So here’s a long overdue post. I’m sure you’re used to the delays by now. No worries, I’ll make this worth your while. :-)
I’d like to share some highlights from the baby’s baptism last month. I was determined to have him christened before I went back to work. Contrary to how we approached Tala’s baptism, this time around we wanted to keep it small and intimate. We figured there’s no need for a hundred guests, fancy program and an AVP. This one’s a boy! He doesn’t need all those fancy schmancy frou frous! We’ll save those for when he turns one hehe.
We wanted a church that was near our area (true blue Northener here) so we opted for St. Peter’s Church Shrine of Leaders in Commonwealth QC. They have a cozy baptistry room (as shown in the photo), ample parking and the church admin office wasn’t a pain to deal with. All we had to was to submit a CTC of the birth certificate and pay P1,000 (inclusive of one pair of Ninong and Ninang plus additional P100 per additional sponsor). No seminars whatsoever. We just had to show up 15 minutes earlier because the baptisms are scheduled by the hour.
To prepare for the simple occasion, I managed to squeeze in some preps in between diaper changes and nursing the baby. This was one of the little projects that I did…an idea that I picked up from Cai of Apples & Dumplings in her post. Dainty candy cups and washi tape from Paper Chic Studio to prettify the rather plain white candles. Had some help from the bestie who took over while I caught up with some Zzzzzzzzs.
As for the invites, we skipped hard copy invitations even if the venue provided us with blank invites to give away. We went with e-invites instead. Free and eco-friendly! Mr. D did the graphic (as shown below) and I posted that in a Facebook events page that I made. It’s an easy way to send out invites, post instant updates, start a discussion and send a Google map for directions.
With Tala, we figured we had relatives around and they all brought cameras with them so we didn’t bother booking a photographer. Big effin’ mistake. They were so busy enjoying themselves they forgot to take photos of the reception! This time around I knew I had to get good photographers. That was a non-negotiable. Studio 2716 was an obvious choice. Check out this post from the time Dom of Studio 2716 took photos of me and some fab mom bloggers a while back.
Fast forward to Feb 22, our little boy (who was wailing like a hyena) was finally baptized! Yey!
First off, I’d like to thank Ramz Carancho for my hair haha. Seriously. I suffered from a bad perm for months and he fixed my hair with an amazing rebond and colour treatment. He also dyed my brows to match my haircolor and also dyed Mr. D’s mohawk and goatie to cover the grays. All these in the comforts of our own home! Who knew you can get professional salon service while in your jammies? I would also like to thank Nadj for the red lip and quick eye makeup. People are saying I looked like a donya that day hihi. Sinag’ was wearing a mini barong and matching shorts that I bought in Landmark. Can you believe it was just P200 plus? Dirt cheap! Well for something that the baby will wear for just 15 minutes, I’m fine with not spending a ton on his baptismal garb. He was supposed to wear a pair of tan shoes with rubber soles but he got all cranky and just kept on kicking and screaming…so there, he was baptized in his socks haha. As for my dress, it was an old jersey dress from Elle, strategically picked out for its easy boob access haha.
Here’s the whole entourage. Told you it was an intimate party haha. We actually had more people at the restaurant. Wait a minute…where’s the baby? Seriously. Why isn’t he in this photo?!
Anyway, just two buildings away was where we all had lunch. We chose Max’s since it’s near and they already have set baptismal packages. Plus the newly-opened branch along Commonwealth is clean and smells nice. It was an easy decision.
Forgot to take photos of our lunch but it’s the usual party fare that you would expect from Max’s. So I’ll just show you some of the party details. Worked with blue and green and added a sun accent, for obvious reasons. Here’s a trivia. When I was pregnant I kept on thinking about the sun image in the movie ‘Tangled’. As in I was obsessing over it! That may be how his name came to be! So anyway, I made sure that the sun was included in the baptismal details.
Below are the tokens for the guests. When unwrapped, the little blue and green gifts reveal an almond-scented candle from Orange and Brown Positive Wickers. Why candles? Because everyone who was part of the christening will serve as the baby’s guiding light. NAAAAAKS. Shet. Pinagisipan ko pa talaga yan haha.
Ninangs and Ninongs were given a bronze jar with a tea light candle inside. The jar has a sun-shaped stencil so when lit, the image of the sun can be seen on the jar. I feel like a knucklehead for forgetting to take photos. Maybe the photographers took photos of it. I just have to go through the gajillion images in the CD they gave me which admittedly, I haven’t even browsed through yet. Eeeep.
As for the cake, I had a peg for it and specific instructions on which parts to change and retain. I sent it to my sister-in-law who had her friend bake it. Turned out great! The baker is Donna May Sim. Haven’t met her yet but girl! if you’re reading this…you got mad skillz! The cake is super yummy too. Ayoko na sana mamigay. hahaha.
I ordered paper mache letters from Craft Department, Styled the letters halfway using washi tape. I didn’t want to completely cover the brown letters as I still find it pretty. Same here, got the bestie to help me finish the rest of the letters.
These sugar cookies are part of Max’s baptismal package. In the original set, it comes with all sorts of colors but I requested that they just retain the blue and green to fit the color scheme.
Cute!
For the program since we were such a small group, we kept it casual and free-flowing. Nothing formal and contrived. We wanted everyone to feel free to move around and mingle. I led the opening prayer and we had a quick trivia game before lunch. That was it! Managed to coax Charity Bareng to host hihi! Highly recommended by the way as she hosts all kinds of events! (For inquiries, you may email her at charity(dot)bareng(at)gmail(dot)com). She’s also one of the proud ninangs of S. This is her and D in their usual playful banter. These two are my favorite girls in the world! They’ve got my back always.
The christening was a milestone in our little boy’s life. Of course, he has no clue what the heck was going on but I’d like to think we’ve done the first step in laying the foundation for him. Of course, it will take a lifetime to hone him some more. We can only hope and pray that he follows through by living a life that is pleasing in God’s eyes.
From the familia Diego, thanks to everyone who came and to those who sent their love and kind wishes! I am ending this post with our first ever family picture as a family of four! Hooray! :-)
