More on Baptism Details

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Based on the stats generated by WordPress, many of the vistors of my blog landed here by looking for baptism giveaways and DIYs in search engines. In celebration of my blog’s sixth month birthday, let me share more of Aki’s baptism details.

We gave away cactus pots. Baby cactus for the general guests and bigger pots for the godparents.  I looked for poems in the net, mixed ’em altogether to come up with poems that I like. I printed the poems, taped a toothpick on each print and planted them on the pots. Cute noh? My mom and inlaws got a framed poem that I also got from the net.

Form my printing needs, I go to Tronix. Their customer service is usually great. Plus,  there is no minimum number of orders. Lastly, what I like most about Tronix is that they use photo papers that do not have the brand printed on the back side, giving the prints a more postcard-like feel.

My favorite detail is the guest sheet. It’s cheap, easy to make and and makes very good momentos of the day. I am not a fan of guestbook. Answers are always generic, boring and forgetable.

survey says..

Aki looks like his dad (overwhelming 70%)

His most noticeable physical feature are his eyes (30%)

His favorite food will be chicken (30%, FYI, I don’t eat chicken)

Math will be his best subject (30%, FYI, I got an Uno in my Math 100 class. One is the highest, 4 the lowest)

Many predicted that Aki will be a martial arts champion (30%, Franco is a black belt in Aikido)

I love that several guests thought of me as intelligent and creative and Franco as good looking (bwahahaha), funny and sociable.

My favorite answer was from my officemate Judah

You look like… an angel! Naks, friend talaga kita, Judah!

PS: The guestsheet in the photo was answered by our youngest guest, Cedie who was only 3 years old last Feb. That explains the scribbles

PS II:

P.S.

I always reply  when I receive requests for copies of the poems. Please check your SPAM folder if you haven’t heard from me. Look for the MaquiFranky sender . 

Aki’s Baptism: Details and DIY’s

Date: Feb 27, 2010
Time: 9:30 AM – 2:00 PM
Motif : Green
Theme: Frugalicious/Pagtitipid

Baptismal Gown. Aki wore the same gown his dad wore back in 1980. The little catholic boy was behaved the whole time because he was having a blast munching on the ribbons of his gown.

Reception Outfit

Invitation, Envelope and Candle

Thank you tags for the cactus plants

Gift for Grandparents

Guestsheets and Pencils. Since frugalicous was the name of the game, buying or ordering a guestbook was never considered. Guestsheets are the cheaper and more fun alternative. I learned from our wedding that most people don’t bring pens so it’s best to provide one per table. I got these cute colorful pencils for a song from one of the booths in my current favorite cheap buy haven,  Ayala MRT. F is for Franco, one of Aki’s names. E is for the first letter of  our last name. Characters in Japanese just like Aki’s name.

Mega thanks to my scrap-blogging sister for the lay out and for keeping up with my OC-nes, to my MIL for the baptismal gown and to Sheela for the reception outfit. Special thanks to FIL for being the official photographer of the day.

More pictures posted here

And now i move on to the 1st birthday planning! Yehey!

 

P.S.

I always reply  when I receive requests for copies of the poems./guestsheets.  Please check your SPAM folder if you haven’t heard from me. Look for the MaquiFranky sender  

Aki’s Baptism: Decor and Giveaway/Gifts

Date: Feb 27, 2010

Time: 9:30 AM – 2:00 PM

Motif : Green

Theme: Frugalicious/Pagtitipid

 

 

 

Decors were the least of my priorities. I was happy with the ambiance at Guilly’s but felt I needed simple centerpieces to add a party feel to our event.

 

Of all the balloon suppliers I inquired with, only Jojo of Mr Balloonatix had rates that matched my eensy winsy budget. Come baptism day, I was surprised that he used metallic balloons. Our mommy and lola guests were happy to take home the  centerpieces.

 

I highly recommend Mr Balloonatix to busy budget-concious mommies who like suppliers who quickly reply to email and SMS.

 

 

 

 

For the gifts for the godparents, I wanted something that  1)  is color green, 2) would not be just another dust-collector 3) is within my budget and 4) would remind them of being responsible for a precious life.  These uber cute cactus plants perfectly meet all four criteria.

 

 

 

 

Since I was working on a Frugalicous theme, I initially wanted to DIY the giveaways. I had my eyes set on making towel lollipops. however, after computing the total cost and factoring in the effort needed, I decided to give up the DIY idea. 

 

  

Come reception, the cactus plants were a hit! I just wish I ordered more of the bigger cactus plants  for the great grandmothers.

