You have engaged a celebrant and you have picked the day. So how do you make sure that the naming ceremony for your baby goes smoothly and is memorable for friends and family members alike? Concentrate on two things – planning for the ceremony, and how things are organised on the day.

Preparation

• Select your child’s godparents with treatment, speak to them about the promises they feel able to make, and inquire them if they would feel comfortable about sharing with everybody at the ceremony some of their thoughts about your kid and your family
• Consider other members of the family and substantial friends, whether or not present or not, and how you may recognise, consist of or honour them in the ceremony
• Select the venue with treatment, having to pay interest to shade, and adequate room
• On the invitations consist of the time guests should arrive and the time the ceremony will start. If you know any of your guests are persistent latecomers, invite them for at least 15 minutes prior to you expect them to arrive
• If using candles in an outside ceremony make sure that the wicks are well guarded from wind, breeze or drafts ? candles that sit well down in a glass container are ideal. Because the flame on votive candles extends above the container they are not suitable

On the Ceremony Day

• Make sure the table for the signing is large enough to easily hold the register, certificates and something else that will be utilized throughout the ceremony (candles, and so on).
• Delegate someone to photograph the ceremony and alert the celebrant as to whom that individual is
• Consider the chance to have posed family photographs, and photographs of substantial friends taken with the kid either prior to or following the ceremony. Draw up a list beforehand and use it as a checklist so that no-1 is missed
• Offer seats for older or disabled guests
• Make certain that any seating or shelter provided is near enough to exactly where you and the celebrant will be standing to form an intimate grouping and make sure that everybody hears and sees the ceremony
• Restrict the amount of alcohol served prior to the ceremony

Attention to all these quite easy things will make the globe of distinction to how smoothly your celebration runs, and how a lot everybody, including you, enjoys the ceremony.

Jennifer Cram is an accredited Common Civil Celebrant primarily based in Brisbane Queensland Australia exactly where she specialises in doing 1 of a type Naming Ceremonies as Beautiful as your Baby and other ceremonies. For more info about her naming ceremonies go to her web site http://www.jennifercram.com and/or her Baby Naming Blog.

Copyright © 2005 Jennifer Cram. You have permission to publish this write-up electronically or in print, totally free of charge, as long as the bylines are integrated. A courtesy duplicate of your publication would be appreciated.