Reception for Baptism

go for it. or you could have cake and coffee afterwards too. i've been to both kinds. ifyou do before.. don't serve alchohol.. you don't want anyone overdoing it. I've also attended a christening party after the fact.. the people had a buffet breakfast.. which was nice and inexpensive.. go for whatever works foryou!!

I completely understand about the cost of evening events at restaurants. As long as everyone who is invited to the party is invited to the ceremony, I don't see any problem with having the celebration first. You are still celebrating a very special event and want to make sure that everyone is included to share this special day with your child. People will certainly understand. There might even be people who would rather go out in the middle of the day instead of such a late night. I'm sure your child will be exhausted by the end of the day anyway and you don't want to keep him/her up for that late of a party anyway. Go ahead!

Hi J.
I don't think there are proper ways to do things. There may be traditional ways to do things, but we all know that we can break from tradition and sometimes that is a good thing. With 5:45 baptism, in my humble opinion, you would have to be careful that people did not assume that there would be a meal, supper /dinner, hence the reason you said lite lunch.
If it was me, and it isn't I would say cake following which according to my catering background indicates you best have had your supper. If you have tea sandwiches before, again in my opinion, local people would be so hungry they would eat more than usually expected by the caterer and therefore it looks like the caterer didn't have enough food. Not the case, if you serve little tea sandwiches at 4:30 and people have eaten at noon, they begin eating and usually average around a sandwich. If you serve that same crowd at 2:30-3 PM or say snacks the caterer plans on 1/2 sandwich per person. They don't mean to it is just common. You can serve those same sandwiches with cake after and get away again with 1/2 sandwich or less.
If your crowd is traveling a distance of 2-3 hours or more to get there you really must take that time into consideration. Leaving right after lunch they might not have time to stop for supper before the event.
Now that I may have confused you I will just say, if you are having the affair catered tell them whether it is a meal, and if you are doing it, remember some may regard it as a meal. Going to the church hall, having something put on by the women of the church is a great way to have donations going back into God's work. Just some thoughts to ponder.
God bless you and give you wisdom
K. SAHM married 39 year --- adult children 38,33,and twins 19.

I actually like the idea of the reception first. You can have a nice,private, late lunch--then head to church. No one is driving home too late (good for older relatives). Not interfering with kids bedtimes... Not interfering with the Sat. night plans of any late teen/twentysomething invitees. Also-- since everyone meets first no one will be late for the church!

Hi J.,

I am actually doing the same thing as you. It is not traditional, but given the time of the baptism, a lunch is when guests would be able to see my son awake (vs after they would probably catch him very little before the bedtime routine would need to start).

Whatever is right for you works I think. Congrats on the baptism!

What about renting the church hall - they usually allow the use of everything there, have a kitchen right there. You would just normally make a donation of some sort or they may have a fee. I know it's a busy day but if you were to recruite people to help w/the food or have it catered & just have a few people stay afterwards to help clean up. You may even be able to get a lot of the preparations done before hand with it being later in the day. Good luck!

My thoughts have already been mentioned but I'll reiterate: either look into using the church's facilities or invite everyone to join you at church the next morning and have a brunch after. I'm sure your priest or pastor will acknowledge the baptism that morning and may even invite the baby and godparents to come up and receive a round of welcoming applause from the congregation - including any friends or family who are able to attend.

Sure, why not - it sounds like a practical idea to me! Make the whole day a celebration :-)

Hi -

Other than worrying about getting your clothes dirty while eating I don't see a problem...

Another option depending on where your guests are coming from might be a Sunday Brunch?

I don't think anyone would be offended, but it does seem a little out-of-sequence. You are asking people to celebrate your child's entry into the church so it would make more sense to do it after.

Saturday night parties are very pricey, but you could do something on Sunday afternoon. My sister-in-law did this with my godson. The baptism itself was following the Vigil Mass and they had a party the next afternoon. At first I thought it was strange, but it made for a much less "intense" day for the baby and the out-of-town guests had a weekend of events! Not to mention we were in casual clothes for the party and the baby wore a cute romper rather than messing-up his gown.

You could probably get a decent price on a Sunday brunch somewhere.

It is a different idea to do the reception before hand, but I don't think a bad one. If it is just family and close friends, then be honest with them and tell them why you are doing it in reverse order. They might see the sense in doing that way. Some people might even be happy that they can still have a plans for saturday night.

Why not? There are no rules for a family celebration. Do what is right for your family and GOD Bless your baby and family.

Dear J., Congratulations on your daughters baptism. Although I have not heard of this before I don't see why you can't do it this way. It may be a good way to gather your guests together. Let us know how it works out. Grandma Mary

I think that sounds like a wonderful idea! Nothing wrong with having something beforehand. People might appreciate that as well, then they've got the rest of the evening free after the ceremony. Congratulations on the baptism.
L.

Congrats on your daughter and on the bpatism. I think having the party prior is fine. Just don't forget, like I did because I was to worried about the party afterwards, what your daughter's special day is all about. Besides, all those that are attending are close to you and will understand. These days are hard enough, economincally, and no one should judge.

My cousin just recently had a baptism on a Sunday and had a lovely BBQ on Saturday night for all friends and family. It was lovely and made the day much more relaxed.