 

 

 

 

 

April, my supplier, is very accommodating, courteous and replies fast. Although I never got to talk or meet her in person, I can sense the passion she has for her plants based on the SMS exchanges that we had.

 

P.S.

I always reply  when I receive requests for copies of the poems. Please check your SPAM folder if you haven’t heard from me. Look for the MaquiFranky sender  

Aki’s Baptism: Guilly’s

RECEPTION: Guilly’s @ Glorietta 5 
 

Date: Feb 27, 2010
Time: 9:30 AM – 2:00 PM
Motif : Green
Theme: Frugalicious/Pagtitipid 
 

Nhez, the resto manager is very easy to deal with. We communicated mostly thru SMS and all my requests were followed. A day before the event, I had this brilliant idea of asking Nhez to play songs that remind me of Aki during the event (Sweet Child of Mine, Let’s Hear for the Boy!, Be my Little Baby, etc). I emailed her the song list at 6PM . She texted me around 8PM that she might not be able to download the songs because she’d be working late that Friday night. I was happily surprised to find out that she was able download 9 out of the 16 song requests. It was actually her husband who did the downloading. Nhez was so nice that she even gave me a copy of the CD. And although the version of Sweet Child that was played was by Nirvana and not the Sheryl Crow version that I request, this OC and OA mummy is still very happy with Guilly’s excellent customer service. 
 

What I also like about having the reception in a resto is the assurance that there will be food for everyone even if more than expected guests show up. Pinoys are notorious for not RSVP-ing and I did nt have the time and patience to ask for confirmation from friends and family. Thank you to Guilly’s, everyone went home full and satisfied. 
 

Guilly’s offers daily lunch buffet for only PhP 239. If memory serves me right, Sunday lunch is a bit more expensive because of the additional food choices available. We paid a little higher than their usual per pax rate plus service charge to make the resto exclusive. 
 

Oh, make sure that you indicate Glorietta 5 in your invites. Ours only had Guilly’s, G5 and some of our guests went to Greenbelt 5. 
 

Menu
Dinuguan
Kare-kare
Chicken L’orange
Vegetable Stir Fry
Pinaputok na Lumpia
Lumpiang Shangai
Fish Fillet
Korean Beef Ribs
Pan-fried Pork Steak
Spicy Squid 
 

Pasta Bar (putanesca, bolognese and white sauce)
California Maki
Futo Maki
Kani Maki
Kani Sushi 
 

Plain rice
Seafood rice 
 

Chocolate and White Chocolate Fountains
Dippings: bread sticks, marshmallows, papaya, melon, banana, mango, watermelon, pineapple
Buko Pandan 
 

One Round of Iced Tea 
 

 

Spicy Squid and Lechon Kawali

 

Different Types of Yummy Maqui Maki

 

 

More pictures posted here

 

 

Aki’s Baptism: Magallanes Church

CHURCH: St. Alphonsus Mary De Ligiuori Parish (Magallanes Church)

Date: Feb 27, 2010
Time: 9:30 AM – 2:00 PM
Motif : Green
Theme: Frugalicious/Pagtitipid

 

Hubby and I got married here 14 months ago. Magallanes Church was the only choice for Aki’s baptism because this is our all time favorite church. Much much nicer than Notre Dame and St Patrick’s, if you ask me. The parish office itself has the look and feel of a hotel reception area.

Aside from the impressive architecture, this church gets major plus points because Ms Cathy, the admin officer, is such a darling. We had to resched the baptism 4 times and I did not hear any complaint for her. Just words of concern for the baby. So sweet. We asked permission from her to have our pictures taken inside the church after the rites (the baptism was done at the baptistry). Before going to the reception, we tried to recreate some of our wedding shots this time with Aki.

Another good thing about Magallanes is godparents aren’t required to attend a seminar, a requirement for most churches. We started several minutes late because some godparents were not there yet. Father ( forgot to ask his name) was inside the baptistry sitting quietly and did not pressure us to start immediately.

Rate: PHP 700 for the first pair of godparents. Fifty bucks for each  succeeding godparent.

Baptism Schedules
Saturdays: 9:30am, 10am, 10:30am, 11am
Sundays : 2pm, 2:30pm, 3pm 3:30pm

Requirements
1. photocopy of birth certificate
2. photocopy of marriage contract
3. parish permit

Facade

Baptistry

Inside the Baptistry

From Wedding to Christening

From bouquet to  baby!

More pictures posted here