Organising a christening

The planning of a christening can be quite complicated. But it’s an important day for you and your child, so it’s important to get everything right.

The first things to organise are the service and the christening invitations. These two things go hand in hand because you need to organise the service so that you can let your guests know the details of it on the christening invitations.

It may be that the christening is held as part of a normal service. But if you do have a service just for you, then you should ask your guests to arrive at least ten minutes before it is due to start.

Normally, the service will last around 20 to 30 minutes and there should be an order of service so that guests, particularly the godparents, know what part they play in the service.

After the service you may wish to hold a reception and details of this should be on the christening invitations too so that guests can make suitable arrangements for getting there. You could choose to have a finger buffet with some sandwiches and cakes for the guests or you could even opt for a more substantial sit down meal. But remember to invite the vicar to join you too.