. I figured I would have about eight tables (so eight of these centerpieces) and two arrangements for the dessert table. I ended up using about eight to nine of these bunches and sold the rest. (FYI: Costco does not take any unused flowers back).
A few sticks of hot glue, silver spray paint and some Dollarama items later, and here is the end result:
STEP SIX:
Order Desserts
In our case, I wanted to have a cake and different-flavoured cupcakes made by a professional. I chose vanilla for the cake, and vanilla for one dozen cupcakes, dulce de leche for another dozen cupcakes and cherry for the last dozen cupcakes. I also have a sweet sugar cookie recipe that I used to make my cross-shaped cookies, and sent them to the same lady who made my cakes so that she could decorate them using royal icing. I picked up my order the day before the baptism and tried resisting eating my whole order on the drive back home.
So there you have it! I am tired of numbering all the steps. If you have any questions about things I may not have covered, please, do ask! :-)
It certainly is not easy planning a baptism, but it sure is tons of fun.
Thanks for the read!
-Alesia D.
Like I said before, you can order baby's breath in bulk. And folks, does it ever come in bulk. A received 14 t h i c k bunches of baby's breath for $150 CAD. I figured I would have about eight tables (so eight of these centerpieces) and two arrangements for the dessert table. I ended up using about eight to nine of these bunches and sold the rest. (FYI: Costco does not take any unused flowers back).
A few sticks of hot glue, silver spray paint and some Dollarama items later, and here is the end result:
STEP SIX:
Order Desserts
In our case, I wanted to have a cake and different-flavoured cupcakes made by a professional. I chose vanilla for the cake, and vanilla for one dozen cupcakes, dulce de leche for another dozen cupcakes and cherry for the last dozen cupcakes. I also have a sweet sugar cookie recipe that I used to make my cross-shaped cookies, and sent them to the same lady who made my cakes so that she could decorate them using royal icing. I picked up my order the day before the baptism and tried resisting eating my whole order on the drive back home.
So there you have it! I am tired of numbering all the steps. If you have any questions about things I may not have covered, please, do ask! :-)
It certainly is not easy planning a baptism, but it sure is tons of fun.
Thanks for the read!
-Alesia D.
Let's get social!
Come and join me on Instagram @ChezAlesiaDunn
Did you like this post? Tell me which ideas inspired you most!
It would mean so much. :)
It would mean so much. :)
